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Day One: March 1st, 2009 (2:30PM) "All Aboard!" On a Sunday in Western Massachusetts, not much is going on. A storm from the south
is coming, and looks to dump a butt load of snow on our sleepy little area, but I am heading in the other direction of it.
I have three pieces of luggage - a banjo, a suitcase and a laptop case. I asked the guy at the Amtrak counter
if I should check my banjo in the luggage car.
"I wouldn't recommend it" was all he said.
The
train is 3/4 full when I get aboard, and I sit next to a young guy who was only going to Albany from Springfield. He asked
where I was going, and I told him I was headed for Chicago.
"Wow", he responded. "That's a long
way".
"That's just the beginning", I followed up.
After pulling out of the station 20 minutes late, we went on our way thru Westfield and Pittsfield. Had a couple of stops
for freight and for opposite heading Amtraks. Still - we made it to Albany on time. Now I sit in the car while they hook up
the NYC portion of the train to make a giant 14 car Lake Shore Limited.
The Albany station looks brand new, and
we had an option of staying on board, or hanging out in the station. If I chose to go inside the station I would have to stay
there for over and hour, then walk up 11 cars to get back aboard. I decided it was early enough in my journey that I was all
set with moving around. I decided to stay put, and wait for us to head out to Chicago. I will call my wife in the AM and tell
her where I am at. She looked pretty sad when I left, and not just because she was going to face a blizzard all alone.
I have not yet seen the diner car, but after eating a nutri-grain bar, and some canned chicken salad that looked a
lot like cat food, I may have to see the bar car before long.
It's 6PM
A side note: one bathroom is
out of order, and the other is a handicapped lavatory. It was still a tight fit, what with the extra room and support handrails.
Not the scariest bathroom I have ever been in, but not exactly the Ritz either.
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Day Two (Somewhere in Ohio and Indiana) 7:00AM
After sleeping sideways across 2 seats at 1-2 hours at
a time (eventually, I got the hang of positioning myself so that the crease in the middle did not give me spasms). I woke
up around 1AM in Buffalo to a border patrolman dressed in green. He asked me how I was doing and what country I was from.
By my slow and somewhat dazed response, I was not sure if he would believe me. However, he quickly moved along.
Around 4AM I woke up and saw that I was in Cleveland, just outside of Browns Stadium.
At 6AM I was in Toledo. Two students on either side of me got off of the train, and things looked pretty desolate on board.
I text a few friends, and send love notes to my wife ("hello, Cleveland! I miss U") and when I wake up again, the
sun is rising, and I snap a few shots of the flat Ohio landscape, Then I go get a coffee.
The food is what you would expect, I suppose - nuked sandwiches at $6 a pop (the same ones that would cost around $4
in a 7-11). The woman at the diner car was very cheery, and that made the spongy, piping hot bread seems a little more palatable,
It turns out that this is her first train trip on the job, after spending several years as a flight attendant.
8AM (Indiana)
After my coffee, I decide
to brave the handicapped bathroom once again. It looks like a concert hall port o let this time around. I wipe around the
edges, use one of the seat barriers and hope for the best. I may need a Typhoid shot when I get to Chicago. The train is cranking
along now. Still not many people on board. I am somewhat surprised, since it is a Monday, and I anticipated some commuters.
When you have 14 cars, however, they are distributed all along. This section is the "stub train", and there are
no sleeping quarters. A sleeper car (or "roomette") costs over $150, which seems a bit pricey. How much better sleep
can you possibly get? Lots of bouncing around at this speed, but it's not so bad. I am fairly comfortable, considering I have
been sitting on my ass since 2PM yesterday.
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9:15AM
"The
Windy City" did not get it's nickname for nothing. The moment I stepped outside to have a look at the area around Union
Station - I discovered a piercing breeze that nearly took my ears off. I also found I was going the wrong way - thanks to
my new friend, Eugene.
"Gene" saw me walking around
The Great Hall with my guitar case, and went straight for me.
"Hey! is that a banjo you got there?",
he asked me.
"Uh... yeah", I warily replied.
"You don't see to many people around these
parts who play the banjo."
"I guess not".
"If you are trying to see downtown, you need to go the other way",
Eugene said to me.
"Follow me".
Reluctantly, I changed direction.
"You know what is the in the way you were going before? The hood."
"I was just gonna walk around the block", I explained to him... not sure
where I was going at all.
"Look
up", Eugene exclaimed.
And there was the Sears Tower... looming over me like a ladder into heaven.
I figured it was only a matter of time before he hit me up for some money, and he did. At least I got
a few things out of it.
A copy of The Onion.
A post card of Chicago.
and a post card of President Obama.
I suppose
that was worth the $6 he got out of me.
Union Station is
an amazing place... not so much the station itself, but the adjacent Great Hall.
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Day
Three (Chicago To Havre)
3:41PM (on the 'Empire Builder')
At last! I am leaving Chicago.
After wolfing down a most delicious corned beef and swiss on rye... I boarded the Empire Builder for Havre, Montana. The train
goes all the way to Seattle & Portland, and is the most popular train that heads to the West Coast. In early March, I
don't think it is going to be all that busy. I was able to nab a front seat on the upper level, and quickly stretched out
with my lap top and my digital camera to upload my pics.
Snow
squalls are happening, but it looks like it wont be too bad. Who cares? I'm on a train! This is one of the reasons I opted
against flying. A huge blizzard has paralyzed the East coast, and many flights have been canceled. The train keeps on rolling.
I did very well on my earlier trip, but I may or may not decide to get a sleeper car. We will see how it goes. My ticket agent
is very friendly, and that is always a plus. Many people I chat with are only going as far as Minneapolis. I am sure others
will get on to travel the rest of the way. I could write off the roomette if I wanted, but how much better sleep would I get?
For the sake of the experience, I could give it a shot on the way back.
So far, so good.... 6:00PM (somewhere in Wisconsin)
After a brilliant, warming sunset, and the warming glow of my second spirit beverage, I return to my seat to find a fresh
pillow waiting for me, These people are taking good care of us. Milwaukee was colder and snowier looking than Chicago, but
Northern Wisconsin looks fairly tolerable in contrast - not much snow, and the afore mentioned sunset. As we got on the train
in Chicago: I encountered a gentleman from NYC who was headed to the end of the line and then down to California to see his
brothers, Anthony had worked as an administrator for a homeless. He took some time off, and was on his own sabbatical. We
chatted about Van Morrison, the Blues, upstate NY, etc. He was a nice guy. now I am back in my seat and realizing I am less
than a day away from getting off of this train.
Dinner was announced, but is hugely expensive. I have more of
my cat food-like ham salad to keep me going instead.
I will fall asleep and wonder what the
morning shall
bring (North Dakota). Welcome To The Geographical Center Of North America
(Otherwise known as "Nowhere" - keep going, until you are
in the middle of it!)
I had a pretty crappy night's sleep. One night across two train seats is fine, but two is
asking too much in return. At least I had my eyes closed.
We stopped in Minneapolis for an hour, and the train
had to switch engines, re-fuel, or something. I woke up again, and we were in Fargo. Woke up again, and it was somewhere called
"Devil's Lake".
Not too many people on the train at this point - many of them got off in Fargo and Grand
Forks. As the sun rises, I see a few shapes on the frozen prairie, that turn out to be foxes. It looks brutal outside. When
the Weather Channel talks about the arctic high that keeps pushing into the country... they are talking about here.
After what seems like forever - we leave North Dakota. I notice that the geography starts to change and some cliffs appear
in the distance. This is the start of Montana, and the next phase of my journey.
The Fort Peck Lake and the Missouri
River are down there somewhere.
Badlands, and low lying mountains appear. I start furiously taking snapshots. The
snow is starting to melt away in places. Mule Deer are seen running away from the train, and Pronghorn Antelope are seen grazing
unfazed near the tracks. Soon, I encounter the town of Glasgow.
Not at all like the one in Scotland.
I
only have a few more hours before I reach Havre, Montana. On the edge of the horizon, I spot the Little Rocky Mountains, and
the Bear Paw Mountains.
I say goodbye to my friend Anthony, and I gather my belongings (banjo and laptop included)
and prepare to disembark from this incredible train ride.
Scott
Lawson Pomeroy "Return To Big Rock Candy Mountain"
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