Random Photos

August 25, 2015

Sometimes life does not go as planned.

Weather, illness, mysteries, death, new life and other things can change the direction of your life. 

 I'm on an Amtrak train heading back to San Antonio and then will drive the RV to Aransas Pass to work short-term at the tax office preparing returns on extension. 

Here are some random pictures from my summer. 

Amtrak

Choo.....Choo.....

For many years we would travel from Chicago to Denver on Amtrak.  It was the easy, stress-free way to travel to visit our daughter during the winter.  No worries about driving during the snowy, white-out conditions on I-80 or I-70. 

Christmas 2006, the Denver Airport was closed down, stranding passengers for days. Parts of I-70, I-80, I-25 and I-76 were closed. Looking out the train windows, we saw abandoned trucks and cars all along the route, but the train made it through to Denver.

Chicago Union Station

Chicago railyards

I love traveling on the train, but it is not for everyone. You need to have the time to travel by train, its 15 hours from Chicago to Denver about the same as driving. You have to be able to relax and not worry about schedules or delays. Hopefully, you can sleep through the rocking and rolling, the trains travel faster during the night. Most trains show a movie or two each evening in the Lounge Car. Three meals a day are available in the Dining Car or at the Snack Bar.

Omaha, NE

more than halfway to Denver

sometime after Midnight

Omaha Station

sleeper car

The first long train ride we did was in 1989 from Chicago to Las Vegas. At that time the train station was behind one of the Casinos. Now you have to get off the train in Salt Lake City and take a bus 7.5 hours to Las Vegas.

Between 1999-2009, we rode the California Zephyr between Chicago and Denver more than a dozen times. A few times, for a change of scenery, we would ride on the Southwest Chief, from Chicago to Trinidad, CO or Albuquerque, NM. I actually prefer this route, but it was not as convenient as the California Zephyr into Denver.

In 2001, we rode from Chicago to Washington D.C. and  from there we boarded another train to Orlando, FL.  There was a layover of several hours in D.C. so we toured some of the "Mall" while we were waiting.

 In April 2011, when I purchased my RV from a dealer in Seffner, FL, I took this same route from Chicago to Orlando and then rented a car to go pick up the RV.

The train is not a perfect way to travel, the trains and tracks need to be updated, but I hope to still travel occasionally on the train. I'm thinking if I go back to Illinois to visit family and friends I may take the train and leave the RV in storage somewhere. I think it would be cheaper than the cost of fuel and RV sites to travel from the western states to Illinois and back again. I have a lot of Amtrak "miles-points" for free travel, similar to air travel miles and I should use them up before they expire.

Visiting in Colorado

I am currently in Colorado to visit my daughter and her husband.

My Dad and I traveled to Denver via Amtrak yesterday. A new railroad bridge is being built over the Mississippi. There was no one working on it because of the high levels of the river.

     Photos taken through the window of a moving train.

We saw my daughter for a little while this morning when we picked up a rental car near her house.

Diane & Karl still have to work while we are here, so we are planning our trip around their work schedules. My Dad likes to go to the casinos, so we are staying 2 nights in Black Hawk, CO. We will go to Diane & Karl's house on Sunday, just in time for Mother's Day. We will stay with them until Thursday and then return to Chicago on Amtrak.

Diane & Karl bought tickets to take my Dad to a baseball game on Wednesday and we will do some other sightseeing and will be going to a community recreation center to use the pool and whirlpool.

I miss traveling in the coach, I am planning my trip to Texas. I have been checking maps, brochures and Microsoft Trips and Streets for different routes, I want to stay off the Interstate as much as possible. Going to take the slow roads.