The California Zephyr

(Sorry! This is a catch-up entry…)

On Tuesday, April 26, I hugged the Ken Thomases good-bye, rode the train from Joliet to Chicago and boarded the California Zephyr to California. We had lunch in Joliet while waiting for the train and I was struck by the gritty, deserted feeling of this county seat. Granted, the day was drizzly, but unlike thriving cities, there was no undercurrent of life, just a few people and the occasional bar/lounge. We had to drive for several blocks before finding a hole-in-the-wall pizza place for lunch. It must be busy at other times because the food was pretty good and the options were slim, but not today. The county jail and a beautiful old theatre that offers plays and music concerts appear to be the highlights of Joliet.

Our roomette (Dalen joined me in Green River, UT) on the California Zephyr was on the lower level, which offers a more limited view, but otherwise the experience on this train was similar to the Capitol Limited from DC to Chicago. Plus we discovered the viewing lounge on the top level of the café car that provides a more comfortable place to enjoy the trip, whether viewing or reading or chatting with other travelers. As to other travelers, we’ve met an interesting array over a shared meal in the dining car: a couple from New York who are on the first leg of their around the world trip to include Vietnam, Cairo and South Africa; a man from St. Louis on a solo journey to the northern California area; a man from Chicago on his way to pick up a 30 year old sports car he purchased on eBay; and a young IT tech from London who’s enjoying the extra holiday time given to all Brits for the Royal Wedding.  We also heard of some drama unfolding late Wednesday night when a battered woman rushed into the lounge car and the other passengers stood between her and her abusive husband. Apparently, eight Salt Lake City policemen subsequently removed her husband from the train.

Between Chicago and Denver, the limited view from our roomette didn’t really matter. The plains of Iowa and Nebraska look pretty much the same: miles and miles of open spaces dotted with the occasional farmhouse, corn silo, and cattle feedlot. Some of the corn silos were gi-normous! They and the feedlots were sober reminders of the food atrocities described in Michael Pollan’s Omnivore’s Dilemma. That said, since most of the views prior to Denver were so redundant I picked up my book and while reading I totally missed the Mississippi River – dang! As we approached Denver, the peaks of the Rocky Mountains were visible in the distance and the views – on all levels – began to improve.

The Colorado Rockies

Winding along the river

Crossing the Colorado Rockies by train is like hiking up a scenic trail on a tall mountain with amazing views – without having to, well, hike!  After leaving Denver, the trip starts out with gentle pastoral views and meandering streams that seem to have been directed to bring water to every ranch along the way. Then hills begin to form and the climb gets steeper and colder and more starkly beautiful. Towering rock cliffs covered with spruce trees and snow close in on rushing rivers and then open to acres of farmlands protected by the snow-capped mountains. Then the cliffs close in again and the descent begins. The snow gradually disappears along with the spruce trees and the hills get smaller and it’s obviously spring again.

Dalen in the Viewliner

As I mentioned, Dalen joined me on the train in Green River, much to the consternation of the conductor, who had trouble grasping that someone whose ticket was from Chicago would be getting on the train a day later. Since we were in a sleeping car, this meant the train had to do a “double stop” at the very small station in Green River – once to pick up the coach class riders and once again to let Dalen board the sleeping car.  Thankfully, with the support of Steve, our car attendant, the conductor finally agreed he could do that for someone who was not on his list!  Dalen’s unorthodox arrival brought us a bit of celebrity among the staff, who now recognized us and remembered our names and destination, especially Steve.

Dalen’s presence in the roomette gave me the opportunity to sleep on the upper berth. This berth, when lowered for sleeping, is about 5½ feet from the floor, 6 or 7 feet long, no more than 30 inches wide and about 20 inches from the ceiling of the roomette. There are two 8 to 10 inch wide carpeted steps built into the wall of the roomette that double as an end table for the lower berth and offer a lift to within 3 feet of the berth. Since I am a relatively small American with a decent amount of agility for my age, I accomplished the task without too much trouble. However, I am impressed that people who are older and much larger than I are able to accomplish the same task – and choose to do so!

Western view of Sierra Nevada Mountains

Thursday morning we traveled the second beautiful part of the route, which carried us through the Sierra Nevada Mountains past Tahoe. The sun was bright and the snow-covered mountains were breath taking. An added treat to this segment was a guided tour done by volunteers of the California State Railroad Museum. Not only did they describe the sights along the way, we got a taste the history of the route that included interesting tidbits like the name “Zephyr” was chosen to make that line of trains the “last word” in train travel! This was also the track where the golden spike was driven completing the first transcontinental railway. Pretty darn cool!

We got to Sacramento on time and checked in with my sister, Judy, as to where she and her “was-band” Al were in their trip down from Seattle. Unexpectedly, they were about 30 minutes from Sacramento, so they swung by and picked us up, saving us from having to wait until 4:55 for the train to Merced, CA, and giving us that much more time to spend with them. Good-bye to train travel for a couple of weeks!