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.