Brief Break From Train Trip Over, Now Back to Tracks !

 So, when at the end of my last post we had found out that the train tracks from Glenwood Springs going to the west were closed and Amtrak was bringing up some busses from Denver to shuttle the passengers either to Denver or Grand Junction, CO. I, of course, chose a different option. 

I canceled my segment from Glenwood Springs to Sacramento and then took a local bus service to Grand Junction for the evening. My thinking was that I could get there quicker that way and then settle in and use some reliable interweb access to dive into some other options. As it was just a few days before the annual "Elements on the Dragon" event in Bryson City, NC I decided to see just what it would take to get there and back for the weekend. I stared at a ton of weather sites just to be sure the weather would be conducive to a weekend of camping and driving in the mountains, the airline sites to see if I could get flights from Grand Junction to and back from Charlotte and a few other details it would take to sort through if I wanted to go. I spoke with a great American Airlines agent who reserved a reasonably priced ticket and held it until I could get one last weather check and then slept on the idea overnight. When I woke up on Thursday morning the forecast was good and the ticket was still on hold so I scurried to the Grand Junction airport for the flights home. Well, plan as I might - things didn't go as smoothly as I would like as all three DFW to Charlotte flights available were all delayed when I landed in DFW. I began my usual game of "which flight will be cancelled and which will be reasonably delayed" and moved from my original flight to one that would leave DFW two hours later. Suffice it to say I did make it to Charlotte and was only about 15 minutes behind the actual arrival of my original flight...so I consider that a win! After what amounted to just a quick nap I was up and headed out towards beautiful Bryson City in scenic western North Carolina. 

Elements on the Dragon has been going on about 15 years and I have attended the previous two. They are a fun time with an eclectic group of people who are very, very fanatical about their cars. Most of the Elements that attend have been modified or setup in ways to camp in by their owners and many talk about spending several weeks a year touring around and camping in their cars. Some of the attendees are somewhat famous (at least in terms of Elements) with Eric the Car Guy being the most famous that I heard of this week. There are people who manufacture accessories for the Element and some who work on them, and they were selling and working all weekend long. One of the highlights of the weekend is the trip from Bryson City up to and through the "Tail of the Dragon" (US 129 as it crosses the North Carolina - Tennessee border). I've been with the Georgia Audi club on the Dragon several times and their approach to driving in the mountains is very different than the Element community.... the Audi group will leave early in the morning and spend the better part of 8 hours driving various routes near and through the Dragon with numerous stops for socializing and lunch, but the Element group leaves out and drives directly to the Dragon and after passing back in the opposite direction, they head straight back to Bryson City for more Element activities at the campsite. I enjoyed our group with the exception of a couple guys who really did not know what they signed up for when one complained about getting car sick and the other worried about his brakes even before we got to the Dragon itself. We did make a quick stop at the Fontana Dam, scene of the dramatic confrontation between Dr Richard Kimble and US Marshal Samuel Gerard back in the day. After our up and back loop through the Dragon I got an obligatory cheeseburger with onion rings and Cheerwine at the Deals Gap Motorcycle Resort and watched as other Elements, various motorcycles and other cars took their turns at driving the Dragon.Of note is that it was also Subaru weekend but incredibly enough I did not see a single Subaru Outback (insert snide remark here). It is always fun to listen to the motorcyclists talk about their adventures and discuss today's and past wrecks. I refilled my Cheerwine, bought a postcard and sticker and headed out to drive the Cherola Skyway, which is a very scenic drive in the nearby area. After that trip I headed back to Bryson City and a quick beer at the camping store that sells beer (what could go wrong there?) and back to the campground for the festivities of Saturday night. Sunday brought an even more beautiful day and a nice drive up to Wayah Bald, the site of an old fire watching tower. The views from there were clear and very beautiful and went on for miles and miles. After we returned to the campsite the organizer of the event and one of the mechanics there gave a discussion on rust issues that the Elements suffer from...I'm proud to say that Emily was chosen as an example Element, but not proud to say she was not an example of a 'rust free' Element. Oh well, all those years on the Delaware highways are starting to age her, but she's doing fine otherwise with 305,000+ miles now. After the discussion rust shaming (not really) I headed back to Charlotte, took another extended nap and boarded a plane back to Los Angeles to continue my Amtrak voyage. 

 

I arrived fairly late into a hotel near the Amtrak station in Los Angeles wandered around the area for while, thought about going to the Dodgers game but instead opted to watch it on TV. The next morning I did a little more sightseeing and, with the navigational help of Cousin Mark, located one of the buildings that his dad (my Uncle Paul) was the architect for in the late 1960's. I chatted with the doorman for a few seconds and he offered up a few tidbits of information about the building that I recalled from family lore - it was indeed the first building in Los Angeles that was taller than City Hall (watch the opening of "Dragnet" for a reference to the LA City Hall) and, for a period of time, was the tallest building in the west. It is still very pretty and I also found irony in the fact that his two grandchildren on my side of the family are now both working as Project Managers for construction firms involved in large projects in the mid-Atlantic and Southeast.  

 Early Tuesday morning I left LA from the beautiful Union Station on a very poorly researched trip that involved a bus from LA to Bakersfield, the Gold Runner (a commuter like train) from Bakersfield to Martinez, CA where I waited for three hours to catch the Coast Starlight line to Portland OR. The Amtrak website markets the Gold Runner line as a scenic line through California's central valley with stops along the way. One of the stops is marketed as the "gateway to Yosemite" (you people that are familiar with California geography can stop laughing at any time now.). Needless to say, one marketers 'gateway' is another passengers bewilderment at wondering where the tall trees are amongst the high desert that is Merced, CA. OK, lesson learned...do your own research. Nonetheless I enjoyed the layover in Martinez, CA and learned that it is the home of John Muir, Joe DiMaggio and THE Martini - quite an eclectic group! The village is really kind of a cool, small and somewhat preserved place and would probably be worth a return trip if I ever want to go back to the gateway to Yosemite :). The Coast Starlight left Martinez at about 8pm and there was not much to see since it was dark, so I settled into my seat for a series of short naps overnight. I woke as the sun came through my window and gave me a view of what I presume is Mt Shasta as we left California and moved into Oregon. The rest of the morning was filled with beautiful views of mountains, meadows, gorges and all the wonders of southern Oregon...all as dramatic as Colorado, but much more verdant (hey, why use big words when diminutive ones will suffice, right?). 

 

 

So, as I finish this overdue, and very long, update I'm also trying to plan my last few segments of my trip and hopefully do just enough research to keep me out of another embarrassing story of looking for redwoods in the high desert. Enjoy your travels and remember to be particular.   

 

 

 

Half Way ! ! !

 I am now a full two weeks into my trip and the cadence of it has slowed somewhat. I did ride overnight from Galesburg IL to Glenwood Springs CO and after arriving on Monday I took two full days off to tour around the Glenwood Springs area, so not many photos from the train on this post but some from the lovely Glenwood area to enjoy. 
As I mentioned in my last post I was given a tip about renting a bike and taking the bus to Aspen and riding a bike trail back to Glenwood. Colorado must be the leading state for bike trails in the US and the one I rode, the Rio Grande Trail, has to be one of the best. It is about 50 miles and has a very smooth surface with hardly any hills along the way. From Aspen to Glenwood it is all downhill and runs through the valley very far away from any roads for quite some time and then it moves to be parallel with the Rio Grande river and that gave plenty of opportunities to see wildlife. It passes through and/or by, several smaller towns each with their own vibe and biking accommodating business. Unfortunately I got kind of a late start and as the bus was about 1/2 way to Aspen it started raining, and when I got to Aspen at about noon it was a full on downpour! I ducked into a nearby hamburger place and had a very bad $25 hamburger while trying to plan for the weather and/or figure out if I should just bus back. Pretty soon the rain let up but I went ahead and purchased a pair of socks and a lightweight windbreaker to help me stay warmer as I was nowhere near dressed for the weather that was happening. Once I got the tags off and the clothes on I headed out down the path under a very sunny sky, so life was good

 But, as is prone in Colorado spring weather, the rain started again and this time it had a little sleet in it...FUN! There were no businesses around for several miles but I finally came upon gas station where I ducked in and devoured a Snickers bar and a coke while waiting to see if the weather were to improve. Of course it did, so I got back on the bike and headed down the trail and of course the rain, sleet, and this time hail, started back up pretty soon after I left the gas station. This cycle (pun intended) continued for the rest of the day as I would stop at some place just in time for the weather to improve and then have the weather go to crap again once I got away from any towns. Unfortunately with the rain and varied precipitation I did not get many opportunities to take photos of any of the wildlife, so you'll just have to believe I saw a turkey, several deer and some really interesting birds. After about 55 miles I arrived back in Glenwood Springs and instantly hopped into a warm shower trying to get the mud off of my back and feet and warm my bones back up! Nonetheless it was a great ride that I would recommend to anyone with the inclination if they're ever in the area, just dress warmer, bring a jacket and start earlier.  

 

 Glenwood Springs is a very cool area and well worth the visit if you ever get a chance. It's cool how they have protected their little downtown area and yet just a few blocks away have allowed what appears is to be unfettered growth of condos, shopping centers and other construction to accommodate all the people moving to the area. The town has lots of old buildings with nice restaurants, breweries, shops and other cool places, and actually feels a little 'disneyesque' when compared to the area around the town. I had two good meals at the Pullman restaurant, which i would highly recommend if you were ever in the area and a couple of good beers at two of the breweries. The bike store was really cool as was the Doc Holiday store; which, brings me to another story. 

If Doc Holiday were still alive he would probably accuse me of stalking him, although I have not been. It turns out he died here in Glenwood Springs, so in totality I have been to three towns were he made a mark - Dodge City, Tombstone and now here. I did not have that intention, but it's kind of cool to know I've retraced some of his steps/travels, although with air conditioning and no horse poop on my boots!

I also visited the Ironwood Hot Springs for a soak in a couple of their pools. It's an overwhelming place in that they have 20+ different tubs with different levels of minerals and temperatures and have set many of them up to supposedly mimic springs found it other countries around the world. I did get to see a marmot and an "ohmmmm gnome" among other wildlife in the area.  

And, just so you know, you might have heard about a train accident near here, but, it was not an Amtrak train but instead one of the tourist "Canyon Spirit" trains that cycles back and forth between Denver and Salt Lake. I was not on that train, but my Amtrak train did get disrupted by the accident and apparently the tracks are damaged, so there's not telling when Amtrak will be able to resume train service to and from Glenwood Springs. In the meantime they are using contracted busses to fill in for the train coming through here. 

 

 So, that's it for now...in the mean time always carry a jacket, they're useful for a number of things more than just keeping warm (to paraphrase the "Hitchhikers Guide to the Universe")

(And please, put your name in your comments if you're posting anonymously :) )  

 

 

 

Heartland of America

I arrived in Galesburg Illinois after a nice long ride from Flagstaff, AZ, with an overnight stay in Dodge City,  and decided to spend the night here instead of immediately heading back west. Galesburg is definitely in the 'Heartland of America" and a quintessential mid-western town. As it sits on two major Amtrak lines that go from Chicago to California (Los Angeles via the Southwest Chief and Sacramento via the California Zephyr) plus numerous freight lines I'm sure it is full of history of the growth of western America. To celebrate their close ties to the railroad, they have a small, but packed rail museum with a fifth generation rail guy as the main tour guide, several rail cars and a large steam engine and displays of lots & lots of paraphernalia on display. It's a must see if you ever find yourself in the hometown of Carl Sandburg. In the short time I was in Galesburg I enjoyed a fine dinner of ribs and green beans at Willie's BBQ and a tasty chicken bacon sandwich from the Packing House while waiting on my train. I would not recommend walking what is advertised as a 'short distance' to the Baymont Hotel (or the hotel itself). 

 

 

Dodge City was a very interesting and adventurous stopover but is woefully lacking in sidewalks to connect their town to the train station. It was a little discomforting to have to pull my luggage down the shoulder of US 50 at 11PM while traffic whizzed by, even for the few blocks that I had to do so. The next day I had several hours before the train left, so I toured the "Boothill Museum" and I think it was worth the stayover as it highlights the history of the town back from the rambunctious expansion days of the Wild West, and not just the Gunsmoke TV show that was supposedly situated there (of course it was filmed in Hollywood and rarely anywhere near Dodge City). They leave it to the town to celebrate Gunsmoke while focusing on the true history of some of the stories and characters way back when this was the frontier. (by the way...skip Miss Kitty's cafe, it's a ripoff of her name even though it's a fine diner.). There are lots of murals of Gunsmoke around town and some friendly people to show you the way if you get lost, and it is obviously spending a great deal of money to improve the hardscape and streets in the central part of town, lets just hope that a sidewalk is added to connect the train station to the town around it.

 

The train ride from Flagstaff to Galesburg included some lovely views of the high deserts of Arizona and New Mexico, some cool little stops along the away with some very pretty railroad stations and then into Colorado, Kansas, Missouri and into Illinois with a small corner of Iowa thrown in for fun as it crossed over the Mighty Mississippi River. As you can imagine the landscape changes dramatically over this distance and the observation car provides some really good views as the train moves along at a brisk pace through the deserts and farmlands (sometimes up to 80mph). One particularly interesting observation was the high number of Mennonite people that were on the train. One guy told me that he had six people in his family group and that they were all using a railpass. One of his daughters has been to all 50 states and she organized this trip for them. Another gave me some really good ideas about renting bikes and using the bus system in the Glenwood Springs area, which is my next stop. So I am looking forward to getting back on a bike again real soon. 

 

 As I write this I am on the "California Zephyr" and headed to Glenwood Springs through Denver. My total miles on the train to date is approximately 4,700 miles and I've lost track of the hours. Until next time....always remember to get travel tips from people without smart phones and to keep your eyes open for whatever it is that is unfolding in front of you, else it'll be behind you before you know it.