Amtrak recently ran a special on their rail pass, providing a great way to take an economical train trip with multiple ons and offs.
We left from Lordsburg, NM, which is a little over an hour from our house, went to Chicago for an overnight, Montana for an overnight, Portland for two nights, and then down the California coast and back home. Ten days, about 5,000 miles on the train, and roughly 30 miles walking in cities we stopped in.
We love traveling by train, and this was a good trip. Below is a short journal and some pics.
Mon. March 2 – Texas Eagle – We boarded the train in Lordsburg right on schedule. It was a beautiful spring morning, uncharacteristically warm at about 80 by mid-day
The poppies seem to be having a super bloom this year, most likely from the early year rains and warmer than usual spring. Some years the poppies don’t bloom at all; this year they’ve been thick especially in the plains. From the train, we could see a thick blanket of gold in the fields beside the highway.
The train went through NM to El Paso and west Texas before it got dark. The full moon — the worm moon — came up as the sun went down.
Tues. March 3 – We were in San Antonio very early this morning and saw the lunar eclipse, something I wouldn’t have been awake for at home.
Then on through Austin, Fort Worth, Dallas, etc. Texas is big.
The gentle sound of the train whistle and a glorious sunset ended the day.
Wed. March 4 – We woke up almost to St. Louis, finally out of Texas! And we made up time so had a nice leisurely stop there.
It was very foggy with the top of the arch in the clouds.
On the morning ride to Chicago, we made our plans for our 24 hours there. Good food and music await us.
Thurs. March 5 – We had a great day in Chicago. The hotel was right by Union Station and after we got in, we showered and hit the town. Cold fog and rain didn’t stop us from enjoying food at two different tapas restaurants and then an evening of live music.
This morning we had breakfast and a walk down to Chinatown, which we really enjoyed. Then we had a light, delicious lunch at a Jose Andres restaurant, followed by a grocery run and then onto another train heading through WI, MN, ND, and our next stop in MT.
Fri. March 6 – Empire Builder – When I woke up this morning, we were in Devil’s Lake, ND, the first place on this trip we’ve seen snow. Lots and lots of snow.
Part of the appeal of this trip was to see, briefly, some snow (we’ve had none at home this year except in the mountains), even though I generally dislike snow. But when I woke up and saw so much snow and a temperature of 15 (“feels like 2”), it was jarring. But still very nice not to have to drive in it.
After waking up a little, brushing my teeth, and getting a cup of coffee, I saw the beauty in the snow. There are lots of ring-necked pheasants here, and I also saw several husky looking coyotes. It’s amazing they can survive this weather.
We passed through the “geographic center of North America” this morning, and then around 9am, we got out at Minot, ND for a quick fresh air walk. Brrrr… but also exciting to be in the snow.
Montana seemed to rival Texas in terms of width. The final leg to Glacier was in the dark — and it was really dark, even by our standards. (Our original plans were to spend a couple days at a lodge in Glacier that we’d stayed at years ago, but last minute changes caused us to revamp that plan.)
We got to our b&b in Whitefish around 10:30 and will explore tomorrow.
Sat. March 7 – Whitefish…Well, not exactly our kind of place (another place of great natural beauty crowded out by ostentatious consumption a la Moab and Queenstown). Still, we enjoyed seeing the snowy mountains, and we walked a lot despite freezing fog and rain.
The ski runs have a base of over 150″ but there was a lot of slush everywhere we were (even at the ski runs). We heard that this year there have been some huge snowfalls, followed by crazy warm temperatures. It was mostly in 40s while we were there.
After dinner and more music, we boarded the train around 11pm.
Sun. March 8 – Best night sleep ever on a train last night. And we woke up to a lovely little kitty seatmate!
The Columbia River gorge was beautiful with steep canyon walls and many waterfalls.
We got into Portland at about 1, headed to our hotel, dropped our bags, and went for a long walk. After a late lunch and a rest, we went to Chinatown and the Lan Su Chinese Garden for the closing of Chinese New Year celebrations. Later we had drinks and food on the 30th floor of a downtown building and enjoyed the city lights.
Mon. March 9 – After breakfast, a long walk took us to Washington Park. We really enjoyed the Portland Japanese Garden there.
After a rest, we went out for dinner and then a bar with karaoke with a very good live band. Might not have been our usual choice, but there was good energy across a diverse group of folks and a ton of fun all around.
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- Japanese Gardens in Portland
Tues. March 10 – After our final breakfast in Portland, we set out for another long walk to north Portland and Mississippi Ave. On the way back, we stocked up on groceries for the last leg and boarded our train around 2.
Coast Starlight – The stretch between Portland and SF was something we hadn’t seen by train before. The snowy Cascades were lovely.
Wed. March 11 – We woke up in California and will be in LA tonight.
The Central Coast was a highlight of the trip. First, the verdant green hills and then the unspoiled coastline north of Santa Barbara. Much of this is a part of the coast you can’t see by car, and it put in perspective how developed the rest of the coast is.
We transferred trains in LA, which wasn’t the smoothest process, but it worked out. (Note to Amtrak LA, yes, Lordsburg is an actual place and a stop on your line )
Thurs. March 12 – Uneventful night through SoCal and into Arizona. We arrived at Lordsburg early a little before 1.
It’s always good to be home!
(Post note: A couple days after our trip, the Empire Builder line was shut down for a few days due to avalanches. This is the second trip we’ve had near misses on natural disasters.)
