Train across America

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We boarded the train in Sacramento and found our sleeper compartment quickly. The train was enroute to Chicago and we were travelling the entire distance. We settled in quickly, dropped our gear, met our carriage attendant and headed for the dining carriage to have lunch. The great thing about travelling in the sleeper compartment is that Amtrak calls this first class, despite the size of the compartment, food is included, three meals a day, cooked and served at tables. For every meal we are seated with someone new, so we get to meet our fellow travellers. Everyone has a story to tell, and everyone has a different reason for taking the train and not flying. It's two full days to Chicago, a lot slower than flying. Our first dining companions were from Kentucky, and the woman chose to take the train because she dislikes flying - the line ups, the security, the questions, the tight squeeze and the stress. Train travel is none of these. The compartment is small, but still larger than a airplane seat and you can lay down flat to sleep night or day.

We passed through the Sierra Nevada mountains that first afternoon, and through the Donner Pass just after lunch. Two volunteers announced what we were looking at as we passed, and they described the history of the first railway across America. We were taking the same route as that first railway forged 140 years ago. As the train rolled on through the mountain pass I read, and Kris my friend slept. At dinner we sat with another pair of people, a father and son from Chicago out west on vacation. Let's call the Dad "Monologue" because all that happened at dinner was that he talked about Chicago, what to see and do. Interesting for a short while, but boring for an entire meal. He never asked about us. We were travelling over the high plains of Nevada at sunset during this dinner. Soon it was time for sleep. We slept through most of Utah. We did get up and step off the train in Salt Lake City during the middle of the night for a bit of fresh air. Both of us were awake anyway. Sleeping on the train is quite good, but never as comfortable as your own bed.

The next morning and into the afternoon we rolled slowly uphill through the Glenwood Canyon alongside the Colorado River through the Rocky Mountains. We ate lunch as we passed through the resort town of Glenwood Springs. People were white water rafting alongside us and waving at the train. The canyon walls are steep and dotted with trees. In the later afternoon we went through the Moffat Tunnel, 10 minutes and 6 miles long. This is the continental divide. It was all downhill from there. We descended to Denver, still one mile high, during the dinner hour. This meal was the worst, baked half chicken. Amtrak may not be gourmet, but it had been quite good until now. The carrot cake dessert didn't save the meal, nor did our new company. We got to Denver. We were stopped for about 1/2 hour, so I quickly raced off and sent a couple of post-cards.

Night time was Nebraska. Morning and into the afternoon was Iowa. Flooded fields as far as we could see in all directions. This slowed our train to a crawl because the water lapped up to the rails, so a speed limit was imposed. We still made all our stops, but we got later and later as the day wore on. We stopped in Ottumwa, Iowa. The fictional character Radar O'Reilly came from there. Iowa was not as flat as I expected. Soft rolling hills with plenty of trees. Plenty of corn and soy also. We left Iowa and entered Illinois by crossing the mighty Mississippi River. The river is expansive and impressive, muddy with lots of traffic. We kept on rolling through rural Illinois, flatter than Iowa but still with corn and soy fields alternating. The main Interstate 80 Highway was some distance to the north, the train we were on passed through small towns with no development in between, just fields and farm houses. The air was thick and muggy, clouds covered the sky.

We finally reached Chicago 3 hours late, 54 hours after we left Sacramento. It was a great trip, and we got to travel over some real boundaries: mountains, rivers, and the expansive land. The next leg of the trip to Washington DC completes the cross country train travel.

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