May 29 2010
Gå Med Tog
This Summer has taken some interesting twists. I left my job after 12 years and haphazardly planned an unsuccessful bike tour, returned back to Boulder while barely getting out of Denver. Now on a train to Portland Oregon via California. I suppose this whole will be a lesson to me to plan things out with better research and deployment strategies.
This summer should prove to be a fun one though. 2.5 days on a train running through the country side of the western U.S. A journey I have indeed done a few times before.
Armed with a digital camera for instant gratification, I figure this will be a good photographic journey. Working in the slow pace while on the train, this trip will afford me reading time, writing time and hopefully some digital image editing time as well.
Day one went very well, up at 4:30 after going down at 1:00 am and getting dressed and walked out the door to the bus stop on 63rd street at 5:00 am. I made it down to Denver, checked in at Union Station in Denver and grabbed a cup of coffee at Common Grounds and wandered around for a little while. My trip has begun.
I’ve been traveling by train for years. There is so much time to get some work done. Whether reading or getting your work out of the way. Train trips can be difficult for some people, the time just sitting around not doing much, especially if you are going solo can be difficult. I however love the time alone.
The trip was comfortable most of the time, the views were great and there was a power outlet at my seat. Most of the station stops on the California Zephyr are pretty forgetable. Visiting the train station at Grand Junction was a little depressing at best. There was a small shop there they sold antiques and souvenirs to unsuspecting train travelers. The old railroad building was no longer being used by Amtrak, but instead was up for sale and I could not see who would purchase such a building. Doubtful any real modifications could or should be done on an historic building like this one.
The scenery while traving across the Sierra Mountains was really nice. The forests are beautiful, the country roads along the side of the tracks are seem out of way. The truth is, civilization is probably closer than it seems. I had forgotten how expensive the train is, $4.50 for a bag of chips and an orange juice is just out of hand. As you could imagine, I don’t eat often. Not that you should eat often when traveling as a passenger on a train.
The train has picked up some passengers, when I started this journey from Denver there were only a few people in this car, now it seems as if this car is just about full. I like the observation car, but it is just too busy and noisy. Other than that, it is perfect.
We land in Sacramento, a nice town, beautiful state buildings and the people were pretty nice. I stopped at the River City Brewery and at first I was a little skeptical, but the bartender was of great service and the beer was very drinkable. The fish and chips were a little odd, if only because skinny french fries don’t classify as “chips”. The fish itself was good, but not cod. I prefer cod of course. The fish was “crispy -breaded” which I really enjoy. I believe the fish itself was a halibat-esque fish.
I spent the rest of the day wandering around town. I went to Old Sacramento and stepped into a tobacco shop and it seemed OK. I bought a Rocky Patel Sun-grown. It was a small corona size. The selection at this store was pathetic, and overpriced. When I lit my Rocky it was bone dry and I was more than a little bummed ’cause I paid $10 for it. I smoked half of it and went and found another shop downtown and picked up an Arturo Fuente a robusto size. A nice smoke and a good price. I had a great conversation with the owner of that shop (Rodney’s Cigars and Liquor on J street) and expressed my absolute dissatisfaction with the place in Old Sac and he said that it is common knowledge in town that you were not going to get a great cigar at that place. Sad really, because good cigars should be treated with more love.
Now midnight and the train to Portland was late. It rolled in a 12:45 am and the Coast Starlight was pretty packed. I was seated next to, let’s call him “an active sleeper”. This guy managed to kick the double chairs that we were sitting in loose from the bracket that held it in place sometime during the night. Our seats were now rocking chairs. The last time that he kicked me was at about 6 am so I figured it was a good time to get up and go was my face and brush my teeth. I returned back to my seat and noticed that I barely had a seat left to sit in. My neighbor could just not stay still. This is the point where I packed my bags and went to the observation car.
I spent the last day of that trip in the observation car. It was pretty good, I met several really great people while sitting in the same seat from 6:30 am to 3:45 pm. I made it to Portland completely exhausted.
