Seattle – Sacramento 20 hours via Coast Starlight
I’m at the bus stop in Seattle, on my way to King Street Station. Mary offered to drive me, but I want to test out my new train gear to see how easy it is to use on public transportation. I have a lot of luggage and it’s heavy and bulky. I’ve learned several things on my past trips, but the most important thing other than portability is that I need to bring my own fresh, refrigerated food. Eating meals in the Amtrak dining cars are tasty but they are expensive, and jam packed with calories. Not a good thing for me given the limited chance to exercise. To solve this problem, I made an Amtrak cooler by insulating the inside of a bright orange Nanuk case. Why not just buy a cooler? I need it to be within Amtrak’s luggage dimension size limits: 22 x 28 x 11 inches. Not a typical form factor for a cooler. Food is kept cold with reusable ice blocks that I can refreeze throughout the trip whenever I get access to a freezer. Inside the cooler are two temperature sensors that I can read from the comfort of my train seat. The rest of my gear consists of a plastic tool chest and a light-weight duffle bag. The bus arrives, and with a little effort, I get all my gear aboard. I’m not convinced about my choices.
I arrive at King Street Station and board the train at 10am, leaving my luggage below. It’s nice to be free from it for a while. Lunch is a slice of home-made focaccia and a tossed green salad. Yay for the cooler! Dinner is a failure. My bright idea was to have tomato sauce over cooked farro, all heated up with a couple of reusable heat packs. It did not do the job. Not nearly enough BTUs. If my meal was a human, it would have died of hypothermia. Tossing the food into the trash, I head for the dining car. After a decent night’s sleep, the train pulls into Sacramento at 6:30am. Tonight I will be sleeping in the HI Sacramento Hostel in the Alkali Flats neighborhood, which is just 7 blocks away. I chose it partly for its location but also because it has a shared kitchen where I can give my ice packs a freezing boost. During my walk to the hostel, I notice something I’ve experienced near other Amtrak stations: bail bond shops. Most stations are in the older parts of the town, built back when rail was the fastest way to travel. Often times these areas become neglected as downtown retail areas move on from the original city core.
The hostel is in a beautiful old mansion, which I really appreciate. My room is on the 3rd floor, with no elevator, which I don’t appreciate quite as much. Lugging my lead-heavy luggage up to the room saps my energy, so I take a food break, enjoying more tossed green salad and focaccia bread. In addition to bunk-bed dorm rooms, the hostel also has private bedrooms, so I have opted for one of these. It’s time to do a little exploring so I head to the kitchen, put my ice packs in the freezer for a boost of cold and head outside for a walk. My first stop is the California State Railroad Museum. There are many 1870s era steam engines there with the big, upside-down conical chimneys. I learn that this design was used for engines fired with wood, because the conical chimneys did a better job of containing the sparks and embers that wood fires produce. Adjacent to the Railroad Museum is the Old Sacramento State Park. It has a collection of 1850s gold rush era buildings, giving it the appearance of a restored ghost town. Sacramento has the historic distinction of being the terminus of the Pony Express postal system, the first transcontinental railroad and the first transcontinental telegraph. The telegraph, however, killed the pony express within days after receiving its first Morse Code message. From there, I head back to Alkali Flats and have dinner in an old twelve-stool diner. No more lukewarm tomato sauce for me!
I have a very good night’s sleep in a real bed. A great way to appreciate a bed is to not sleep in one for a while. I lug my gear down to the kitchen, reload the ice packs in my cooler, and head to the dining room for breakfast. The seating is set up “family style”. I sit with a group of travelers, and we share our reasons for being here. I tell them that I am on my way to Winnemucca to witness an annular eclipse of the sun. (With an annular eclipse, the moon is farther away from Earth than usual, and its disk is not large enough to block all the sun, leaving a ring around the perimeter.) My train leaves at 10:30am, so it’s time to head to the station.
Sacramento to Winnemucca, 8 hours via the California Zephyr
Happy to be on the train again, I settle into my seat. A man sits next to me, but since I won’t be trying to lay down, I don’t mind at all. “Where are you heading?” I ask. He replies, “I’m going to Winnemucca to see the eclipse.” “Huh, me too.” I reply. We share names, and Greg asks me “Where did you come from?” “Seattle.” I say. After a pause, he says “Huh. Me too.” While we are talking, the train goes over Donner Pass, named after the settlers that were stranded near there by a blizzard in 1846. We talk more and discover we are both staying at the same hotel: The Winner’s Inn Casino. Judging from all the neon, it appears that the downtown core of the town is a mini gambling mecca. Not tomorrow, though. The town will be a mecca for eclipse chasers. Greg and I part ways but arrange to meet in the city park tomorrow for the eclipse. My room doesn’t have a refrigerator, so I ask the staff if they can help me out and they oblige. Even though it has only been eight hours since my last refreezing, I have twenty-four hours before I leave here, followed by a fifty-hour journey to Dearborn MI. I have learned that my cooler is good for two days, but three days is pushing it. I’m already planning the next cooler in my head.
I wake to clouds. Oh, please, not again. I’ve traveled two other times to see eclipses, and although the experiences were good and the people I was with made them special, it wasn’t the same as seeing an eclipse in a clear blue sky. As I walk a half mile to the park, I see many people who have brought substantial telescopes for the occasion. I hope they get to use them. As the eclipse time approaches, the park begins to fill with people. There are still clouds in the sky, but the sun occasionally peeks through some tantalizing blue spots. I pour a cup of coffee from my thermos to see if I can use the reflection to see the eclipse. It works! As the eclipse reaches totality (or as close as it can during an annular eclipse) a hazy layer of clouds covers the surface. It serves as a pair of eclipse glasses, though, with the totality fully visible.
Greg mentions that there is a Basque restaurant over by the railroad tracks that he has heard good things about. We agree to meet there for dinner. Since I am leaving that evening on the train and the station is so close to the restaurant, I decide to bring my luggage with me. The Martin Hotel is a restaurant serving traditional Basque cuisine. Many Basque people emigrated to Winnemucca during the 1850s gold rush finding employment as shepherds, and later as boarding house operators. Built in 1878, The Martin Hotel was originally a brothel but has served Basque cuisine since 1913. We are ushered to a large table already occupied by other patrons. Family style eating again. I love it!
After a great meal and good conversation, I walk to the train station. It is an open-air shelter similar in size and style to a bus stop. A man my age and a younger man are engaged in friendly conversation. I learn that they met on the train to Winnemucca from Sacramento, probably the same train I was on. The older man, coming for the eclipse, befriended the younger Chinese student, who was on his way to Denver. He encouraged him to get off in Winnemucca too, so that he could experience the eclipse as well. “I had a hotel room with two beds, so it made sense.” He says. “I’m here to see my friend off, who is going to finish his trip to Denver. I’m catching the westbound train tomorrow back to California where I live.” Our eastbound train arrives. The student has a bicycle, and he is told he can’t bring it aboard, even though he just brought it from Sacramento. Apparently, the Winnemucca station isn’t long enough to easily access the train car where bicycles are kept. After some pleading and cajoling from his older friend, the Amtrak crew figures out a way to make it work.
Winnemucca to Chicago, 42 hours via the California Zephyr
I realize as I’m getting on the train that my duffle bag somehow dislodged itself and is nowhere to be seen. Oh, that is so sad. It holds a very expensive vest I bought for train trips. It also holds my blanket and blow-up pillow. I absolutely need to refigure my train travel gear. I have a restless night of tossing and turning. We pass through Salt Lake City in the wee hours of the morning. I finally fall asleep and wake up near Helper, UT as the sun blazes a path of light along the top of the surrounding hills.
I’ve lost my sleeping gear, but I still have food, so I treat myself to a double portion of focaccia and a purchased coffee. For lunch I have a tuna salad with lots of mayo, mustard, lettuce and some pickled carrots. Very tasty. The refrigerator concept is working. The train starts weaving its way up the mountain towards Denver. It climbs higher, reaches a level section of road and then stops. Over the PA system I hear “There is a freight train that will be coming through a tunnel up ahead. We need to wait here until the coast is clear before we proceed through the tunnel.” OK, an abundance of caution is a good thing. This shouldn’t take more than a half hour or so…. Two hours later, the train begins moving again. During the stoppage, the engines are shut down and, apparently, they provide the electricity for the lights, heating system, and possibly toilets. At one point, we are told to not use them anymore. Note to self: If a train is ever sidelined in the future, go to the bathroom pronto! Finally, the train continues up the mountainside. I notice some people rafting on the river below. The men in the raft appear to see us, but one of them stands up and turns to face the other direction. He then bends over and pulls his pants down. Oh, of course! Greg told me to keep an eye out. This stretch of water is referred to as Moon River!
The bathroom issue is a distant memory, but my upcoming missed connection in Chicago is feeling very real. I’m supposed to transfer to the 354 Wolverine to Dearborn MI. I had a comfortable layover, but that was used up sitting on the tracks with my legs crossed. The only option I see now is to leave Chicago at 9:30pm on the Lake Shore Limited arriving in Toledo at 3am, followed by a bus that leaves Toledo at 6:30am. The only consolation prize is that I will be in Chicago Union Station long enough to take a shower in the Metropolitan Lounge. The train pulls into Union Station, and I head straight to the lounge with my $30 in hand. “I’m sorry, we don’t do that anymore. The Metropolitan Lounge is reserved for our sleeper car guests and people with a lounge access pass.” I pull out my phone and go to the Amtrak app to see if there is any way to get one. Amazing! I already have a pass, probably given to me as an “I’m Sorry” gift on one of my past train rides when everyone was delayed for two days due to computer issues. The shower is wonderful, and I feel all better.
Chicago to Toledo, 5 hours on the Lake Shore Limited – Toledo to Dearborn, 1+ hours by bus
The train is on time, and I get some sleep on my way to Toledo. Groggy-eyed, I wheel my luggage into the Toledo train station at 3am. People are curled up on the wooden benches. I have three hours until the bus arrives, so after weighing myself on their antique scale I join them. I sure wish I had a comfortable chair. The bus arrives directly to the station. It is clean and modern. None if the icky feelings I got from the Pittsburgh Greyhound station. Dearborn is just an hour away. A friend of mine is picking me up at the station and driving me to his sister’s house. I can relax.
Dearborn to Chicago, 5 hours on the Wolverine – Chicago to Edmonds, 45+ hours on the Empire Builder
Dearborn was fun. My friend John and I had lunch at a Whitecastle and then spent the day at the Henry Ford Museum. Lots of vintage and historic automobiles there, and not just Fords. They even have a Prius! John drops me off at the station and I board the train, heading to Chicago. The Wolverine is a very fast train! I’m not used to it, and I’m a little bit uncomfortable on the curves. After a four-hour layover in Chicago, I board the Empire Builder. No more schedules to follow, no more deadlines. Just forty-five hours of sleep, writing, eating and staring out the window. I was able to replenish my food and refreeze my ice packs, so there will be plenty of fresh meals for the rest of my journey.
Several of the train journeys I’ve taken have offered challenges that could easily have upset me. I’m stubborn enough to treat these challenges as if I’ve been offed in a video game and need to figure out how to “win” the level after I respawn. What I learned for my next respawning is (1) I need a cooler that is lightweight and can keep food cold for a minimum of 3 days. (2) I need a lightweight, comfortable chair. There are many times when the train connections are at God-awful hours of the morning and the next train is hours away. (3) I need a better way to store my extra food and clothing, something that is easier to transport. A backpack might work. (4) I need cushions and pillows to make coach sleeping more comfortable. (5) I need a hobby, something to while away the time while still enjoying the view. The tables in the observation car would be perfect for this. I’m getting interested in hand stitching and mending. Maybe that would work. I have a grandchild coming soon, so it will be a while before I’m on the rails again. I will use the time to create this new version of train gear. I can’t wait to start!
