# California Zephyr Blues



## WhoozOn1st (Sep 13, 2008)

This report/travelogue recounts the first day of the first leg of my recent return from Denver.

Companion photo album: California Zephyr Blues

164 pics may seem like an awful lot, but it's two days' worth on the CZ ride from Denver; Rockies and Sierras.

Following a fun weekend at Denver pursuing activities that apart from light rail joyriding and photography are not appropriate Amtrak Unlimited forum fodder, I boarded the California Zephyr on Labor Day morning (9-1-08) for the first leg of the trip home.

Hungry for breakfast, I quickly learned that due to “mechanical problems” in the diner, breakfast was limited to “continental.” This meant hot oatmeal (which I like), a warm croissant, room temperature sausage patty, and a small thing of yogurt. Ate everything; starving.

Got underway at 8:15 a.m., only 10 minutes behind, but almost immediately halted and held for a coal train. Don’t think we’d gone a hundred yards. Underway again at 8:36, and this time we kept moving.

Had breakfast with a couple returning to Martinez, CA, after visiting friends in Denver and doing some Rockies mountaineering. Very nice folks, and we had an enjoyable time over the meal, but I don’t understand folks who seem to have a compulsion to recite their academic accomplishments and their alma maters in the course of introducing themselves to strangers. To me it smacks of insecurity or some kinda complex. And people like that are not rare.

I mean, I’m a college graduate, but it’s not the first thing outta my mouth when introductions are in order. “I’m Patrick. Nice to meet you!” That’s all.

Following breakfast I started shooting the climb into the Rockies. Not the best light conditions, but some good stuff.

By Fraser-Winter Park we had made up some time; 22 minutes late on departure, considering 8:36 (31 minutes behind) to be our true Denver departure time.

Lunch was interesting.

Due to the problems, only sleeper passengers were being served in the diner. Same as breakfast, and same for the whole ride. Coach passengers were stuck with the café in the Sightseer Lounge, and at every meal for the duration of the ride there were PA announcements to that effect.

Seated with a pleasant couple who were en route from Florida to Reno, I predicted that we were getting cold sandwiches for lunch. “What makes you say that?” “They only gave us knives.” “Ohhhh. To spread mayonnaise and mustard.” “Yeah.”

While waiting we jabbered about the superlative scenery - running along a ledge over the river, spotting recreational boaters and fishermen and marveling at the rocky gorge landscape.

Then we were joined by a fourth person: a pretty redheaded young lady. Naturally I tried to break the ice by asking where she was headed. “Emeryville.” “Me too.”

Getting her talking turned out to be a major mistake, though perhaps unavoidable. Had opinions on everything said, even not addressed to her, which were unfailingly inane, verging on the idiotic.

Husband in the Air Force, a linguist specializing in Korean, we were reminded constantly. She was gonna be a botanist, and knew why trees died. She was gonna be a writer, but hadn’t tried writing yet. Wished she had her paints along because she wanted to paint a picture of the river and hadn’t tried out her paints yet. Asked if the train would stop so she could use her colored pencils to capture a stagnant pool in a bend of the river. We were assured her rendition would be museum quality. Knew how to design better boats than the ones we saw on the river, and the boaters were doing it all wrong. On and on and on and on… And that ain’t the half of it.

The couple and myself just pretty much clammed up, exchanged pained glances, and ate quickly (sectioned sub sandwiches, choice of ham, roast beef, or turkey, and potato chips).

Before the girl was seated with us, I had told the couple about the cool view out the back of the last coach, and suggested they take a look. After the tortuous lunch I went back there for more viewing and shooting, and after a time the couple showed up to see the view for themselves. While they were enjoying it, I asked point blank: “Did that girl drive you as nuts as she did me?” In unison: “OH MY GAWD!” The guy was particularly incensed. None of us could recall ever having encountered stupidity of such massive proportions before.

It was agreed that the major question was why a linguist specializing in Korean, presumably a bright guy, would marry such a blithering nitwit, assuming the husband story was true (and the girl did have a military ID around her neck, like a dog license in case she got lost - “Return to…”)

Glenwood Springs, CO, is a smoke stop. Warnings on the PA system to stay close to the train, as passengers tend to stray there and get left behind. Sure enough, we had to halt for somebody left on the platform. No, it wasn’t the lunch moron. No time was lost in getting on the PA and shaming the person by saying, “That’s exactly what I was talking about. People who can’t or won’t follow directions get left behind.”

Next stop was Grand Junction, CO. Arrived pretty early. Crew change, smoke stop, and loading of mass quantities of KFC eats for sleeper passengers. So dinner was early, hastened by the need to get the “food” to people while it was still at least lukewarm. Distribution was a circus of clogged hallways and missing utensils. Got my little box - 3 pieces of chicken, slaw, mashed potatoes, biscuit - to go and ate in my roomette. Reaction to the KFC that I heard was mixed, but tended negative.

Beginning to understand the title of this report?

In addition to all this, I heard the generally absent sleeper attendant, Karl, lying to passengers about the CZ’s progress. He told ‘em we were 20 minutes late leaving Grand Junction, and were making up time, when the exact opposite was the case. We departed Grand Junction on the advertised at 4:10 p.m., and proceeded to lose time with some very slow running. Felt like grabbing the guy and yelling "Hey, I have a watch and a timetable," but held my tongue. By the time we departed Helper, UT, the CZ was 45 minutes in the hole.

As darkness descended I wanted to get the bed set up so I could set up the laptop and do some pic uploading and editing. Didn’t wanna set up the laptop in day configuration, tear it down for bed makeup, then set it up again. But attendant Karl was nowhere to be found. Tried the call button. Nothing. Tried it again and left it on while I went searching the car - both levels - for Karl. Searched other sleepers, the diner, and the lounge. No Karl.

Eager to get started on the pics, so finally just set up the bed myself. I’d never done it before, but had watched, and it turned out to be not all that difficult; flatten the seats, get the mattress/sheet/blanket from the upper bunk. Easy as pie, though I did pinch a finger enough to bleed slightly.

Got the upload done, and edited pics as far as Salt Lake City, last smoke stop of the night. Then got the best night’s sleep I’ve ever had on a train, probably due to extreme fatigue.

Original intent was to do this report in one fell swoop, but a two day ride calls for two parts. That’s my story, and I’m sticking to it.


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## Joel N. Weber II (Sep 13, 2008)

WhoozOn1st said:


> Had breakfast with a couple returning to Martinez, CA, after visiting friends in Denver and doing some Rockies mountaineering. Very nice folks, and we had an enjoyable time over the meal, but I don’t understand folks who seem to have a compulsion to recite their academic accomplishments and their alma maters in the course of introducing themselves to strangers. To me it smacks of insecurity or some kinda complex. And people like that are not rare.
> I mean, I’m a college graduate, but it’s not the first thing outta my mouth when introductions are in order. “I’m Patrick. Nice to meet you!” That’s all.


How old were the people you were describing, and how far in the past were their academic accomplishments?

I tend to think it's normal and acceptable for people to talk about their careers, and for people who are younger, their academic expereience sort of substitutes for that. So I want you to reassure me that these people were old and hadn't been a student for decades or something.

(I once was at a dinner mob of maybe 15-20 people, most of whom were students, and during the introductions, the person organizing the mob followed my name with ``random guy'', since I wasn't a student, and I really liked that introduction.)


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## Green Maned Lion (Sep 15, 2008)

Patrick, you have a flair for writing. Nice trip report. I hope the second half is even half as amusing.


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## the_traveler (Sep 15, 2008)

Great photos! 

It makes me want to get on a train and do 1 of the 2 small portions of the trans-con routes that I haven't done (yet). (That being RNO-SAC, the other is SEA-SPK which I will cross off next month.) I want to get back to the DEN-GJT segment, and I want to do the RNO-SAC segment. When I went to RNO, it was pre-trench!


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## BillyJo (Sep 15, 2008)

Thanks for the report, and I enjoyed your pictures. I'd really like to take the Zephyr one of these days...


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## WhoozOn1st (Sep 15, 2008)

Joel N. Weber II said:


> How old were the people you were describing, and how far in the past were their academic accomplishments?
> I tend to think it's normal and acceptable for people to talk about their careers, and for people who are younger, their academic expereience sort of substitutes for that. So I want you to reassure me that these people were old and hadn't been a student for decades or something.


Slightly older than me, I would guess, so maybe late 50s. I agree that talking about one's career and/or academic experience is perfectly acceptable. But as part of merely introducing oneself over breakfast I think it's kinda odd.


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## WhoozOn1st (Sep 15, 2008)

Green Maned Lion said:


> Patrick, you have a flair for writing. Nice trip report. I hope the second half is even half as amusing.


Thanks, GML. I'll see what I can do.


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## Dan O (Sep 16, 2008)

Enjoyed the report.

RE schooling and degrees--hmm, IDK. I have never been around those types too much. My reaction is "who cares?" but I try to be polite and not say it. It is interesting to learn about what others do at times but I don't need to know that they are the world's best whatever (as I highly doubt it and if they were I doubt they'd feel the need to say it).

RE the woman that drove you crazy--I imagine there is at least one person like that on every train. Sorry she found you.

Take care,

Dan

PS loved the pics


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## ALC Rail Writer (Sep 16, 2008)

The CZ's been running late like hell- you might as well flip a coin and plan on a night in CHI if it lands tails... What gives?

P.S. I agree- pics = amazing!


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