Denver August 2022 Part 2

If you'd like to read Part 1 first, click here. 

Day Two, Monday, August 22nd began on the Amtrak Cardinal moving out of Indianapolis. It was a very foggy morning. The fog clouds were so low that we could see only a few feet of the windmill stands with regular slow moving passes of the windmill arms. 

We gained an hour when the time changed from Eastern to Central time zones between Lafayette and Rensselaer, Indiana. And yes we were watching our phones to see if we could observe the change as it happened. Of course we missed it. However, I took this photo as soon as we noticed it. 

We arrived in Chicago at almost the scheduled time of 10 a.m. Sleeper car tickets gave us access to the lounge where we could store our bags and head out for a walkabout Chicago. We had 4 hours until the next train so 3.5 hours to wander. 

We've experienced an Amtrak layover in Chicago many years ago when we travelled from Philadelphia to Seattle. For the record, on that trip we took the Capitol Limited from Philadelphia to Chicago. On that previous trip we walked down to Navy Pier and back. Having less time on this layover, and not wanting to do the same thing again, I used Google Maps to plot out a 2 mile-ish walk to Lake Michigan and back. We had plenty of time to do that and stop along the way. 

Google maps showed me the "Relish Chicago Hot Dog" stand near the Art Institute on Michigan Avenue. I never knew that Chicago Hot Dogs were a thing and discovering this we had to try them. According to Wikipedia "The complete assembly of a Chicago hot dog is said to be "dragged through the garden" due to the many toppings." It made me think of Primantis Brothers sandwiches, but for hot dogs. 

Chicago is one of the HQ locations for the REALTOR Association (the national tier of my employer). In August there are a lot of leadership meetings and workshops. I wasn't sure of this year's schedule and I was wondering if I would see any REALTORS wandering around. I did see one man with a REALTOR pin but not anyone I know. 

However, on our return walk to the station, I saw two people sitting at a window counter at Dunkin Donuts. These two people are REALTORS from my local Association, but they were NOT there on real estate business. They, too were on vacation and happened to stop overnight in Chicago. Even stranger is the fact that they had planned to stop at two other coffee places but both were too crowded so they settled on this Dunkin Donuts. Had there been room in their 1st or 2nd choices we would not have seen them. I'm still kicking myself for not getting a photo of the four of us. 

(By the way, the REALTOR all caps is a trademark thing and seeing as how compliance is one of the hats I wear at work, I can't write the word any other way). 

We arrived back at Chicago's Union Station a little after noon. Our train, the California Zephyr, was due to leave at 2 pm. We settled in to read books and wait. About 1:45 they called our train and we followed our guide to the platform. No elevator ride at this station. Also there were only 4 of us boarding the Cardinal at Philadelphia. Here there were many many people getting on the Zephyr. 

Our journey on the Zephyr was not as timely as the Cardinal. **Spoiler Alert** We arrived in Denver 2.5 hours late. The first delay came almost immediately out of the station in Chicago. The conductor announced that there was a signaling issue and that although no one on board the train could discern a reason for it, the train had a red light and had no choice but to wait.  

About a half hour later we stopped again. This time due to fire fighter activity in Mendota, Il. The photo in the linked article shows how close the tracks are to the fire. The air was so thick with smoke, the train engineer had to wait likely because visibility was low. Even when we were allowed to go through it, the smoke was pretty heavy. (if you scroll down in the article there is a slideshow with more photos). As far as I can tell from various articles available, there were no fatalities but several people did have to go to the hospital. 

Since the Zephyr is a SuperLiner model we did have dinner in the dining car. Amtrak's approach to meals in the dining car is called "community dining". If you are a  group of less than 4 you will be seated with others. And those not ready for this after COVID, can have their meals brought to their rooms. The community dining aspect is one of our favorite things about long distance train travel. It may seem strange to my fellow introverts, but part of the beauty of it is that you have no choice. You can ease into conversation with the one thing everyone at the table has in common. You are all on a train going somewhere. So there is a script of sorts to start things off - sharing your name, where you are from, where you are going and why. Things do sort of flow from there. 

We dined with a father and son, Bob and Tyler.  Bob and Tyler are from West Chester, NY. They were on their way to Denver as well. (It turns out they were also on the Cardinal earlier that day). They were celebrating Tyler's first job with a paid vacation. Bob is (early) retired from Phillips. He is enjoying retirement except for the need to pay for his own health insurance since he's not old enough for Medicare yet. Except for the less than helpful retirement medical plan, he enjoyed his time at Phillips. He began there as a college intern and was hired right out of college. Tyler (the son) is a train enthusiast and only wanted to talk about /share everything he knew about trains. I'll admit this was challenging to listen to. His passion soon became a bit annoying. It is what it is and it takes all kinds to keep the world smiling and moving, right? (At least that is what I kept silently telling myself)

Dave and Tony exchanging
stories of working on the railroad

After dinner we returned to our roomette and asked Tony, our sleeping car attendant, to turn the room over after the fresh air break. Certain stops on each long distance train are designated fresh air (smoke 'em if you have to) stops. Usually, there is something else going on like a crew change or taking on supplies or, as is the case in DC, switching engines. (see part 1). 

This stop was in Ottumwa Iowa. When I learned the Zephyr had a stop there I was hoping it was a fresh air stop so we could take a photo of the station sign. I would have liked to get one with us in the photo but the angle wasn't right for that and there wasn't anyone near enough to take it for us. Here's a link to information I just learned today!! Who knew that Radar O'Reilly was based on a real person from Ottumwa, Iowa! 

Here is a description and route map for the California Zephyr. 

We spent our daylight hours in Illinois and Iowa. Our overnight hours were mostly in Nebraska. The train whistle was not used as much this night but the tracks were in bumpy shape. Being on the top of the double decker train car meant we really felt the rocking back and forth. 

Both Tony and Dave were amused that I wanted my head facing in the direction of the train. They both said it was 'normal' to have your feet facing that direction. My logic was that I wanted my head away from the steps that Dave would use to descend. Given the bumpy ride I think my choice made perfect sense!! And 'normal' is over-rated. Note, Tony cheerfully turned the mattress around for me. 

Keep Smiling and Keep Moving,

-Paula