Posted by This story is about the first leg of my train trip of a lifetime…
Lacking sleep, I stumbled onto the platform at Denver’s Union Station, tasting fresh oxygen for the first time in nearly a day. The tracks in parts of Iowa and Nebraska were extremely unforgiving, rocking the train side to side, with the occasional “bump” as well. I recall having several dreams in between my motion-induced awakened states in which I was on a train that was literally bounding on and off the tracks.
I popped into Union Station and was delighted to see a modern twist on a classic terminal. Something like Grand Central meets Mad Men with 2018 hotel restaurant vibes. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a train station that screamed “let’s go to the train station for some pan-seared salmon and an old fashioned, finished with a cigar in the lounge.” Obviously none of this was the case, but I loved the atmosphere. Very different, but very much appreciated. Well done Denver.
I walked the streets a little bit, but knowing time was short and this was the only train of the day, I didn’t go far. The workday had already started and the streets were relatively quiet. Still, I had a chance to see some things that were photo-worthy. Of note, I spoke to several people on the train who were from Denver and loved it. It’s definitely a place I will have to visit in the future, you know, for more than an hour.
As the train left the station, I felt a sense of giddy anticipation. As if introducing the title match of boxing event, the crew introduced the next leg of the journey as the part that everyone had been waiting for. It was at this point that I realized something. Yes, this was a train that carried passengers to their destinations. But it was also Amtrak’s version of a river cruise, where the sites and attractions were often highlighted by Darrell, the enthusiastic dining car attendant slash “emcee.” Darrell walked through the upcoming sites that could be seen during the next several hours as the locomotives wound-up for the switchback climb through the true “Main Event” of the trip, the Rocky Mountains.
I have flown over the Rockies before, but never experienced them at the ground level. The YouTube videos I had watched prior encouraged people to get as good seat in the observation car through this journey. And while I initially perched there in Denver, I eventually went back to my room. I felt like I was privileged to have this private space where I could see everything out of the left side of the train perfectly, and thus did not want to steal a potential seat from someone else.
But as we wound up the foothills, my views were of little more than rock face. Earlier in the morning, I had met Jeremiah from the room across the hall. He too was crossing the country as part of a birthday celebration to see friends on the West Coast.
I looked across the hall and saw that Jeremiah’s views were far more spectacular. He saw me and motioned me to join him in his roomette. We talked for hours, taking amazing pictures and having a grand time, grabbing drinks and solving the problems of the world while watching the epic landscape slowly roll by.
For some reason, I thought the journey through the Rockies was only going to last a few hours, but eventually, no matter what side I sat on, the views lasted for a good portion of the day. Right side, left side… there were thrilling views at one time or another. Neither side had the edge in my opinion, you just had to be patient. While the right side of the train had the best views in the earlier part of the trip, the left side provided the best views of the Colorado River as it eventually joined our path. Peaking at 9,200 feet, we had the most stunning views.
On a whimsical note, I had once heard that it was a tradition for Colorado River rafters to “moon” Amtrak trains as they went by. I was reminded of this several times during our journey, as willing participants dropped trou and showed passengers their best side. It was a hilarious conversation piece at dinner that evening. And while the tradition has worked because there is no way to identify the well-meaning participants, I thought I would innocently and anonymously immortalize their efforts 😉
In this section of the journey, the train traversed a total of 27 tunnels through the heart of the Rockies, including the 6.2 mile long Moffat Tunnel. Amazingly opened in 1928, the tunnel is so long that the crew had to repeatedly remind passengers not to travel between cars for 12 minutes as to not let the confined diesel fumes from the hard-working locomotives to enter the train. This tunnel was just one example of the incredible feats of engineering observed during our trip. The thought that early 20th century engineering was capable of such an accomplishment is simply beyond belief, and universally respected.
As the Rockies fell into our proverbial rear view mirror, a different and ever-changing landscape began to present itself. Wide open flat spaces flanked by distant mountains, hills, formations and vegetation began to take hold. As the evening wore on, I gained a new appreciation for just how diverse and quickly-changing these environments were. At times, the America that presented itself would change drastically in just 30 minutes time, as we transitioned from lavish green textures to stark desert scenes.
I’ll never forget our meal crew sitting in the dining car, talking about life and happiness while the sun set on the beautifully stark Utah landscape. It was an amazing day, one filled with unparalleled views, new friends and a renewed appreciation for just how beautiful and diverse our country’s landscape truly is.
As the sun gave way to night, I sat in my roomette and reflected on the day. And as I did, I began to hear rain drops on my private window. The drops began to build until eventually the sound of the rain hitting the train was so intense that nothing else could be heard. Lightning dominated the sky as I wrote my previous post about our journey through the Midwest. As we traveled through Provo, I don’t think I had ever seen rain like that!
It was by far my favorite day of the journey, one that I will never forget. Whatever anyone’s reason for riding this train, it was as if we were all part of something special. The weather was perfect, the scenery was unreal, and the social connections were the kind that renew your faith in life and humanity. It was almost a spiritual journey in a place that most people will never know. I’m thrilled to now be part of the secret society of being a passenger aboard the Amtrak California Zephyr.