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. 

 

 

 

 

First Couple of Stops

As I write this post I am riding the Sunset Express train from Tucson to LA after two fun and somewhat adventurous days in southeast Arizona. Part of my planning for this trip involved thinking about places that I have heard about but never visited and despite living in Arizona many years ago I have never been the mining towns in the southeastern part of the state or even to downtown Tucson, so I figured I'd get off of the train in Tucson, rent a car and drive around and to some of the more storied places in Arizona. After a great stay in The Hotel Congress which is a very nice, albeit small, very old hotel right across the street from the Amtrak station I headed southeast towards the towns of Bisbee, Tombstone and some of the lesser known 'old west' towns. 

Tombstone was very quiet with just a handful of tourists milling in and out of the souvenir and western wear stores, saloons, and restaurants. Nothing in the stores really caught my eye but I did see a lot of good native American ceramics and a gunfight just outside of the OK Coral. I also met a few interesting characters at the Oriental Saloon and enjoyed hearing their stories of how they came to live in the Tombstone area. After an acceptable slice of '3 Berry' pie I headed to Bisbee and got to marvel at the landscape that is part of the attraction to the area. 

Bisbee is home to the Copper Queen mine and many other mines. and they have set up a small segment of the Copper Queen mine to give tours and talk about the history of mining in Arizona. Bisbee is also a very cool little town and does not have the theatrical feeling that Tombstone has. It was neat to walk around but at the time i was there many of the stores were closed. The pretour of the mine was very cool with a lot of displays and interesting film on the history of the mine. For the tour they put you on to a small train where you ride down into the mine. The train goes into a several large areas where the mining operation removed a substantial part of the interior of the mine and you can see the large areas where they removed the ore and a demonstration of how they blasted the ore out of the wall at the end of every shift. One of the most interesting things I learned is that for some period of time they actually used mules to pull the ore carts around inside the mine. They trained them, somehow, for years to work the mines and then moved them down into the mines where they stayed for several years working to pull ore carts around. After several years of continuous underground service they would be finally brought back up and put out to pasture as a retired mine mule. I could relate. 

 

 

I left Bisbee after a short walking tour of the town and headed to Sierra Vista to find a place to stay. Unfortunately I came to an intersection that said "Sierra Vista" straight and "Tombstone" left. I recalled that the Oriental Saloon bartender told me that I would be back to Tombstone 'soon', so I felt compelled to go that way. When I got there most of the shops were closed but the saloons were still open, so I dropped in to see what was on the schedule for entertainment that evening. When i was told that karaoke started at 7pm I asked for 'just one beer, I need to leave before karaoke'. Some of you are aware of what happened next, and to you I am truly sorry, for those of you who didn't receive a constant barrage of text messages let me give you the abbreviated story. I stayed way too long and ended up singing karaoke with two couples from Australia. Believe me when I tell you...Tombstone is two different cities and "Tombstone After Dark" is something that everyone one should experience.

The next day I did some more desert driving and a tour of the Kartchner Caverns which are really cool. I met my spirit animal, the Cave Sloth, there and got to see a lot of interesting geologic phenomena. It is a 'must see' if you're ever in the area. 

I scurried back to Tucson just in time to meet up with long time friend Jack for Mexican dinner and then hopped on the train to Los Angeles. 

I got down to San Diego for a weekend with other long time friends Scott & Angela and also managed to squeeze in dinner with pseudo niece Amanda, husband Philly and lovely daughter Cora. It is ALWAYS good to see extended Clemson family and get caught up with them when possible.  

 

Now I'm on the train to Flagstaff where I'll drive around northern Arizona (breaking my rule of not going to somewhere I have been to before) and having dinner in my favorite northern AZ town of Jerome with some Arizona Public Service alumna. 

 

Till next time.... follow your dream, unless it's becoming a world famous Karaoke signer, then find another dream.  

 

Photos Below: Wall art in Tucson, adding another smashed penny to my collection, luckily this guy let me off with a "cant sign karaoke" warning,  the cave sloth - my true spirit animal, entrance to Kartcher Cavern, and what is a trip to southern AZ without a saguaro cactus photo? 

 

And as before...if you comment anonymously please put your name in the body of your comment so we know who to attribute it to!  

IF we were ALL the Same, What Fun Would THAT Be?

 I usually do jump to conclusions quite quickly, and this may indeed be one of those times; but, here goes. 

There are A LOT of different KINDS of people in this world and many of them ride the train. Let's start with those who do not ride the train: rich people, especially nuevo rich people, and that is a good thing in my mind. Rich people, especially nuevo and young rich people, seem to be very self absorbed - "instagramers" if you will. That's not to say there are no instagramers on the train, but the ones that are seem to be more genuine than the ones that go to a place, pose, snap and leave,. The instagramers on the train do pose and snap, but they then go back to doing whatever it was they were doing before they compose and framed their post - to me, that is a good thing if you're going to have instagramers. Other than those pesky rich people it seems that EVERYONE else rides the train, and I mean EVERYONE else. There are old people, unhealthy people, young people, and tied for most of all - retired people and people who seem to be less well off. They both want to travel on the cheap and both seem to have plenty of time to do so. I suppose I fall into a crossover between those two groups :) 

There are also "Train People", and what an interesting subset of society they are! I met a young couple that have traveled around on Rail Passes for several years and always try to find train related things to see and do in the towns along the rail lines. They had good records from train engines they've seen and a spreadsheet showing the different rail routes and lines they've ridden. I think they've used at least one pass each year over the last several years and don't seem like they're giving up on the hobby anytime soon. Then there were the retired guys who have time and inclination to seek out bucket list things such as long distance train travel, and I suppose I also fall into that category. Some are experts at train riding and admit to have used  Rail Passes every year for years and ridden a high percentage of the rail lines. Oddly enough, they are not all widowers, while many are, many are just using time away from their spouses to do what they like and see the back yards of the US (more on that in a later blog) while getting some time to read, relax, and just sit and stare out of the window of the observation car.  

So yeah, there are different people on the train...different than a plane, different from a car and different from those that don't travel at all. One thing they all see to have in common is that they're enjoying the journey (and it's challenges) as much as their destinations. And that's a good thing - for a bumper sticker, a t-shirt AND life in general.  

And for those of you without access to the Book of Faces, here are a few photos from the observation car, mostly of landscapes in Texas and sunsets in western New Mexico and eastern Arizona along with a few of the railway stations.