Homeward Bound

This shot was taken on the way to Grand Junction. It clearly shows the 'high desert'. Everything was brown. Maybe this is actually the moon.



I was concerned that I wouldn't be able to get my camera out fast enough for this picture. It is either a natural gas well or an oil well on fire. A petroleum engineer was in the dining car when we passed this and he expressed some concern that it might blow up. Considering how close the tracks were to it, I am very glad it didn't.




We followed the Colorado River for quite awhile. I saw a mule deer swimming across the river, a man on a white water raft moon the train (boy did that take some delicate balance!), and a snake. When I saw the serpent I called the Bass Man and told him it was going to get me for sure. He was pretty positive I would be safe from the evil snake while I was inside the train.



Once again, headed into tunnel country. Steep cliffs surrounding us constantly. Not for a claustrophobic person.



I think this was the West's way of saying goodbye. It was a stunning sunset just as we were leaving the Rockies. At dinner we all compared our pictures of it.

When I booked the trip, I didn't realize the Democratic Convention would be happening in Denver the same time I would be traveling through there. About an hour out of Denver, we stopped and several armed guards (Amtrak police. Amtrak has its own police?) with dogs boarded the train. I was in the dining car when they came aboard. Everyone at the table was a bit surprised to see them come storming through.

After dinner I went back to my roomette and was getting ready to watch a video on my computer when there was a knock on the door.

"Open up please. Police."

Boy those words will get your heart started! They asked to see me ID. When they were satisfied I was not a potential threat, they continued down the car.

I asked our attendant if this happened often. He assured me it was pretty routine. However, no one else on the train had ever seen such a thing.

When we pulled into Denver, there were police with dogs everywhere. Apparently the train station was not only near the convention site but there were big wigs from the convention staying in private rail cars on either side of our train. Many of us detrained to try and see into the windows of the cars.

The owner of the 1953 Pullman came out and answered questions for us. His was a car that he rented out to people staying in Denver. The car never left the station. He said a lot of bigwigs like to rent it because it is right downtown, private, and has a kitchen with staff. Wouldn't that be a sweet way to live?

After Denver, it was a fairly routine ride. Well, except for getting tossed out in Galesburg, Illinois and put on a Trailways bus to Indianapolis (we couldn't make our connection in Chicago in time). The bus is nowhere near as comfortable as the train.

But these are the things that make a trip even more memorable. Anyone can have a nice, quite ride across country seeing grandeur that makes your soul smile. How many can talk about police and dogs and guns and ex-cons (on the bus) and bigwigs and riding a zillion miles an hour on a bus (we passed EVERYBODY)? It was a trip of a lifetime.