Overnight On The Amtrak
Early morning arrival at Salt Lake City Union Station
“Trains ……. don’t always run on schedule.” - unknown
Since my initial success riding the train locally in California, I decided to venture further afield. I decided to add on to my epic American Parks adventure by riding the Amtrak California Zephyr through the Rocky Mountains from Denver to Salt Lake City.
The train is scheduled to depart Denver at 8:00AM giving passengers the entire day to enjoy the epic views of riding through the mountains. I had been tracking the train before my departure date and was pleased to note that the train was running on time every day. Thanks to ample warnings from my friends I was prepared for the unexpected and true to form the day of my trip an incident on the track delayed the train significantly.
Between tales of an Elk Collision that damaged the engine of a train in of course an inaccessible spot to getting all the train jams sorted and crew schedules sorted out, my train arrived in Denver 8 plus hours late. During that day I really practiced my new lexicon of words - patience and adaptability.
It was interesting to note many people had the same idea that I had about sightseeing from the train but we were all determined to put our best faces on and enjoy the unexpected gift of a night on board. Fortunately I had booked a sleeper and was able to enjoy my unexpected adventure and to be able to share it with you all.
The Denver Union Station is definitely ready for Halloween both in the decorations at the entrance and within the station. Fortunately it’s very large with a hotel, restaurants, gift shops and even a bookshop on the premises, enough to keep waiting passengers engaged while waiting.
The free shuttle to the 16th street mall also has a stop here and people without the encumbrance of luggage can definitely wander further afield while they keep an eye on their train status.
Once the train finally arrived and we made our way to our accommodations, I was pleased to find this comfortable two seater with a nice picture window.
It’s a comfortable space which I got to see transformed into a bed as the night came on.
My seat came with meals in the diner car. As we pulled out of Denver station, the conductor came by to discuss dinner seating and to make a reservation for an available slot for dinner.
The dining car is nice with table cloths, flowers, and a menu that offers a selection for three course meals including one glass of wine of cocktail, unlimited soft drinks and water.
The meals are served on nice disposable plates with the Amtrak logo. While the meal was ok this chocolate cake was actually pretty good.
Fall was in the air and the sun was slanting down towards the horizon as we passed mountains, valleys, streams and small towns. There were several tunnels during this early stretch including one that took ten minutes to traverse during which passengers were urged to stay in their seats.
An interesting dichotomy which showed us golden trees and snow on the mountain tops.
Thanks to all the clouds that seemed to gather above us the sunset was an artists rendition of beautiful golds and oranges.
When I came back from dinner my room had been serviced and the two chairs had been turned into a bed complete with a blanket and pillows. My jacket was hung up and my backpack was placed on what would pass for a night stand. The space is extremely well planned and the bed was comfortable though it was a pretty noisy train ride as I drifted off to sleep.
While there wasn’t much to see out of the window as darkness descended, I woke up one time to find us stopped at a well lit station. These stops give passengers a chance to step off and stretch their legs or smoke a cigarette (if you are a smoker) but I for one definitely did not make use of the stops being tucked in cozily in my bed.
Soon enough the night passed and while it still wasn’t light yet we pulled into Salt Lake City where my driver was waiting to take me to my hotel where I could start the last leg of my epic adventure.