all aboard!

to celebrate mom's 84th birthday, my sister alisa and i took her (karen) on an adventure, by train! it was awesome!! we hopped on the orient express california zephyr in denver, where alisa and i live and trundled along for a gorgeous 15 hours to salt lake city, where mom lives. we organized for mom to fly from salt lake city to denver a few nights before our departure to spend a couple of fun boulder days together then early on the morning of her birthday, we took the bus downtown to denver's gorgeous union station, hopped on the train and off we went.

mom grew up in montpelier, idaho, a small town in the southeastern corner of the state. her father worked on the railroad there and since their family didn't own a car, she remembers their family trips were always taken by train. mom has always had a romantic fascination with this slo-mo mode of travel, and for good reason. so, i thought it would be a wonderful birthday celebration for the three girls in our family to share a train ride this year. mom even admitted to getting the same excited childhood butterflies-in-the-stomach feeling as we were getting ready to depart. success!!

i haven't been on a train trip for a long time. in fact, i don't think i have ever been on a train adventure in the u.s. so i was anxious to understand the amtrak culture. i had some questions, y'know like: will boarding be a hassle similar to airplane travel? will the seats be comfortable? who rides the train? what will the food in the dining car be like? do we have to stay in or by our seat or may we wander around wherever and whenever we'd like? are there stewardesses? how many times will we stop? will i get bored? now that i have the answers to these questions, let me share them:

no, boarding was a breeze!- no security, no liquid nor luggage restrictions, etc, etc. we simply got to the station, found our train/platform number on the big, train schedule board, showed the conductor our tickets (they wear conductor caps just like in the polar express), were shown which car we were to board, went up and chose our seats, placed our luggage in the open space just above, explored the train car for a while, settled into our seats with a wink and a smile to each other, then relaxed with a contented sigh.

yes, our seats were comfortable - the seats in the car reminded me of the movie recliner seats with twice as much legroom as there is seated on a plane in coach. unfortunately, however, the restrooms on the train are the same size as plane restrooms. there are blackout curtains on the windows which you may open or close as you wish and all your luggage is easily accessible whenever you want it. 

everyone rides the train- families with young children and teenagers playing cards together, retired couples taking photos with their i-pads, young couples, twenty-year-olds, single men, a group of women friends enjoying a getaway together and a pretty mom with her two daughters.

the dining car food was good - alisa brought snacks for us all and sushi for lunch but we wanted to celebrate with a birthday dinner in the dining car so we made reservations just after boarding. when they called us for our 5:30pm seating, we were directed to a linen-covered table set with dishes. nice. i ordered ravioli from the menu and our food was delivered in just a few minutes. it was delicious. i had managed to carefully transport a small birthday cake surprise for mom so we lit a candle, mom made a wish and our waiter invited the whole dining car to sing, happy birthday to karen! (happy photo above)

yes, you may wander around all you'd like - we pretty much spent the first 6 hours in the observation car then went back for a while to our seats. we ventured off to the dining car for dinner, checked out the observation car at night then went back to our seats until our arrival.

no stewardesses, yes stewards - these nice guys in uniform spent their time carpet sweeping the cars, answering any questions people may have or stopping for a quick chat.

we didn't stop many times at all - during our 15 hour ride from den to slc, we had only 5 stops. we were invited to get off the train and look around for the 15 minute stops in both glenwood springs and grand junction but the three other stops were very quick.

bored? no way! - i was a bit worried about this after reading there would be no wi-fi and only sporadic cell service so i packed a book, my kindle, brought some embroidery and downloaded a movie onto my phone. but once i got in the mode, i realized there is so much to do on the train! we sat in the observation car and watched the incredible scenery go by for hours, took photographs, ate lunch, talked to fellow passengers, ordered drinks, walked back to our seat 4 cars away over and over again to get things we wanted while in the observation car, dodged roy who had an eye for mom and wanted a one on one chat with her but we selfishly wanted her to ourselves for the trip so sorry roy, napped, read, had dinner and just enjoyed our time being together with no one driving and no interruptions (except for roy ;).

i think the 6 hour stretch from denver to glenwood springs in the winter under bright blue skies must be one of the most beautiful train experiences in the country. the views as you wind through snow-covered mountains, follow the colorado river below and look up to sharp, rocky cliffs above are breathtaking and the excitement of going in and out of the 20 or so tunnels is absolutely exhilarating. there was one thing i was particularly looking forward to during this trip. i was anxious to look from the train down to our house instead of looking up from our house to the train. from our valley, there is a short section of track visible high up on eldo mountain. i often look out for the regular train and hear its horn as it travels from denver and heads west into the canyon. it was an incredible experience to look down on our valley at last. the 9th photo from the top is that shot with our property smack dab in the middle.

nearly there......our last stop before getting to salt lake was provo. i was so excited and took the quick opportunity to text gabi and let her know we were just down the road!

me: hi sweetie. still on the train and we've just pulled into provo station for a quick stop! next stop, salt lake city. it's been an amazing trip. see you tomorrow!

gabi: i already have my eye patches on.

which is her direct way of telling me, i'm sleeping, don't bother me ;)

we finally arrived in salt lake city about 11:00pm and called for an uber to take us to mom's house. we all slept soundly after a very, very exciting day!!! the three of us have agreed we would do a train trip like that again, anytime!! if you have the time, i would highly recommend considering taking the train as a travel option. 

mom, alisa and i awoke the next morning wanting to take advantage of our day before alisa and i flew back to denver that night. so, the three of us drove down to provo.....met gabi at her house (whoop, whoop!)..... spent time with her roommate caitlin and gabi's boyfriend oscar who had skipped class just to come and say hi.....drove over to visit my parent's-in-law mervyl and gerry who are also friends with mom and alisa.....suggested gabi direct us to her favorite lunch place on byu campus (choices).....took a photo-op at the cougareat because all of a sudden we realized here we were, 3 generations of byu cougars together on campus! - mom a student at byu in the 50's, alisa and i in the 80's and gabi attending now.....dropped gabi off at work and said our goodbyes.....drove back up to salt lake for dinner.....met sebastian and maddi (whoop, whoop!) and brian (our youngest brother :) for middle eastern food at mazza on ninth and ninth (thanks, mom).....said our goodbyes to sab, maddi and mom (it's been amazing, mom).....then brian drove alisa and i to the airport....we flew the less-than-an-hour trip back.....arrived in denver 10:00pm......took the bus to our local stop.....jerry (alisa’s husband) picked us up and drove us to their house.....i got in my car and drove home......found all was well.....fell into bed and spent the next two days recovering from this exhausting but most fun-filled, celebratory adventure. 

The journey,

not the arrival,

 matters.

      

                                 - T.S. Eliot