more thoughts

I've been home a few weeks, giving me time to reflect on our journey.  Most of the trip was amazing, exceeding expectations which were quite high.

I truly like traveling by train and look forward to the next trip.  the actual train riding was probably my favorite part, although the stops were terrific.

the first name of this blog is "Ranting"  so since i'm not actually railing, i'll have to do more ranting.  stay tuned

first few days home

the first few days home have been uneventful with a few folks stopping by the house.  we're still sorting the photos, but are almost done.  For some reason, Than and I keep interrupting each other.  imagine that.  i ask Than, "Where next?"  and he gets anxious

there are things we'd do differently, for sure.  But what a great experience.  i'd highly recommend train travel to anyone physically capable of the rocking, rolling and lurching.  it is actually easy if your hand are free.  and it's the journey, not only the destination.  watching the world go by your window is just incredible.  one can be as isolated or as involved as one chooses.

Home Sweet Home

Our trip home was long yet rather interesting.  

• it started 5 AM on Saturday (10/11/14) morning in Seattle.  The shuttle bus to the Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta picked us up at the hotel and took us a 30-40 minute ride to the Fiesta grounds.  the balloons were fantastic.  a few of the activities/balloon launches during the week were cancelled due to weather.  So the Saturday morning launch was the only choice we had. and what a lucky choice.  

Over 500 balloons took part in a "Mass Ascension" at sunrise on Saturday. people and balloons were all over the place, there are no boundaries except for common sense things like to duck when a balloon basket is going over your head.

The balloons were magnificent.  we watched wave after wave after wave, etc.  of balloons launch in overwhelming colors, shapes and sizes.  From a cow 30 feet tall, to giant whales to a stagecoach.  Just beautiful.  

We were there about 3 hours and then back to the hotel.  as luck has it, there was a growers market in the park across the street so i walked around gawking and petting all the dogs.  i really missed Duckduck by then.  Very friendly town, and beautiful too.

About noon, we climbed on the train and travel through absolutely beautiful countryside.  we had our last glimpse of the Rockies as we left New Mexico and watched the sun set.  i really understand why New Mexico is called the land of enchantment.

it's a surprise when you wake up in the morning, or when daylight comes if you sleep lousy, and the scenery out your window is absolutely different. Eventually, we arrived in Chicago, early actually.  after a few hours lay over there where we spent at a bar drinking Blue Moon and then a most interesting, diverse waiting room.

The trips from Chicago to Pittsburgh was over 4 hours late and we missed the train to Harrisburg.  Amtrak supplied a bus for the group, about 35 for a 4 hour trip to Harrisburg.

Richard was a sight for sore eyes as he stood on the bus station waiting for us on Monday afternoon about 4 PM and Duckduck was in my arms by 5 PM.  it was so nice to sleep in my own bed--- Home sweet home 

Keep watching as i'll keep this blog going for a bit.  i have a million observations as well as pictures.  oh yes, Than has a few observations, too.

What Happened next..

Oh that Google, in trying to protect me, it wouldn't allow access to my account because it was "suspicious"

i've got part of it solved, and working on the rest of the stuff.  

really, much more to come....

Homeward Bound

We are staying our last night in a hotel.  it has been interesting looking back at the various places we slept for the past 3 weeks. 

Other than Selena and Ed's place, my favorite is still The Dancing Bear Inn in East Glacier in Montana.  it was a cute place, nice rooms with hugh towels and a really personal touch.  not to mention it was a block from the train station, but then most motels in that town were a block from the station.  it's a really small town.

we did stay at a Comfort Inn near Yellowstone for 4 nights, Maswik Lodge at the Grand Canyon and a funky "travelers inn and Hostel" in Flagstaff for 1 night each, and 2 nights at The Blue Hotel in Albuquerque or ABQ as it is  commonly referred.  we also slept on the train for a total of 6 nights and 2 more nights on the trip home.  It will be nice to sleep in our own bed Monday night.

The train ride between Flagstaff and ABQ was quite interesting as we  saw some amazing land formations as well as great cloud formations.  Some areas were so flat, and other times the cliffs and mountains went on for quite awhile.  just amazing.

albuquerque is a cool city.  it has some very neat modern construction and lots of adobe style older neighborhoods.  we spent some time in Old Town which was originally a Spanish village with many, many adobe building, an old church, a thousand gift shops and restaurants and a nice gazebo in a park that had constant musical/dancing entertainment. 

We haven't been to the Balloon Fiesta yet, but will tomorrow morning, Saturday, before we leave.  the weather here hasn't been too cooperative so Thursday nights events were cancelled, and it doesn't look too good for tonite.  From our hotel balcony this morning, we did actually see a few balloons that did venture up, but they were really, really small. Saturday morning there will be a mass ascension at dawn and the weather looks like it will cooperate.  if not, we're leaving.  oh yeah, we're leaving anyway.  Homeward bound.  

Wednesday, again

Time really flies!

We spent the past 2 days at the Grand Canyon.  OMG.  it is absolutely incredible.  Words can't do it justice, and i doubt if the 3569 pictures we took will do much better. Oh, but i'll try.

the park is set up to handle the millions of folks who visit so it makes it great for this time of year.  There are still lots of visitors, but a lot less than mid-summer.  the shuttle system took us along the South Rim with it's many overlooks and paths.  if one is into hiking, there are probably hundreds of trails ranging from easy to "you must be crazy to even try that one".  there are also a few museums, art galleries and many ranger led programs.  we went to an interesting one about the vegetation and trees of the park. 

And this is only the South Rim.  The only disappointment is that we really couldn't see the almost full moon over the Canyon, too cloudy.

The trip here ended up better than i expected.  we did get to Barstow with about 5 hours to kill before the next train.  The temp was well in the 90's, making it too uncomfortable to walk around much.  We did get to see a nice sunset and moon rise over a parking lot in Barstow.  Route 66 goes through it, as well as Flagstaff.

we arrived in Flagstaff about 4 AM to wait for a 7 AM shuttle to the Grand Canyon.  Than had a really interesting conversation with a guy who will be getting $3.6 Billion, yes Billion, from the city of New Orleans.  Long story.  i kept reading so i didn't have to get involved.

Tomorrow, Thursday, at 4 AM we get on the train and head for Albuquerque for 2 days and then homeward bound.  What a journey!

Monday Morning

Can you believe that we're on the final leg of our adventure already?  my how time flies, especially when one is enjoying the journey as much as I am.

we spent the weekend with our California family, minus Gary.  the temperature is in the 90's daily.  the comfort and rest of the weekend gets us ready for this portion.

we start out with a 2-3 hour train ride, a 2 hour bus ride and then wait at the station in Barstow, the heart of the Mohave Desert, for about 5-6 hours.  we then get on that train until about 4 am, wait for a shuttle in Flaggstaff until 8 am and arrive at the Grand Caynon by 11 AM.  good thing we had a nice rest here.

Sunday Morning in Fresno

Than and I are now in Fresno, sitting under an arbor with "the family"  Selena, Ed and Grace and Maya and AJ.  The weather is great at about 66 degree now with probably 97 degree by this afternoon.  But it's a dry heat.

The trip here was more involved than usual.  We left Seattle about 11:30 AM Friday and traveled through Washington and Oregon arriving in Sacramento about 7 AM Saturday. There we were packed onto a bus for an hour ride to Stockton, and then a train to Fresno.  

The train ride from Seattle included a guy traveling to Sacramento who was rather loud, obnoxious and eventually drunk.  After repeated warnings, he was forcibly removed from the train, into the arms of waiting local police.  

the train ride from Stockton to Fresno was really crowded and we shared a four person table (with seats, of course) with two interesting guys--one a race horse trainer and the other a recently retired guy going to visit his daughter in Los Angeles.  fun conversations.   

Saturday evening we went to a Beer Garden--literally.  Near Selena's is a nursery, think plants not babies, where they have a beer stand, live music and many truck food vendors in the evening.  the area is only accessible by one entrance, so the kids can pretty much run free and interact the the many other kids while the adults sit around and drink beer and eat ice cream--one of my favorite combinations.  it's nice to sit back and relax for a few days before we hit the rails again.  

Friday Morning

We are packing up for the next part of our adventure and it seems as if our clothes have increased in both size and number, even though nothing has been added!  Just when Than zipped up his case, he found a few more items in the closet.  Time to repack.

yesterday, Thursday was a fun day.  we went to the Seattle Center, where the Space Needle is located and enjoyed the day at the Pacific Science Center, the EMP Museum, the many street musicians, gardens and general activity of the area.  

we at lunch at a really cool restaurant called Collections.  all the tables had a display area in the center with glass over it and various collections in the center.  our table had clocks.  There were close to 100 accordions hanging from the ceiling and walls of vintage carnival statues.  the food was excellent and very much what one would expect in an upscale Seattle restaurant complete with starched linen napkins and good looking waitstaff.

today, we head to Fresno to see our California Family.  travel time is about 26 hours including about 2 hours on a bus to a connecting train.  the adventure continues.

Seattle

Today is Wednesday, so we must be in Seattle!

We left Yellowstone on Tuesday morning bright and early for the return drive to East Glacier. As soon as we were out of town, we noticed that it snowed on some of the mountains tops.  We ended up putting 1600 miles on our rental car in the 6 days we had it.  Lucky for me, Than did a majority of the driving.  

the train to Seattle was about 2 hours late picking us up.  Since it was about 10 pm, we didn't get to see much of the scenery crossing the Rockies. i woke a few times because my ears were popping.  it was strange to wake up this morning and finding the landscape so changed-from the glaciers in the mountains to rolling, grass covered hills. 

 Eventually, the scenery again changed when we were crossing the Cascades.  That also included a few tunnels, one of them 7 miles long.  not much to see there.

it is really enjoyable watching the world go by, and all the different sorts of land formations.  the tracks leading into Seattle ran parallel to the Puget Sound, not to mentions many rivers, ranches and other interesting land formations.  i will have to read up on some of these odd land formations.  there's nothing like this in Pennsylvania.

we arrived here weary, so ended up only going to the Pike Place Market and then dinner at a downtown restaurant serving Vietnamese food.  Very good.   tomorrow we plan to paint the town red, or maybe just see some of the sights.  Friday morning we're back on the train, headed to Fresno.

Marvelous Monday

Today started out rather foggy, but not raining.  the fog was so thick early that when we drove into the park, it looked liked the mountains we know are there, were elsewhere.   But it cleared to sunshine for parts of the day and what a day!!

we headed to Mammoth Springs, an area that is so utterly different and beautiful, words (at least my available words) can't describe it.  because of road closures, our trip there was about 90 miles and going through areas of Yellowstone we hadn't seen yet was incredible. Along the way, we saw the usual buffalo, and much more animal life.

For all my excitement of seeing a lone elk yesterday, it really overflowed today.  we saw at least 35 elk in 4 different herds.  one herd caused a road block as the large bull and his harem crossed the road.  in the midst of that, Than was sitting in the car watching the action when the bull crossed back on the road and Than was told by the Park Ranger to put his feet in the car and close the door.  The Elk are in rut and unpredictable and have attacked over 20 cars and campers this season.  to actually camp in that area, you can only use hard sided campers.

we also saw a small herd of prong horn deer, maybe 8-10 mixed age group.  they were wandering near the road and didn't seem to mind any of us at all.  we also saw the many, many bison.  we usually see 100 or so a day.

Than and i laughed all day at a guy we saw falling.  actually, when we first saw this guy near the edge of the road, it appeared that he simply stumbled on the shoulder of the road and fell pretty much flat on his stomach.  Then we realized that he fell because he was trying to get a selfie.  his camera was balanced on a rock and he was rushing to get into his picture.  we think it may have caught him falling.  i wonder if he'll show it to his friends and laugh as much as Than and I did.

for dinner tonight, we did have Montana steak. Mmmm.  it was tempting to try buffalo or elk, both available, but i stayed with the real thing.  

back on the train tomorrow, after an 8 hour drive to get there.  good thing as we need the rest!

Super Sunday

yesterday's (Saturday) rain didn't slow us down much and it seems the rain makes the fumaroles show up even better. I'm sure there are hundreds, perhaps thousands throughout the park.  What a strange and wonderful place.  

We spent time at the Norris Geyser Basin yesterday seeing unbelievable geothermal activities and land formations.  Too many to mention, but i do have the trail guide.  Than and i have said OMG so many times that it's silly already. 

we saw Old Faithful yesterday, too, which is part of the Upper Geyser Basin-the largest collection of geysers in the world.  all of this area was formed by one of the 3 major volcanic eruptions over the past 2 million years.  Than keeps wondering why we all walk around on top of a volcano so nonchalantly. 

today, we headed to Canyon Village and viewed the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone.  the colors, the rocks, the water and the general sense of awe.  talk about feeling tiny!

there are many roads where one can access paths that gets you closer to the action--frequently  on a boardwalk.  sometimes the path has no barrier--just a 1200 foot drop.

we have seen some wildlife, mostly buffalo although we did see an Elk today.  

Rain, rain, go away

Saturday morning dawned overcast and raining.  we're going out to get some rain gear and then back to Yellowstone.

we went to the park yesterday (Friday) and saw some of the geothermal activities, but not Old Faithful, yet.  it only errupts every 90 minutes--give or take 10 minutes, and we just missed it when we were there.

the  visitors center there is amazing.  tons and tons of information, a really cool science display and the general beauty of the area.  we did see quite a few buffalo yesterday and will be in the "better" animal viewing section today and tomorrow.

one of these days, i'll include some photo.  there is just so much that is so different than what we usually see around PA.  we are really having a good time.  

Running with the Rockies

We started out about 8 am heading South towards Yellowstone about 400 miles away.  as we drive on this 2 lane highway, the speed limit is frequently 70 MPH when the road rather straight. Even when we are in a hilly, curving section, it doesn’t slow down much.

on our right are the Rocky Mountains in the distant.  the hillsides are grass covered and hardly any trees and all kinds of odd land formations, we’re guessing from glacier effects.There are more cattle than we have seen anywhere else.  along the side of the road was a series of 8 or 9 Burma Shave style signs.  that read something like--Having trouble with your diet--we have something you should try it.  Eat Montana Beef.

yesterday, we saw a real live cowboy complete with horse and hat.  he was riding the fence line where we had seen a few cattle outside the fence.  A fence is actually just poles with strands of barb wire attached.  today, the cowboys we saw were riding 4 wheelers.  i like the romance of the horse better.  

we did see a herd of mule deer that were crossing one of the rivers.  of course, Montana version of a river is closer to small creek in Pennsylvania so the deer were barely getting their hooves wet.

for the next 4 days, we’ll be staying in West Yellowstone, a rather cutesy/touristy town just outside of Yellowstone. our hotel has an indoor pool with a water slide, but i don’t have my bathing suit.  I wonder how liberal Montana is about using bathing suits??

Glacier National Park

OMG  Glacier is incredible!  

Than and I spent the day saying " OMG  isn't that just awesome."  It seemed every time we turned a corner, or went over another hill, there were these mountains with glaciers hanging on them.  we were on a road called Road to the Sun which is narrow, twisting road with very deep gorges and small, if any guard rails.  just thrilling. 

in addition to the mountains and glaciers, the lakes were beautiful--quite large, deep and plentiful.  Since they are fed with glacier runoff, quite cold, too, I'm told.

we'll be heading off tomorrow toward Yellowstone, sightseeing along the way.  

wednesday, september 24

Wednesday on the train.  by now it feels like this is home.  we have figured out how to be more comfortable sleeping, how to manuever the doors (tougher than it sounds), where the restrooms are located and most importantly, where the lounge car is located.   the lounge car is about 50-60 feet long with about 16 booths and about 24 lounge type chairs and lots of big windows including skylights.  downstairs is the snack bar with snacking stuff-imagine that!.  there is also a dining car where we ate dinner last night and lunch today.  very nice and the food was decent.

the train we are on now is the Empire Builder, going from Chicago to Seattle.  it has about 11 cars including the engine.  it is a double decker train with most of the seating on the top level.  the bottom level is special seating, restrooms, snack bar, and staff housing, depending what  car it is.   earlier on this trip, there were about 20-25 amish folks on the train from Chicago to somewhere in Wisconsin.  it was kind of interesting listening to them chatter among themselves in german.

we woke this morning to really, really flat vistas as we were traveling through Minnesota and North Dakota.  there were some interesting looking wind breaks of trees everywhere.  eventually, the land gave way to slight hills, actually looked like a minature version of the Endless Mountains and some really interesting rock formations.  when we have WIFI, we’ll figure out exactly what they are called.  we saw a lot of oil wells and gas wells and tons and tons of tanker cars on the sidelines.  one of the guys we talked to is from Iowa, but travels to North Dakota a few weeks at a time, and then off for a few weeks.  he and his wife are also farmers and raise Beefalo.    

this East end of  Montana, it is rather flat, too, with some rolling hills, not many trees and lots of cattle.  when we cross over a road and look up and down, the road seems to go on forever.   it must be really boring to drive on this level straight roads. this is considered High Plains as we are about 2000 ft and climbing.  

i learned to play Cribbage from a guy that shared our dinner table yesterday.  he is very patient and we’ll probably play again later.  in the lounge car, there are 2-3 card games going on, a bunch of kids doing a jigsaw puzzle, many folks on their electronic devises and othere just watching the world go by.  This is just a super way to travel.  

the variety of folks on the train make it perfect for people watching.  we see so many faces that look familiar.  Than and i play a game of “who does that look like to you”  

we had a pretty sunset over Wisconsin yesterday and since the rain cleared up, it looks like we’ll be able to see another one today.  we are looking forward to sleeping in a bed tonight.

later the same day--well, we sort of saw a great sunset.  unfortunatley the train was heading due west and we actually saw part of the sky, not the actual sunset. i wanted to ask the engineer if i could watch out the front window, but Than didn’t think that was really a good ideai do understand why Montana is called Big Sky country.  we arrived at Glacier East in the dark, so we don’t really know what the surroundings look like.  we’re at the Dancing Bear Inn and it has nothing to do with the Greatful Dead.

First night

Well, we managed to sleep our first night on  train.  sort of sleep, I should say.  This train, #29, Capital limited is nicer than the first train.  it is larger, with about 3-4 sleeping cars, 3-4 coach cars,a real dinner car and an observation car complete with snacks and beverages.  the seats recline and there are foot rests on the seat in front for a very relaxing feel.  the train cars are all double deckers giving us better views.   

with the height of the train cars, when we have trains running the opposite direction, it. seem like they are going to run into us.  we have had a lot of delays on this run, as freight trains have the right of way and we have to sit on the sideline and wait for it to pass.  

we were going really slow (25 mph) now  because there was a lost Alzheimer  patient wandering around and we have to go slow enough to stop for about 6 miles until we are out of his/her possible range. that being said, it caused us to be even later and another freight needs the track so we’ll be about 2 hours late getting into chicago.  I don’t think we have enough time to do a boat tour in Chicago before getting back on the train and head for Glacier.

the scenery out the window is neat.  it’s rather flat and we’re seeing a lot of sorghum, we think, and right now we’re skirting Lake Michigan, but it’s hard to see much of it.  the train is stopping so often or going so slow that we think we can jump off the train, check out some of the nearby stores and then get catch up with the train and get back on it.  maybe not.

westward ho

Than and i are really heading West.  Picked up the train in Harrisburg, which left on time.  Seating is not assigned so we had to look around for seats together and managed to find them in the 3rd or 4th car. this train #43, the Pennsylvanian, heads to Pittsburgh with quite a few stops--5 or 6, then we switch trains and go to Chicago.  the scenery out the window seems familiar as we have been traveling along side the river for the past 15 miles.

8 pm

so far, the trip is uneventful.  we’re sitting at the railroad station, have a ticket for our destination...oh, oh,oh.  actually, we are in the pittsburgh train station.  the train to chicago leaves in 4 hours so we’re headed to a bar to pass some time.

Start of our Great Train Adventure

As Than and I start our Great Train Adventure, this blog is our way of sharing the adventure.  On Monday, September 22, we leave Harrisburg heading to the West Coast  with stops at Glacier National Park, Yellowstone, Seattle, Fresno to visit with family, Grand Canyon and then Albuquerque, New Mexico for the Balloon festival and return home on October 13.