Day #2: Nevada to Nebraska Denver (running behind!)
“Travel makes one modest. You see what a tiny place you occupy in the world.” -Gustav Flaubert
Fell asleep in Nevada, and woke up to amazing Utah.
Outside of Dell, Colorado we saw another bald eagle's nest, with eagle!
Glenwood Springs - a must-stop in the future!
Now a brief recap of the who's who of the day. After lunch yesterday, we repeatedly ran into our own Boo Radley (see pic from yesterday) -- a very quiet, disheveled man who avoided speaking or making eye contact. Well this morning we were seated, again, with Boo. We tried small talk, but to no avail until at one point he said, "You're both teachers, right?" When we said yes he said very hesitantly and apologetically, "I'm sorry. I'm not a bad person, but I dropped out of high school." Wow. After that we had a nice talk about how difficult school can be for some kids, and how some teachers aren't very helpful, and that doesn't make anyone a bad person. He eventually told us proudly that he was 29 years clean and sober, and that he'd just finished his 24th year working for Safeway. Quite a breakthrough and now every time we pass, he gives us a little smile and a wave. Hey Boo.
The other major event of the day needs a little background. While I pride myself on my Nancy Drew spirit and preparedness (my excuse for having rope, tape measures, rulers, water bottles, ... in my car at all times), those of you who know Mimi understand that her Boy Scout motto is always a guiding force. As we were packing for this trip (and then taking out half of what we had packed) I noticed that Mimi had a first aid kit, a giant roll of toilet paper, a head lamp, and a bungee cord among her things (again, no surprise to those who know her -- hoping for the best and planning for the worst at all times!!). A few minutes into dinner, a passenger ran into the dining car yelling that a woman had fallen down the stairs to the first level. Mimi sprung into action and saved the day. Frankly, I don't know if she stopped for the head lamp or toilet paper, but she was quick with the first aid while the train crew was running around calling for a doctor and trying to find a first aid kit that wasn't empty! The woman was checked out at the next stop and seems okay, and we still have the headlamp if we need it later!
Well, maybe that's a bit optimistic. Let's try again.
First let's talk about the lulling rhythm of the train...that whole "rocking us to sleep" was a little over optimistic!
Tried to fall asleep in Nevada -- claustrophobic in the upper bunk, so tried to share the lower (slightly larger) bunk Couldn't fit, so tried head to feet. After being kicked in the head one too many times, Mimi moved to the upper and we got some sleep.
In any case, we awoke to the scenery above. Around every corner is something more beautiful and amazing. You must travel to realize the amount of wide open space across this country. We drove through Utah and entered Colorado, following the Colorado River up, up, up into the Rockies.
Outside of Dell, Colorado we saw another bald eagle's nest, with eagle!
As we were looking over the magnificent Boulder River at 9000 feet, there was an announcement from the conductor that he'd just heard from Union Pacific, who owns the tracks, that there is a "slight buckle" in the track on our way down. He explained that, since the train usually goes downhill at a pretty fast clip that could cause a problem. They decided they'd have to send someone up to replace that section of track. No worries! So we pretty much "parked" at the top of the world for an hour or so, hoping the track-fixers weren't doing a rush job. As it was, they "walked" us (the train, not our persons) all the way down the hill. Very slow, but very beautiful, and we arrived in one piece!
We had a couple of gorgeous fresh air stops along the way:
Glenwood Springs - a must-stop in the future!
Now a brief recap of the who's who of the day. After lunch yesterday, we repeatedly ran into our own Boo Radley (see pic from yesterday) -- a very quiet, disheveled man who avoided speaking or making eye contact. Well this morning we were seated, again, with Boo. We tried small talk, but to no avail until at one point he said, "You're both teachers, right?" When we said yes he said very hesitantly and apologetically, "I'm sorry. I'm not a bad person, but I dropped out of high school." Wow. After that we had a nice talk about how difficult school can be for some kids, and how some teachers aren't very helpful, and that doesn't make anyone a bad person. He eventually told us proudly that he was 29 years clean and sober, and that he'd just finished his 24th year working for Safeway. Quite a breakthrough and now every time we pass, he gives us a little smile and a wave. Hey Boo.
The other major event of the day needs a little background. While I pride myself on my Nancy Drew spirit and preparedness (my excuse for having rope, tape measures, rulers, water bottles, ... in my car at all times), those of you who know Mimi understand that her Boy Scout motto is always a guiding force. As we were packing for this trip (and then taking out half of what we had packed) I noticed that Mimi had a first aid kit, a giant roll of toilet paper, a head lamp, and a bungee cord among her things (again, no surprise to those who know her -- hoping for the best and planning for the worst at all times!!). A few minutes into dinner, a passenger ran into the dining car yelling that a woman had fallen down the stairs to the first level. Mimi sprung into action and saved the day. Frankly, I don't know if she stopped for the head lamp or toilet paper, but she was quick with the first aid while the train crew was running around calling for a doctor and trying to find a first aid kit that wasn't empty! The woman was checked out at the next stop and seems okay, and we still have the headlamp if we need it later!
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"Here I am to save the day"
So as the sun sets over Denver, we're having a blast. Tomorrow we're Chicago-bound, and will change trains for the last leg of the trip.
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