Amtraking Through My Life – Day Three

The night went somewhat more smoothly as the tracks across Utah and Nevada were smoother and there were fewer slowdowns for other trains and fewer station stops.

Thursday (Sept. 22) morning seemed similar to Wednesday in that our great scenery would start right after breakfast.  I had to make sure all my belongings were packed and about ready to go as I would be transferring trains later in the day.

The Zephyr arrived in Reno, Nevada early in the morning and we had picked up substantial time, being close to three hours late as far back as Omaha.  I was still concerned about making my transfer in Sacramento to Bakersfield.  It looked totally likely now.

Again, I got into the Observation Car to get good views of our ascent over the Sierras.  Much of this jaunt covers roadbeds cut through in the 1860s as part of the Transcontinental Railway working its way to the east. 

A couple years ago I read a great book by Stephen Ambrose titled Nothing Like it in the World about the men who built the Transcontinental Railroad between 1863 and 1869. Workers from each direction met at Promontory Point in Utah.  The book details the excruciating difficulty that workers had building the Central Pacific Railroad over the Sierras from Sacramento to Reno.  Many workers, mostly Chinese, lost their lives during the construction.  My grandmother frequently mentioned this part of the train trips she often made to the West Coast.  I always wanted to share the same experience.

One gets a great appreciation for the growth of America by understanding the construction of this railway which united the East with the West and sped the time it took to traverse the great continent.  The book is a fairly easy read and held my interest throughout.  Now I would be able to experience a beautiful ride because of the sweat and equity of entrepreneurs and craftsmen a century and a half ago.

I was pleasantly surprised to hear the voice of docents who gave a commentary as we made our way from Reno to Sacramento over the Donner Pass stretch.  They were from the California State Railway Museum in the state capitol of Sacramento.  Although one docent spoke, another was in the Observation Car for awhile.  He was not a fan of the Ambrose book and felt much of it was inaccurate.  Hard to tell.  It does seem to have a lot of annotated notes and a sizable bibliography.

Quickly the train makes its way up the Sierra uplift, following the Truckee River, an excellent trout fishing river.  Many fishermen could be seen along the way, as well as a few kayakers and rafters. We pass through a small town of Boca, which holds the record for coldest continental temperature of -45 degrees in 1937.  Soon we are at Truckee, a town of 16,000.  For those snow lovers, this is the place…they average 204 inches per year, making it the fifth snowiest town in America.

 Truckee River (above and below) with rafters below

Those yearly snow amounts came into to play in building of the railway through the Sierras; the mid 1860s had some of the snowiest winters on record.  It also came into play in the famous Donner Party in 1844 tried to cross the then unnamed pass to get to California. Nearly half of the 81 emigrants were lost. Later the narrow pass was named Donner Pass.  The Zephyr travels to the south of Donner Lake, nine miles west of Truckee, with good vistas of the lake.

 Donner Lake near Donner Pass

Of interest are the concrete snow sheds built between cuts, or extended near tunnel entrances and exits to prevent small avalanches from blocking the tracks. When the sheds were built, they were originally constructed of wood, but frequently caught on fire from sparks coming out of the coal or wood burning engines.

Concrete avalanche sheds protect the trains near the tunnels and cuts in the mountains. You have to look at the upper right to see one that the train will soon pass through.   Last year nearly 700 inches of snow fell in this area.

Red Mountain housed a fire viewing station at the top, as it was the highest point in the area.  They could see if the wooden avalanche sheds wee on fire from train engine sparks.

After coming out the last tunnel at the highest point the railway reaches (6,939 ft.), the grade slope is longer and gentler toward Sacramento.  The tunnel is a mile south of Donner Pass, which is  7,056 feet high.  The pass averages 415 inches of snow per year, but in 2010-11, more than 700 inches of snow fell. 

The Observation Car provides great panoramas.

The train makes its way to Sacramento as the slopes decrease in size and beauty.  I make it to Sacramento with plenty of time to spare and eventually hook up with the San Joaquin Train between Sacramento and Bakersfield. The train goes on to Emeryville, California, near San Francisco.

 Sacramento ends my California Zephyr trip.  The patch was acquired by my brother and sister-in-law many years ago on their Zephyr experience.

I make it to Sacramento with plenty of time to spare and eventually hook up with the San Joaquin Train between Sacramento and Bakersfield. This is the Amtrak of California train that caters more to commuters traversing the state.  The seats in the car are not quite as comfortable as on the Zephyr, but they are not cramped and have convenient fold-down tables and plug ins at each seat.     The train left on time and arrived seven minutes early.  Most stops along the way lasted for no more than two minutes.  I arrived in Bakersfield about 10 p.m. Pacific Time…54 hours after I left Chicago.

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My overall impression of traveling the Amtrak California Zephyr is great. Travelling by train obviously isn’t the fast way to travel, but this line is more of a tourist trip to see such great scenery.  The service was good, food great, and meeting interesting conversant people a bonus.

Some of the travelers don’t like flying and have the time to take the train.  But, if you have the time, at least once you should experience this route!  Perhaps you can fly back home.  In my case, I will be coming home via Los Angeles on the Amtrak Super Chief.  More about that later!

Amtraking Through My Life – Day Two

On Wednesday, I was concerned that I be up, ready to go, breakfast done and ensconced in a seat in the observation car by the time we made Denver.  I wanted to be in the correct position to view the cabin my grandmother built in 1951 along Colorado Highway 72, the South Boulder River, and near the tracks that now carry the Amtrak.  This was the “big day” I was waiting for…to see the Colorado Rockies, some territory I was familiar with, and possibly see the beautiful aspen trees at their peak

Since I wasn’t sleeping well, I got up early and managed to shower, shave etc., using the utilities as provided with some preplanning and engineering.  All went smoothly.  The observation car was a very modern car with big windows on the sides and curving glass so one could view at the mountains above.

It seemed to take forever to get out of Denver.  The beautiful Denver Union Station is having a huge makeover, so now there is just a small station ensconced in the middle of the busy Union Pacific rail years.  It was interesting in that the train was parked near Coors Field, home of the Colorado Rockies baseball team and we saw some of the San Diego Padres players coming into the stadium for a day game and signing autographs.  While sitting there, Amtrak workers washed the windows of the observation car.  They were certainly catering to those who travel this line.

Waiting to leave Denver, next to Coors Field , home of the Colorado Rockies baseball team.

The California Zephyr is known to many in Europe as an excellent way to see the US, and the trip from Denver to San Francisco is considered the most scenic train route in the country.  One British couple was chatting with another couple who commented on being on the “boring” plains and prairies so long.  This couple actually though it was wonderful to get a full perspective of the great sea of grass and crops.  “I don’t think many of us from other countries can fathom the vastness of this country.  I went to bed looking at prairies and woke up still seeing them.  It was incredible!”   It’s great as an American to hear perspectives from foreigners who appreciate our country!

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Finally the train pulled away and started its upward journey toward the Front Range.  I knew what we were in for as I had watched trains many times with my grandmother as we made our way to her cabin near Pinecliffe, Colorado.  Colorado Highway 72 heads in the same direction as the tracks that Amtrak now follows (Union Pacific owned).  Because the trains must ascend a steep grade to actually get into the mountains, the tracks follow a series of switch backs.  I found myself giving a commentary to about 8-10 people near me pointing out the fact that our train would be “way up there” where we could see cuts in the mountains as they pushed out of the great plains. There are about four horseshoe switchbacks that help the trains make the grade.  Once the ascent is made, the train crosses the highway over a bridge and then enters the first of 28 tunnels that we went through prior to going through the 6.2 mile long Moffat Tunnel.

The train makes its way up the switchbacks west of Denver in order to get into the mountains. (Shooting good photos through train windows isn't always the easiest thing to do).  The last photo above shows the train crossing Colorado 72.  As kids we used to watch trains from here on our way to my grandmother's cabin.  Below, the observation car passes over the highway, showing where where we would be watching from. The buildings are an area road maintenance site.

Last of the highway for several miles.



After crossing the highway, we no longer see it until we reach the tiny town of Pinecliffe forty minutes later.  Instead, unveiled between the tunnels, we see some of the best scenery in Colorado.  The Front Range contains mountains that were pushed nearly straight up beginning about 300 million years ago by a uplift of sediment where horizontal rock layers now pointing to the sky.  They eventually settled, then about 30 million years ago rose again.  Streams eventually cut away the sediment and left the valley free of sediment and exposed much of the granite.  The Front Range mountains stretch from Casper, Wyoming to Pueblo, Colorado.

A last look at the Great Plains from the Front Range.

Eventually we see Gross Dam, which is the largest reservoir for the City of Denver.  Denver relies heavily on water coming out of the mountain snow packs and collected in a series of reservoirs. The Boulder and the South Boulder Rivers flow into Gross Reservoir.  Eventually we see the South Boulder River raging below.  This is the river that also flows by the property my grandmothers owned.

Gross Dam and Reservoir

When she built the cabin in 1952 along Highway 72, the river and tracks, the river was full of large boulders which the water bounced off as it made its way toward the Great Plains.  In order to speed water flow into the Gross Reservoir, the big boulders were bulldozed to the side and beloved spruce that hung over the river there eliminated.  The river looks nice today, but I know that at one time it was more beautiful.

Between tunnels we get excellent views of larger peaks such as Long’s Peak along the continental divide.    The heat and still high angle of the sun continues to melt anything at their more than average of 11,000 feet.

Long's Peak, along the Continental Divide

As we pass through the last of the 28 tunnels, we quickly make our way to tiny Pinecliffe.  It is one mile from the former Woodward property.  Pinecliffe consists of just a few houses and what used to be the local post office and general store. Both are closed now.

As a kid spending parts of my summer at my grandmother’s cabin, Pinecliffe meant a lot.  I mailed post cards home (still have one) there, and occasionally was allowed to purchase a soft drink or candy.   And, of course, once we crossed the tracks at Pinecliff…we had exactly one mile to go to the drive way of the cabin…seemingly sacred ground to the Woodward family!

The train crosses Colorado 72 and through tiny Pinecliffe

The train now makes it way now in the valley near the river. Besides the river and highway, there is a large stand of spruce and a couple homes between the train and a view of the cabin. I am able to only get a 3 second glance of the former cabin, which is now surrounded by large additions on each end.  It is now a permanent home, rather than a basic log cabin for a summer retreat.  They have kept the original log cabin exposed.  I was able to visit it a few years ago…which is another interesting, but long story!

Highway 72 breaks off straight west.  The tracks and the river stay side by side to the southwest toward East Portal of the Moffat Tunnel.  The 6.2 mile tunnel under the continental divide took five years to build and the first train traffic went through in 1928.   Railroad connections through the tunnel shortened the distance between Denver and the Pacific coast by 176 miles.  It also allowed some water from the western slope to go through a parallel water tunnel toward Denver.

I recall two different times walking from the road up to the East Portal and waiting to see a train either go in or come out of the tunnel.  Little did I know then as a youngster that I would be going through there as a retiree on a nationalized railway!

The engineer asks all to stay in their seats and not go between the cars, as it would let in diesel fumes and coal dust (there must be coal in this deep tunnel!) while we passed though.  It took several minutes.  Eventually daylight and the west side of the continental divide.

In this Amtrak furnished photo, the California Zephyr enters 6.2 mile long Moffat Tunnel.  Note the brilliant yellow Aspen leaves.  Unfortunately they weren't that great when we went through.

The train arrives at Fraser, Colorado, serving Winter Park and Granby…good ski areas.  You might hear of Fraser frequently, as it is often the coldest place in the continental U.S. many days a year. Cold air from the west settles against the high mountains and drops down on the town at night.

Train stop in Fraser, Colorado

The train route now continues west and follows first the Fraser River, then the Colorado River, which is formed from water coming out of Estes Park.  It, of course, is the famous river that helped form the Grand Canyon in Arizona.

This is the area where you see the beautiful Aspen trees.  The third week of September is often the best week to see them in their yellow splendor.  This year, they are about a week behind, as there has not been much cold weather yet.  It wasn't a total disappointment, but not one hopes for on this trip this time of year.

Bright yellow Aspen trees amongst the pine and spruce.  They sometimes are called "quaking Aspen" because when the wind lightly blows them, the leaves seem to "shimmer" or "quake" in the wind. 

We get good views of the widening river along the way, replete with rafters and fishermen.  The train follows the famous Glenwood Canyon, a narrow rock-walled passage containing just the river and the railway bed.  No highway.  Eventually the train makes its way to Glenwood Springs.

The train makes its way along the Colorado River.  Part of the way trains and Interstate 70 share the canyon.

Many years ago, wife Kathy, our then almost three-year-old daughter and I met my brother Dale and wife Jean who had traveled from the West Coast on Amtrak. We rented a condo in the next town up the Interstate, Avon, Colorado for about a week and enjoy sites and activities in the area including rafting the Colorado River.  It was a great time for our two families.

Years earlier, my grandmother and I spent a day and night there partaking of the huge mineral hot springs pool in the town center.  We had spent much of the day climbing the Hanging Lake trail (which I saw a sign for along the Glenwood Canyon stretch).  We were ready for the warming, healthful waters in Glenwood Springs after the hike!

Glenwood Springs station.

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The western slope, or western Colorado, does not contain the peaks and breathtaking scenery of the eastern slope or Front Range, although it has a beauty of its own.  After Glenwood Springs, we now see more mesas with occasional mountains in the background.  The land becomes more arid, thus fewer tree trees and less vegetation.  Part of the area contains huge amounts of tar sands, which one day may be a major source of our nation’s energy.

The terrain of western Colorado smooths out some compared to central Colorado.  Mesas and lower rolling mountains are the norm.

The early and long day has begun to catch up with me and I retire from a long day in the observation car, and the meeting of more interesting people, including three couples from North Caroline all celebrating summer anniversaries and making their way to Napa Valley for a week in Wine Country.

Most of Day 2 was spent in the observation car.

After a quick nap and stretching my legs out, I eventually made it to another great meal in the Dining Car with interesting people.

In the evening, as I worked on my computer, writing and other projects, I sought my iPhone charger cord to transfer some music from the computer to the phone and could not find the cord.  I spent the next two hours going through everything I owned, looking under seats and retracing steps on the train and asking various train employees if one had been turned in.  I never did find it.

Since you cannot lock your roomette, (you can pull the drapes and close the door), you do have to be somewhat careful about leaving valuable valuables.  (I am sure the cord was lying on the seat, but didn’t think anyone would take it.  However, after spending a lot of time trying to find a duplicate once I arrived, I see how someone might spot it and want it.  I could not find one exactly like it, but was able to buy an aftermarket one at the AT&T store in Bakersfield).

 

Because I lost all this time searching, I did get behind on my “diary.”  It was off to bed (the car attendant prepared the bed at 11 p.m.) for what hopefully would be a better night’s sleep.

Amtraking Through My Life – Day One

Trains were of a central interest and fascination to my family as I grew up.  Perhaps it was because of my grandfather George Harrison Woodward’s job as an engineer on what was called the Northwestern Railroad.  He grew up in Seward and Fremont Nebraska along the Northwestern tracks, and later in Omaha.

Every year, we would get a large Union Pacific calendar sent to our home from one of my folks’ friends who worked for UP in Omaha.  It had beautiful large photos of passenger trains in various scenic areas…with a few freight photos mixed in.  It graced our kitchen every year through all my growing up years.  Of course with my parents from Omaha originally, Union Pacific was a big part of their life, as Omaha grew up with the railroad.  That is where the transcontinental railroad started its westward construction.

We had an old Lionel train as children and my dad, Max V. Woodward started an HO gauge train set in our basement in Missouri, complete with tunnels, a town with street lights, houses, businesses, cars etc.  He even used a projector to project a mountain scene on the wall and had me paint the colors with water paints.

I recall my Dad taking the train from Chicago to Denver in September of 1952 to attend my aunt’s wedding in Denver.  Only he could go, but we did go north of our town (Villa Park) to see the train go by.  He was standing between cars and waved to us as we stood in front of our car.  I was only 6, but remember this as if it were yesterday.  The route we are taking today does not go straight west, but rather to the southwest, so the route isn’t the same to Denver, at least the first half.….

I rode the Union Pacific’s Portland Rose most summers back and forth from Kansas City to Denver to spend a few weeks with my grandmother Woodward and my aunt. I loved that day long, 600 mile trek.  We would reach speeds of over 90 mph out in western Kansas and eastern Colorado.  The telephone/telegraph poles along the rail line had mile markers on each of them, so I pretty much knew how far we’d gotten.  Each quarter mile was marked with a horizontal stripe…one for a quarter mile, two for half, three for three quarters, then the mile number.  My dad showed me how to watch my wrist watch and time it with the markers.  Easy math said if it took one minute to go a mile, we were going 60 mph.  Forty five seconds for a mile would be 90 mph.  Sometimes it was less than that.  I would sometimes stand between the cars as my dad had several years ago.  There were half doors open, so the heat of the western plains would be prominent and some breeze.  I loved every minute of it. 

One year my brother Dale (who was 6 ½ years older than me) and I went to my grandmother’s together.  She did state later “that’s the last time I’m taking you both together!)  But as he went on to college, I would go every year on my own. Of course I loved the stay in Colorado, but the train trip was equally exciting and fun.

Dale began his treks to Colorado as a youngster, leaving from Chicago right after school was out and sometimes not coming home until just before Labor Day, time enough to get ready for school.  I believe he was only eight when he made his first venture alone (my how things change).  But the conductors/attendants were responsible for children travelling alone those days.  My grandmother often told me of Dale’s first trip when there had been major flooding in central Nebraska that June and the train was delayed for more than a day.  I guess he was quite the trooper, but my grandmother was worried of course.  So, I will be following some of the same tracks he did more than a half century ago.

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This Amtrak adventure beginning on Sept. 20, 2011 is a fulfillment of something I have wanted to do for many years.  Although I have ridden Amtrak overnight from Rochester NY to South Bend, I have never taken a long journey in a sleeper “roomette. 

Since I retired recently, I am now able to do a few things I have wanted to do…this being one.  I am on my own as my wife is still fully employed and could not be away for this long.  I have her blessing (I think), as being cooped up on a train in tight quarters probably wouldn’t be her thing!

I go to Sacramento (change trains there) on the California Zephyr. It was a passenger train operated jointly by the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad (CB&Q),  Denver & Rio Grande Western (D&RGW) and Western Pacific (WP). The CB&Q, D&RGW and WP christened "The most talked about train in America" on March 19,1949 with the first departure to happen the following day. It was purposefully scheduled so that the train passed through the most spectacular scenery in the daylight.  The original CZ ceased operations in 1970.  Since 1983, the California Zephyr name has been applied to a Chicago-San Francisco Amtrak service, which operates daily and is a hybrid route between the route of the original CZ and the route of its former rival, the City of San Francisco. Another former rival was the San Francisco Chief.  During 2010, the California Zephyr carried a total of 377,876 passengers.  My grandmother Woodward often took it from Denver to the West Coast to see her sister and friends. 

Roomettes are, well, small and efficient at best.  Although the information on the website suggests it can be for two (the two seats make up one bed, the other pulls down from the side and ceiling) you’d have to be sort of small and not have much with you.  There is room for bags in the hall, so you can put one there…they are in the open, so don’t put anything of high value there.  Having an assortment of Zip-lock bags was useful, as there was no place to put my change, wallet, etc. at night. Larger towels are in the shower room.

 

 

The shower provided good hot water with good pressure.  The individual toilet rooms are in the same area, so you have to plan a little bit how to manage from the shower room to the sink area, what to brink from your roomette etc.  Much of the Amtrak experience is about planning your next step and efficiency!

This particular car has only one electrical outlet.  Remember, Amtrak started in 1971 before laptops, cell phones etc.  The newer cars apparently have two outlets, but there aren’t many newer cars!  Amtrak is trying to buy 45 new cars, but funding has been held up.  Many people are against subsidies for Amtrak.  There are many reasons passenger service went away in this country, one of which was strict union rules requiring jobs kept on trains that weren’t needed, taking away any efficiency that private industry could find.  Although I’m not big on government funding of things, I believe helping to underwrite passenger rail service is money well spent, providing transportation opportunities for America that is “green,” but also has a cost to it.  Perhaps it could be government owned and privately managed to help assure better efficiencies.  Let’s hope it gets bigger and better and not go away.

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I call this Amtraking Through My Life because I started my life in Chicago (first eight years).  This train starts in Chicago.  It goes through western Illinois.  My maternal grandmother was born there (Astoria, Ill.) and her relatives with history to Germany (Bader) settled there and started a small town called Bader, which is just a crossroads with several houses and the Bader cemetery which holds a few relatives. I, of course, lived in western Illinois as well (Moline) for 21 years before moving to Indiana.

The train goes through western Iowa, where my maternal grandfather Orlando Ewall and his brother Nils grew up.  His parents and brother were born in Sweden; there are variations of where “Orley” was born; my mother says it was on the ship coming from Sweden; a death certificate says he was born in Denison, Iowa (1868).  My mother was born in Council Bluffs, Iowa, where her father owned a grocery store.  Her brother Herb lived in Avoca, Iowa, for a number of years. (I drove through there earlier this summer, as I recalled that someone lived there…and checked some family history to verify it was him.)

The train stops in Omaha, Nebraska.  I’m basically the only immediate family member not from the Omaha area, although no relations live there anymore.  My folks moved from Omaha to Chicago in 1943 as my father left the Omaha Police Department to take a job as a safety investigator for Employers Mutual Insurance of Wausau. We would visit there periodically…it was a long day’s drive (500+ miles) from Chicago on two lane roads back in those days.

We travel through Denver where I spent summers with my grandmother Woodward and aunt.  My grandmother had a getaway cabin built 35 miles west of Denver.  The Amtrak passes by it.    More on Day 2.

And then on to California where I spent many Christmases and other times with my brother and his family.  I did a lot of business in California as well with both my days at John Deere and AM General.

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The train left Chicago exactly on time from Union Station.  The room car attendant gave his explanation of things as we were under way.

It didn’t take long to get out of town and into the close Chicago suburbs of Berwyn and Riverside, still neat clean communities. Then to the southwest through La Grange, Western Springs, Hinsdale, Naperville (first stop), Aurora etc.   The town centers look similar…all with neatly lined shops and businesses and “cute” little train stations, some active, some not.  I believe the local commuter trains (Metra as well as freight trains) use these tracks as well.  Beware…trains often don’t go through the center of cities, but the low rent districts or behind factories and other places where junk is stored.

Amtrak across most of America uses tracks that are owned by the freight lines, so there are occasional stops to let freight trains pass, although we’re on double tracks right now, so, not sure why we have had to stop twice for them.

Southwest of Chicago we hit the “real” central and western Illinois…flatlands with occasional rolling hills filled with corn stalks as far as the eye can see, interspersed with occasional soybean fields.

As far as I can tell, I have had no relatives on either side involved in agriculture of any sorts.  Even some of the histories I can find mostly on my mother’s side point to carpenters, teachers or other professions, although there is the Bader farm, but I believe that farming was more for their own sustenance.

More digging into family history will be required to find what the Ewall Swedes did in western Iowa, but I don’t recall farming ever mentioned.  My grandfather owned a grocery store, and then later worked as a salesman for a paper company.

The train made a quick stop at Princeton, Illinois, known for its antique stores.  The conductor just announced that the next stop at Galesburg, Illinois, would be a smoke break stop.  Times have changed from when I rode Portland Rose.  Then they had smoking and non-smoking cars.  I recall walking through the smoking cars to the dining car and seeing the clouds of smoke down the aisle. An old caboose sat in the small park by the train station with “Burlington Northern” written on it.  The Burlington was another great railroad that catered to passenger traffic when it was popular, but now of course is relegated to freight only.

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As a sign of the times, power-generating wind turbines can be seen in the distance.  One thing the prairies of Illinois can offer is wind.  Some consider it visual pollution, but there is something intriguing about them.  Hopefully one day they will be able to pay for themselves.

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Galesburg, Illinois, is about 45 miles south of the Quad Cities, which has no Amtrak service.  Moline, part of the Quad Cities is where I settled in 1974, taking a job at the international headquarters of Deere & Co (John Deere).  It is where I met my wife, and started our family.  We lived there until 1995 when we moved to near South Bend, Indiana (Granger).

My brother and his wife Jean came to visit us once at Thanksgiving, taking the Amtrak train from California.  We picked them up in Galesburg and returned them there several days later.  It was the warmest Thanksgiving in western Illinois that I remember.  We took a great hike through Blackhawk State Park in Rock Island.  They must have brought the warm weather with them.

As we pull out of Galesburg station, where I was able to step outside for a few minutes and enjoy the warm fall temperatures, I can see the tracks going to the southwest, where the Super Chief that I will be on comes from Los Angeles through Kansas City and on up.  The tracks we are now on will take us straight west across southern Iowa and on to Sacramento where I change trains to Bakersfield.

Amtrak promotes crossing the Mississippi River as a scenic interest.  I guess if you didn’t live a mile from it for nearly a quarter century, you would probably think it spectacular.  The Zephyr crosses the Mississippi and enters Burlington, Iowa, a river town of 25,000+.  The river is exceptional with its great width at this point…and of course it gets wider further south.  The Burlington station had an old steam engine and coal car in their railroad park, with a “Burlington Route” decal on it.  Burlington is the home of the original Chicago, Burlington, and Quincy Railroad, which became Burlington Northern and is now BNSF (Burlington Northern Santa Fe) Railroad.  Amtrak runs along their routes in this part of the country, one of their main ones being the bridge we just crossed the Mississippi on. (They are building a new one next to it.)

Mississippi River at Burlington, Iowa

Construction on a new railroad  bridge across the Mississippi

A BNSF engine ready to haul a load of freight.

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Dining Car Experience:  With a Roomette you do get three meals per day paid for. The dining car manager comes around and takes the time you desire to eat for dinner…so not everyone goes at once.  They seat you with other passengers.  I was delighted to be with three British ladies who were travelling with a large group of other Brits all over the U.S.  They were lots of fun to talk to.  Since I lived in England two years and have been back twice, I always like it when I meet British who are tourists over here.  In the observation car I also met a British couple not with the larger group plus men from Switzerland and Holland.  Taking the California Zephyr across half the country apparently is popular with many Europeans.

 Lots of fun with three British ladies from a group touring the U.S.

At the first breakfast I met a nice couple from San Francisco who were originally from Atlanta.  Lunch brought a couple from southern Colorado and a gentleman from Denver, all with interesting conversation to share. 

Meeting and talking to others is definitely part of the Amtrak cross country experience, unless you work hard to be a hermit.

The food on Amtrak is very good, with several tasty choices.  I had trout, mashed potatoes and a vegetable medley plus a salad.  They offer “Newman’s Own” salad dressings.  There are several deserts to choose from as well, none of them oversized, but just right, including a few choices of Hagan Daz ice cream.  Breakfast and lunch have several varied items as well; I had French toast and bacon for breakfast and a nice chicken and macaroni dish for lunch. Service is efficient and polite.

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As mentioned, Amtrak shares track with freight lines.  Unfortunately the freight trains have priority.  This train stopped several times out in the middle of nowhere for no apparent reason.  Although we were on double tracks much of the way and didn't have to pull off on sidings to let oncoming trains by, apparently we would get behind slow freights that may have been to turn off to spurs to pick up more cars or let them off.   I was told by one traveler that the Super Chief from Los Angeles to Chicago doesn’t have nearly the delays as there are not near as many coal cars on that route.  Much of the US coal is mined in Montana, Wyoming and Colorado and winds up coming across this central artery. 

Because of the delays, I did not make stay up long enough to see Omaha (in the dark).  However, after the sleeper car attendant set up the bed, I did periodically look out the window and did see that we were at the Omaha station.

Omaha, as mentioned was the center of the universe for our family for many years, although I was not from there.  Most all my relatives on both sides were.  Many of the family photos I spent hours sorting prior to this trip for my nephews to review were Omaha based. 

 I barely recall a trip with my mother from Chicago to Omaha…and only really remember being on the platform in Omaha going back to Chicago.  It is the only recollection I have with my great uncle (my grandmother’s brother, Ray Cook), who gave me two Hershey bars to take on the train.  Ummmm.  Candy!  A good memory to have.

I was aware of our stop in Lincoln, Nebraska’s state capitol.  It holds somewhat of a place in my life as well, as my dad attended the University of Nebraska for one year.  I never heard why he did not continue, but my assumption is lack of funds in the late 1920s.  Another fond memory of Lincoln was attending a Nebraska-Missouri game with my folks while I was still in high school.  Tailgating was not a fad at that time; however some businesses hosted after game parties, opening their doors to fans for food, drink and merriment (if Nebraska won). 

A close family friend, Norm Prucka (wife Imogene) ran a business called Carpenter Paper Company, with offices in Lincoln and Omaha.  They were a major paper supplier to the region.  I am not of the friendship closeness, but it was there.  Norm knew I like to draw houses and cars as a youngster and took me into a large room with all kinds of paper and said “you can any and as much as you want.  Your dad and I didn’t have much growing up, so you can have as much as you want.”  Well, I knew this was not my dad’s or mom’s philosophy and was somewhat taken back by the remark.  I knew if I took an excessive amount of drawing paper, I’d hear about it later.  So I selected a few things I thought I might use and left it at that.  I’ve often thought about that…poorer folks from one generation lavishing children of another.  It may be the reason many people talk about the excesses of the Baby Boom Generation.  So much for memories of Lincoln while laying inside an Amtrak roomette.

I really don’t know why I thought I would sleep comfortably on the train.  The bedding was long enough for a six-foot-one male and was adequately comfortable, but I’m not used to my bed rolling and shaking while I’m trying to sleep.  I believe if the train maintained one speed for longer periods of time and not slowed up, stopped and started, I might have had a more restful night.  I did catch about one solid hour near daybreak and decided to be grateful that I could stretch out comfortably and at least rest, if not sleep.

About that train whistle/horn! I love to hear the train warning horns in the distance at night, three miles from our home.  Often when I hear a train horn sound, I think of my dad and brother who showed such fondness for trains and passed it along to me.  However, we hear them only a few times during the night, not at every road crossing.  It isn’t loud from inside the train and my car is relatively near the rear of the train.  I can’t say that it is bothersome…the rocking and shaking over track that needs repair was the main issue.

Visit to The Morton Arboretum

On a pleasant Tuesday (August 30), I decided to use the Groupon coupon that Kathy bought me for the Morton Arboretum, west of Chicago (Lisle, Ill.)  We used to pass by there all the time driving into Chicago from Moline and I often said I wanted to visit.  So in keeping with my tree theme for he summer (see earlier visit to the Arbor Day Farm in Nebraska), I thought this would be a great day trip. 

The Arboretum was established in 1922 by Joy Morton, founder of the Morton Salt Co.  He is the son of Julius Sterling Morton who started Arbor Day, and whose estate the Arbor Day Farm surrounds in Nebraska.  The arboretum states that its goal is to encourage the planting and conservation of trees and other plants for a greener, healthier, and more beautiful world.  They apparently do a lot of research here, keeping track of growth rates etc. of the more than 4,100 different species of trees, shrubs and plants grown there.

The Library houses an extensive collection of books, magazines, prints, drawings etc. about trees.  I did not have time to go inside...something that would be good to do in the winter.

The 1,700 acres is divided more or less by Ill. highway 53.  You enter on the east side where you pay. To reach the west side, you drive under the highway.

I started at the visitor's center ( a modern, interesting structure built in 2004).  I took a leisurely walk on some trails close to the center.  They have an extensive 4-acre interactive children's garden, a large section just with hedges and a short walk with a large variety of ground covers, all near the visitor's center.

Hedge area

After about an hour of walking and viewing, I took to the car and drove much of he rest of the park.  Winding, easy-to-drive one way roads guide you through the arboretum.  There are many interesting signs along the way.  I was very surprised that most of the east side of the east half of the arboretum is natural woodlands.  They have some restoration and protection projects going on to keep out invasive plants and to allow the forest to thrive.  Studies of natural ecosystems are done there.

There are several trails to walk, many of them "loops" from handy parking areas along the way.  I did one of these at the Big Rock visitor's station.  It was a good walk, however, I really got bit up by mosquitoes, which was a little surprising during the middle of the day.

There are many sections to the arboretum feature different types of trees from various parts of the world as well.  Signs mark this out well.  The map they give you is excellent for driving or walking.  You may bring your bike or rent bikes there.  This is not a totally flat acreage, so you'll get good exercise if you bike through the park.

Locals can join for a yearlong membership, which would be great to have to see this area different times of the year.  It is basically open year round.  If you live within a few hours drive, it's definitely worth the trip in.  Or if you are in Chicago for several days, make sure this is on your "must see list."  You can find out more at mortonarb.org.

Yes you are, and so was The Morton Arboretum