Blue Cat needed to pick up a car in Provo, Utah this week and it was too far to walk, so he took the Amtrak’s California Zephyr train from Denver to Provo. It would be a relaxing ride he thought – and being able to get up and walk around would take the bite out of the 13 hour trip. And he was right – and wrong. Here’s how it went.
The train was supposed to leave at 8am, but it was coming from Chicago and in the morning the Amtrak site said that it was going to be an hour late. By the time Blue Cat got to the station the train was even later, and then there was a mechanical problem, so it ended up leaving 2 hours late. Here’s a video of the momentous event:
Blue Cat has to say, though, that every Amtrak employee associated with the was wonderful! The station agent gave Blue Cat and his party a ride to the train (one of them has a tough time walking long distances and the train was really far from the station building), the conductors were very helpful getting the group and their luggage onto to the train, and the train staff was both helpful and super nice.
So now Blue Cat was on his way.
The ride up the east side of the Rockies was beautiful – Blue Cat counted 28 smaller tunnels, views of things like the Gross Dam (named after Denver Water former Chief Engineer Dwight D. Gross, completed in 1954 and made of 627,559 cubic yards of concrete)
… and a quick stop in Fraser, Colorado to let a bunch of outdoor enthusiasts off at the Winter Park ski resort.
Then under the Contenential Divide (over 3,000 feet under from what the conductor said) through the 14-mile Moffat Tunnel (named after Colorado railroad pioneer David Moffat and completed in 1928). (Thanks to Wikipedia for the image of the west end of the tunnel – Blue Cat’s eyes were still adjusting to the bright sunlight – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Image_Moffat_west2a.jpg)
By this time Blue Cat had realized that having a coach seat in the lower level was not the way to travel on the train. It was easier to get to his seat – no going up the small spiral staircase and on the same level as the restrooms – but the compartment was small (only 12 about a quarter of the car length), a bit dark and on the same level as the restrooms (Blue Cat says you can figure it out). So at lunch time Blue Cat went upstairs to see how the other folks lived and to get some food.
The first thing he noticed was that the observation car was filled with people that had no intention of ever moving back to their seats – not only were they set up for a long stay but had their stuff piled in otherwise empty seats. “That seat is taken – she’s just at the restroom” was a common refrain, and what seats were empty were in places where Blue Cat had to crawl over others to get to.
But that experience turned out ok – because by not sitting down Blue Cat’s group was first in line when the dining car opened. The Dining Car was mostly for folks in the sleeper car (food for them was included) but Blue Cat found that the food was good and, since he was in a group of 2 + one small cat, he got to share a table with a nice couple from Denver that owned an interesting clean room supply business. Having to share a table (which was very small but worked out ok) was a great way to meet new folks. And there was cheesecake!
(Blue Cat wants to say that everything on the train was very expensive but also very convenient. A can of soda was $2.25 and the good (but not spectacular) hamburger with chips (American style) was $14.00. But it was right on the train and Blue Cat didn’t have to worry about bringing (and carrying) an extra bag filled with food. And the guy running the snack bar in the Observation Car was really funny with his public announcements and super friendly in person.)
Traveling on the train was a great way to see some really interesting things while not having to watch the road while driving. He saw a bald eagle in its nest just outside of Dotsero, CO and a natural hot spring pool in the Colorado River just east of Glenwood Springs, CO. (It went by too fast to take a picture, but it looked like 2 circular pools (like an “8”) in the rocky bank of the river, with bubbles and water flowing into the river and steam coming off the surface.) And the stops were not very long and allowed Blue Cat to get a bit of fresh air (and spin a few Pokémon Go stops and gyms).
And there was time for snacks…
… watching a movie …
… seeing some interesting places …
… and just taking a nap.
(Blue Cat noted that, while the train seats were bigger than airline seats and had more adjustments (like foot rests and thigh support) they were old and kind of lumpy. Not good for sitting on for hours on end.)
Then there was dinner – again in the Dining Car, but this time with a reservation so Blue Cat didn’t have to get in line. It was also very expensive but the chicken and steak were very good and Blue Cat got all the coffee creamer anyone would ever want.
(By this time the Observation Cart was completely empty – because it was dark and there was nothing to see.)
The rest of the trip was pretty dull – just waiting for the stop in Provo so Blue Cat could get off and go to his friend’s house. But again the staff was very nice – the conductor told Blue Cat when Provo was the next stop, got his luggage ready, and helped him off the train at the very small Provo station (it was dark and Blue Cat was really tired – but here’s a picture courtesy of Wikipedia).
So – Blue Cat says that taking the train can be fun, but you need to know that:
- It’s a lot easier than walking and the staff are very, very nice
- Seats in the upper level are best
- Bring your own food and drink (or be prepared for some serious spending), and
- Look out the window a lot and enjoy the view
What do you think about train travel? Do you have a train travel story you’d like to share? Comment or drop Blue Cat a line here.
(C) William P Doyle, Jr 2020
Blue Cat's View 
