Rockin' & (Slow) Rollin'

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We left San Francisco on Saturday, April 28, heading East to Denver on our 3rd leg of the train trip on the California Zepyhr, which travels over 2400 miles from CA to Chicago (we would make a stop about 1/2 way in Denver). Little did we know what was in store regarding schedules for these last two stretches on the train. But we learned the importance of remaining calm and were grateful we did not have connections to make at the other end. Apparently this train is notoriously late. Despite our on-time departure from Emeryville, CA we frequently had to yield to the freight traffic and then encountered a disabled freight train in eastern California which put us as much as 8 hours behind schedule at one point. The engineers were able to make up some of the time, but we arrived in Denver at 2 a.m., 7 hours late.

Fortunately, friends Jane and Ken Fox still let us stay with them despite the late arrival, and we had a terrific next four days in and around Denver. Our stay included a visit to the Colorado Historical Museum, the new wing at the Denver Art Museum, Estes Park in Rocky Mountain National Park, the Univ. of Colorado at Boulder and the Botanical Gardens. The mile high city was abloom with tulips, lilacs, and pansies, and the fragrance of spring permeated the air.

We monitored the Amtrak schedule on Thursday, and sure enough our departure that evening was off by 3 hours. We never quite made up lost time on that last leg, arriving in Chicago around 7 p.m. instead of 3:30. Again, we were grateful we did not have any connections to make. The California Zephyr is a wonderful way to see the U.S., and the delays for us simply added more time to enjoy fascinating different parts of the countryside and to relax, read, play cribbage, etc.

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Photos

Amtrak Train #6
The California Zephyr pauses in Sacramento

Morton Salt
headquarters next to the Great Salt Lake

Near Provo Utah
A section of Utah we normally would not have seen if the train had been on schedule

A Reminder
that the tracks are owned by Union Pacific

The Last Stretch
of Utah where the train runs along the Colorado River for 200+ miles

Mighty Colorado
in Glenwood Canyon

DAM Angles
The new wing at the Denver Art Museum designed by Daniel Libeskind - complex geometry at its finest

Outside Sculpture
at the Denver Art Museum

Denver's Botanical Garden
just beginning to show color after a harsh winter

Cowboy Mural
in Denver near Union Station

Iron Horse Legacy
mural depicting the Nebraska Landscape, Lincoln, NE