Posted by This story is about the first leg of my train trip of a lifetime…
I woke up to the first slivers of light. Having slept for 3 hours (I may have stayed up late the night before out of sheer excitement) I was a little groggy, but anxious to get the day started. By the time I cleaned up and put on new clothes, the golden sun was glazing the fields of corn and soy, and illuminating farmsteads that looked like islands the agricultural sea. Each one had its own unique character and charm, with a clear nod to a life of tranquility and simplicity.
Occasionally, a massive grain silo or chemical plant would present itself to the briskly-passing landscape as well. The whole picture, occasionally interspersed with small town Main Streets and big box strip malls, repeated itself again and again as we traversed the morning sunrise through Ohio and Indiana.
Dirt roads that intersected our path seemed to stretch forever into the blanket of maze. While having ties to the Midwest, it always shocks me how stark the contrast is between this and Upstate New York.
On the train, I furiously tried to capture photos of what ended up being a spectacular day. There is a less-than-subtle art to shooting through dirty glass, while moving at 79mph. When I first had the idea for this journey, my goal was to create a photo book of our beautiful country from the train. If the entire journey’s experience mimics the first day, I will have more content than I will know what to do with.
As the train curled around the southern tip of Lake Michigan, the landscape changed dramatically. Gary Indiana is one of the most imposing industrial areas in the country. Many of my family members worked in the steel mills here, and always spoke of the how difficult it was. The site of Gary today is both an impressive view of American hard work and fortitude, but also a grim insight to the environmental impact it had in its heyday, and the fact that so many plants are literally rotting with rust and decay. We built amazing things at the consequence of our only home, and now, that same damage is being done, just elsewhere.
Continuing up north up the west side of the lake, the South Side Chicago neighborhoods began to dominate the view. While these communities are rich in diversity and the celebration of many cultures, decades of disinvestment throughout the 20th century also created a tremendous amount of hardship.
Finally, we arrived at Union Station in Chicago. We arrived on time, which, for anyone who has taken Amtrak knows, this was a mini victory. It also meant that I had about 3 hours to explore the city in which I was born! But in truth, I know my way around the city very well, so perhaps explore isn’t the right word. I just love walking around downtown and standing in amazement of a place I call my second home.
The Loop, The Bean, Riverwalk… I breezed through the city, walking 5 miles in a short period of time. I truly believe that, even if you’re not s city person, you’ll enjoy Chicago’s unique comfortability, in stark contrast to New York City. I love NYC, but in my view, Chicago’s downtown has a far reaching appeal that doesn’t overwhelm the senses and doesn’t scare those who are unfamiliar.
I have taken many trips on Amtrak from Rochester to Chicago over the last decade, so this part of the journey was nothing new. But as soon as I boarded the California Zephyr and the train began to move, I was in uncharted territory. Leaving Chicago, we paralleled the Metra line, a train that enables commuter service into the city center. As we radiated from the city, we passed countless first ring suburbs that featured mixed-density housing, mixed use development and vibrant little Main Streets. This is all a result of transit oriented development, giving people the option of a little more breathability, but still allowing for car free access to downtown Chicago. The Park-And-Ride lots were full. Each station featured bike racks that were full. It was very interesting to see the concept of TOD on full display.
But it did not take long for suburban Chicago to give way to the continued vastness of the agricultural Midwest. And while I love city life, I could very much see the appeal of the big unobstructed sky, the slow pace of life and the beautiful blend of country and intimate community.
One of the day’s highlights was a trip to the observation car, which Amtrak totally gets right. The views provided to all passengers here are exquisite and panoramic. Photos do not do this experience justice, I assure you.
I grabbed a cocktail from the bartender, to whom I mentioned I was on a lifelong dream trip, being a fan of trains. He pointed out another gentleman with whom he had spoken, who was also a fan of transportation by rail. I sat next to Dean, and we talked for an hour about trains and our obsessive hobby. It’s always nice to share your enthusiasm for an interest with someone else, especially if that interest is considered dated in today’s conversations.
At 7pm, I hit up the dining car for a really good 3 course meal, including a shrimp appetizer, a steak dinner and cheesecake for dessert. While I suspect all of it is loaded with sodium, it was very good, on pace with solid chain family restaurant food. And for someone who has a sensitive stomach, I didn’t feel overly full or bloated afterwords. I don’t mean to be graphic about this, but when you are on a multi-day train trip with public restrooms, this is an important detail for every potential rider to understand. As we get older, these are the things we have to consider when we travel, and I am all about full transparency here!
Speaking of the whole story, when you eat in the dining car, know that it’s all about community seating. This is a great chance to meet people who live in similar or different places and circumstances, and it’s a nice chance to have those spontaneous experiences with people that we didn’t know we wanted to know. So often we isolate ourselves from others, thinking this is the path to happiness. But the truth is, the Amtrak dining car almost forces us to have experiences that might be uncomfortable, but are almost always rewarding. It’s the beauty of public transportation, and something we have unfortunately lost touch with in modern society.
I walked a few cars back to my roomette, and began to prep my bed for sleep. The attendant was skeptical that I could do it myself without issue, but I assured her I had a lot of experience with this. I was so exhausted from the lack of sleep the night before and the long day yesterday in Chicago that I made the sane choice to go to bed before 9pm. Besides, I knew the next day would be an early one to witness what I really took this trip to see and that’s the Rocky Mountains.
Sometimes people think I’m hyper critical of rural America. But this is where our food comes from, this is where hard working Americans put in the tireless hours so that we can all do what we do without thought. And who can’t look at these images and appreciate the beautiful simplicity of fields, sun, clouds and sky? This journey has helped me appreciate this beauty and the draw of this life, and I am better for it.