Life of Wry

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. 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) he 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.