Life of Wry

We had a quick breakfast at the Periodic Table — so enjoyable — then made a quick stop at Aunt Bonnie’s to say goodbye (I sure hate leaving.. must return!), and we were on our way. Had a lovely two hour drive — mostly along I-80 — through farms and hills…

(we saw a LOT of these…)

…. and got to Davenport with time to go to a Men’s Warehouse to see about getting Matt some warmer clothes! (We were both amused at how crowded the Men’s Warehouse was on a Sunday morning!) He was not prepared for the variable temps we encountered in this midwest Spring! We texted back and forth with Linda and coordinated our 11:30 arrival at the Machine Shed just perfectly. The Machine Shed is quintessential midwest fare… I had a chicken pot pie, the others all had some variation of pork, and fun family conversations were had.

[A note here: Reg is my first cousin once removed. That is, he and my dad are first cousins, both being children of one of the Short sisters; Reg is the son of the youngest sister Hattie Zoe, and dad was the son of Mary.. the third eldest daughter. Linda, of course, is Reg’s wife. They actually live in Bettendorf, which is considered one of the four cities in this quad-city area… Davenport and Bettendorf on the Iowa side of the Mississippi River, and Moline and Rock Island on the Illinois side.]

After lunch and photos, we followed Reg and Linda to a Fleet and Farm to get even more clothes for Matt. We hope that’ll get him through Chicago… where we expected temps to be in the 30s and 40s.

We said goodbye to Reg and Linda and took off on our 2 1/2 drive to Chicago. Once over the Mississippi, we were in Ilinois.

We filled the car on Cicero, then drove into Chicago in broody weather!

Our first glimpse of Lake Michigan…

And.. then checked into our hotel on Ontario, the EMC2, just east of Michigan Ave in the River North section of downtown. This was a great hotel, well located and stylin’.

We actually had a bit of downtime.. (something that will be rare on this trip!). It was nice to have some time and space to myself for a little while! Sure Matt felt the same (though, I will add that the time spent together has been exceedingly enjoyable!)

We Ubered over to the West Loop to a restaurant called Avec to meet Logan — Lisa’s younger son. I’d met him last Fall, but it was truly wonderful to spend an entire evening with him. Avec is a fantastic restaurant, too. It was a super fun time.

Ubered back to the EMC2 and it was a wrap on another great day.

After dinner last night, we hung it up pretty early… not much to see when it’s dark outside. Jason set up our respective roomettes and that was that. Slept through eastern Colorado and the entire state of Nevada (poor Nevada — gets no Amtrak love) and woke up in Iowa!

First view:

I’m really proud of the picture below. We are moving at our usual clip — they say Amtrak tops out at 79 mph on most of its rail lines because to go faster would require all kinds of upgrades to signals, gates, crossings, and ties, among other things. So says the googles, and that’s info from 2009, so not sure it’s still true. In any case, we are moving right along here and my iPhone is pressed up against my not-the-cleanest-window, and I’m clicking when I think I’m passing something interesting, but it goes by so fast, it’s hard to know! I like roads that trail off into the distance and try to snap at the right moment to capture that.. but you just never know. I was delighted to see that I got the road, but I also got (and never saw!) this RR Crossing sign. And the early morning light was really pretty. No touch ups.. this is as seen.

We forewent showers (well, I did), got breakfast, packed up, and were ready to de-train in Ottumwa. We got there at 9:45am. Tipped Jason (via Venmo!) and off we went to find the Enterprise Car Rental. It was just two blocks from the [very quiet] Amtrak station.

I’m pretty pleased at how easy that whole operation was.. nice midwestern folks, no other customers, got a nice Toyota .. and I started behind the wheel.

We decided to take a bit of circuitous route to Grinnel.. wanting to see Sigourney, a town both of us had visited at different times in our childhood. Turns out, Matt had gone for more than one summer to hang out with Bonnie and Al (and Kevin, Kyle and Susan). He had some memories we needed to check out. I had been there twice myself, but couldn’t remember much.

It was about an hour to get from Ottumwa to Grinnel, via Sigourney and What Cheer. You can see Grinnel up at the top-left.

We parked and then circumnavigated City Hall on foot… Sigourney (pop. 2000) is the county seat for Keokuk County. I believe Uncle Al was the mayor of Sigourney at one point. He was the town optometrist. Aunt Bonnie was a second grade teacher. They had a ton of friends there, so many of whom we got to know (like the Margets).

Matt and I bought Aunt Bonnie some apple bourbon at Brothers and a plant at another store right there on the square. We also did a bit of junking — a term I learned later from Aunt Bonnie, which means shopping in an antique store — also on the main square. We called Aunt Bonnie to give her an ETA and also get the address of the old house on E. Pleasant Valley St… which we had to check out!

Pretty much every town is identified on its water tower.

Really love this name.

It goes without saying that I lasted about five minutes behind the wheel. I was far too interested in documenting the countryside and couldn’t count on Matt to snap the right stuff (though I tried). He was sort of game, but, yeah… that was never going to work. I love to be the driver, but I love taking pictures more. I think this is What Cheer.

I do like road shots. I need a better camera for zoom ins. Iowa is very hilly.

Can’t get enough of barns and cows.

And roads.

And barns.

And the textures and colors of ag fields.

So… we arrived to Grinnel about noon and checked into a truly wonderful hotel — Hotel Grinnel — at Park and 4th in downtown. Not only did it used to be an elementary school, but it was the elementary school Aunt Bonnie attended, and her dad (Kenneth Starbuck) taught at. It was so cool! It had a “school” theme (chalkboards, hall pass for a key) and the [extremely cool] cafe was called The Periodic Table. Some shots:

Then headed over to Aunt Bonnie’s for lunch. She made minestrone soup and apple pie. Bonnie is 92 and is as spunky, self-sufficient, and engaging as a person can be! We visited for a few hours, then headed back to the hotel to get cleaned up for dinner. We picked Bonnie up and drove to the Prairie Canary on Main Street — a hip student hangout — where we met Kevin. Had a wonderful time! Returned to Bonnie’s for more pie, then called it a night.

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Saturday morning was a cold one!

We opted for an indoor Bonnie day: family stories, photo albums; a room-by-room tour of her house (and all her collections) and we watched Best of Show with Sassie (a mini-Australian shepherd). She served us breakfast AND lunch and we hung out the whole day together. Perfect day.

She gave me a full tour of everything.. I couldn’t get enough. Even her closet was charming… she wears bright colors, red is her favorite.

I took dozens and dozens of pictures of pictures! Here is a sampling:

The sisters and their mom: Great Grandma Hattie, Leone, Vera, Mary (grandma), Martha, Tootie, Ethyl, Hattie Zoe. No pics of great uncle Romeo.

And in more modern times: Leone, Vera, Mary, Martha, Tootie, Ethyl, Hattie Zoe…

These were fro the Bicentimental Trip they took in 1976 (Aunt Bonnie, Uncle Al, Mom, Dad and another couple). They had a blast.

These are a few of some of the visits the Cornishes made to California….Disneyland, Knott’s Berry Farm.. Northern Cal.

And a few more random:

After lots of photo albums, Kevin came by and we went for a drive/tour of Grinnel and environs.. Karla was out of town, but he showed us where she works these days.. a sort of I-80 truck stop/camp ground/picnic spot with flowers, gardens, art (see below) and chickens. Quite cool. Just a couple of pics.

And finally… we drove to Lynnville to have dinner at the Lindon House, an old mill and B&B. Great pork was had!

Slept well! Woke up at about 6:30; the train was rolling slowly and this was the early morning view. We are somewhere in Eastern Utah…

This is discreet enough, ya? I really wanted to get a picture of the bathroom and shower. It’s like an airplane bathroom (with an added shower). There ARE showers on the first floor that have adjacent changing areas where you can spread out more. I thought this was fine and it was just steps from my roomette. It’s about 7:30 and there is no competition for the room!

As was our routine (lol), after breakfast we nabbed a spot in the observation car — best views in the house. Here are some nice scenes of Utah. And it’s worth noting: from a moving train with an iPhone (usually pressed up against the glass to avoid reflection).

In the picture above, note some of those rock formations in the distance, just below the snow line on the left-ish side of the shot. I mean…

And now we’re in Colorado.. Grand Junction, where we have a fresh air stop (and other train business). The fresh air stops allowed those who needed to smoke some time to do so (not allowed on train). For the rest of us, a brisk walk and exploration. This is the original train station, now abandoned, I believe (there appeared to be a new one, less architecturally interesting).

More Western Colorado… and as we near the Rockies, we start to see more snow.

One of the conductors made the rounds, greeting passengers and answering questions. Really interesting and fun to chat with this guy…

Today’s lunch was a baked potato with all the fixings. Not bad! We did not go hungry.

Another fresh air stop, this one in Glenwood Springs. I like this one a lot because Jim, Peter and I had been there in 2007 on a trip through the Southwest with the Bolles. We always remember Glenwood Springs because 1) Peter was allergic to the minerals in the hot springs there and developed a huge full-body rash (which did not stop him from enjoying the giant water slides), and 2) Peter got a pie in the face from the waiter at dinner because it was his 9th birthday. It is an incredibly lovely town along the Colorado River!

For the next several hours (and a couple hours before this), the train follows the Colorado River through truly gorgeous pastoral farms, then narrow gorges.

In the photo below, you can see the tracks we’re on. I’m also remembering last year on this trip (with Darlene, to Chicago), there was a LOT more snow.

We finally arrive to the highest station on this route, Fraser, CO, elevation 8574′. It was snowing!

We then go through a whole bunch of tunnels, one that was nine miles long, and emerge on the sunny East side of the Rockies..

And just as we’re wrapping up dinner, we get a sweeping view of the Denver metropolis and beyond.

We’ll head to bed pretty early again, this time sleeping through another “N” state: Nebraska.

Matt arrived yesterday late afternoon..April 18. I spent the day putting finishing touches on packing and preparing myself and house for being gone for a month. Good productive day. Picked him up at the airport, went to Burma for dinner, got good nights sleeps. That meant that today… we were ready to board the train! Got to the station early (just to make sure) and were assured we were confirmed, then headed to Cloud Forest for a relaxed cup of coffee. Returned to the train station, ready to board!

The train was late.. ugh.. but arrived (not at 10:36, but) at 11:15….

One of my favorite things: when the train stops on the platform, train personnel jump out and stride right over to where you are and say things like, “Kari and Matt Peterson? Come right this way!” Our car’s porter, Jason, proceeds to load and stow our bags, and give us a quick orientation — lunch will be served at such and such, bathrooms and showers are here, observation car is there, snacks and drinks can be purchased down below, bed service is … etc. We each have a button in our roomette for summoning Jason, as needed.

We’ve said goodbye to Jim, the train rolls out… and after a quick tour of the entire length of the train, Matt proclaims, “I could do this for a long time!” (His tune will change slightly after his cold shower at the start of day two).

We are happy. We settle into the observation car and watch the world roll by.

The valley is beautiful, and takes awhile to move through. We have lunch with a couple from England.. charming. We will see them frequently over the next couple of days.

Colfax is quaint:

Then comes the first-day’s highlight.. views of dramatic foothills and the very snowy Sierra.

The American River…

Approaching Donner Summit… (takes about four hours to get to the summit!)

Donner Lake. And of note: we are cruising along the tracks visible (and seemingly covered in snow) last week when Jim and I were snowshoeing at Donner Summit. We asked a conductor about snow on the tracks and were told that the train moves slowly enough that it simply clears the tracks as it goes. Snow is typically light and fluffy, largely because the number of trains passing through precludes too much snow from settling and icing up. They have been known to stop the train and chisel snow as necessary.

Matt and I did a bit of this: pre-dinner cocktails and gin rummy. So, so fun.

More lovely eastern Sierra shots and the Truckee River…

And then passed Reno and onto the Nevada portion of the trip.

We have 6:30 dinner reservations… and the scenery is lovely. Steak for Matt, Salmon for me…

And the sun sets on our first day..

Jason sets up each of our roomettes and we hit the hay pretty early. We’ll sleep through the rest of Nevada and most of Utah.

Good lord… it took me the entire day to pack for this trip. I had all sizes of suitcases out, hoping maybe I’d manage with the mama bear… but no… ended up putting mama and baby bear away and went with the grand ol’ papa bear suitcase. Ugh. It’s a beast and will be brutal during times of transport. But man… how DO you pack for a month of variable and unpredictable weather, a variety of activities — some dressy, some outdoorsy — and not take a million things. Plus a whole bunch of gifts. Plus laptop, books, and whoa nelly it adds up. (I still have to find a place for 3 boxes of See’s candy, a large gift bag full of treasures, and a gift book.

Brutal.

I will be.. with any luck… posting daily in the weeks to come, so I’ll not go into any detail now… but what a trip this is going to be!

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I drove out to the airport to pick up my travel buddy for the first (of four) legs of this journey. MATTY! And on the way to the airport came upon about a mile or two of these… bright blue flowering shrubs dotted along Rd 102. So so pretty! No idea what they are, though they look like ceanothus, at least from a distance.

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And finally, let the record show: we planted our tomatoes today (we meaning Mary the gardener, of course). That should make Jim happy. We (Mary) also planted basil, eggplant, peppers, yellow squash and zucchini. The chard’s going gangbusters, as are the parsley, carrots, garlic, strawberries and onions. We can still harvest broccoli, as well, though it’s at the end of its run.

And, who knew we were growing celery!

And that’s the up to the minute. Fingers crossed boarding the train tomorrow goes smoothly!

After this atmospheric river-rich winter, we here in gorgeous California will be experiencing an epic spring. I’m going to miss a lot of the bloom, as I leave town in a couple days.. and no time to drive up into the foothills to see this. So…. I went to the California Wildflower Tipline group that I follow on Facebook for some inspiration and loveliness. I took none of these, of course. All the credit goes to a bunch of people I don’t know, but whose photos I admire! Kudos to these talented strangers: Lisa Harper, Katherine Arch, Dave Miller, Chris Nugent and Ming Luong. And check out their photos on FB.

Carrizo Plain National Monument in Santa Margarita…

East of Fresno in the Sierra foothills…

Two from Palos Verdes…

Carrizo Plain…

Carrizo National Monument…

Cottonwood Canyon Rd off of Hwy 166..

Carrizo Plain…

Carrizo Plain

There are so many more… I love the carpets of flowers

As tulip season draws to a close in our backyard, I shall share a final shot of this year’s crop.

I still buy tulips at the store and have multiple vases around the house because these are too pretty to pick. Plus, I like looking out the window over my desk (I’m doing it NOW) to see their sweet perky selves out there.

I don’t know this for sure, but I think–after too many non administration-approved antics on the part of the [much beloved] UC Davis Band-Uh–the old band’s gone and in its place a cleaned up, straight-laced, respectable band to march in parades, including today’s Picnic Day event. Don’t quote me on that.. but I think that’s what I heard (and am now memorializing in my blog!)

See? All dressed up and orderly. Yawn.

Jim early-scouted a table at Crepeville, I showed up around 10, in time to order and eat breakfast before the first floats appeared. Great front row seats. And that was it for us. Couldn’t quite muster the energy to take on the hordes on campus. Besides, the baseball team’s down at UCLA today.. so no baseball game to watch this year.

Jim and I, alternatingly, finally talked each other into a trip up the mountain yesterday to do some snowshoeing. That is: for weeks, I’d been all gung ho to experience California’s biggest snow in forever, and worked hard to make my case! As it got closer to leaving on the big train-car-grad-birthday trip, I started to feel like I was running out of time (I am not) to do all the stuff I gotta do before leaving (nothing). Now it was Jim’s turn to talk me into it. Which was not a hard sell.

So we went.

Remember: always say yes. ALWAYS SAY YES.

Anyway. Simple, easy.. and a spectacular day.

Some snow shots. There was a lot of snow. This is the Old Donner Pass Road.. (we’d inadvertently detoured along the lake and double-backed up I-80 to the snopark.. a worthwhile detour).

One of many views of Donner Lake we’ll get today.. this was from the Old Donner Pass Rd. Parts of the lake are still frozen.

I feel like this is the railroad track I’ll be on in a few days.. as the California Zephyr makes its way from Davis to Ottumwa (and points before and beyond). But.. how can that be.. they seem covered in snow? I guess I’ll see come Wednesday…

Two nice shots of Donner Lake.. so so pretty… one with the tracks visible and the other just a nice water pic.

Jim had gotten a day pass (they probably never check, but it’s a good thing to have). We parked on a patch of dry road and walked back to the snopark area to find a way up and in. Best we could find was this…. about a 12′ vertical wall to ascend. Jim comfortable with this, me not so much. But did it. Climbed in snow shoes.. that was new. (We found a much better way to descend at the end of the day… a whole bunch of anxiety I could have done without! I thought all day about the end of the hike and how we’d have to either down climb or slide.. )

The hike up was BEAUTIFUL. Cold (high 30s) a small amount of wind at the top, bright, clear skies! The hike is about 1 mile, most of it is up, but not crazily so.. 400′ gain total. A good 60-minute workout.. warmed right up. Some views:

About mid-way…

It was great walking.. great snow.

At the top.. lake in background, probably Heavenly off to the right.

We saw not a soul, except families down at the snopark area. Saw a few cross country ski tracks.. some animal tracks. That was it.

A shot coming down… following our tracks back.

We tried a few places for lunch before we found TJ’s Roadhouse in Colfax. But before that, tried Rainbow Lodge, along the Yuba River (the pic below) and the Monte Vista in Dutch Flat.. both closed.

Great day. May make it an annual trek. Can’t be beat.

Spring usually bring pink blossoms (and white blossoms and purple blossoms, etc). Like this gorgeous photo that Jim took yesterday…

Colorful leaves usually happen in the fall (though usually come in yellows and golds… and maybe some red).

But on this lovely spring day, I came upon a tree down by the creek with pink leaves.

I do not know what kind of tree it is… but it jumped out and it’s gorgeous!

Just lovely.