After the first night in coach on a train, the morning sun was a welcome respite from pretending to sleep. While the seats are more spacious than an airplane, somehow it didn’t matter when the goal was sleeping. Coughing, loud conversations, sotto voce comments (and some at full volume) from other passengers about the conductor and his ancestors, and frequent East Coast stops made for a long, restless night. Possibly there was some excitement and anxious anticipation as well. But all 3 travelers agreed that sleeping in coach wasn’t something we would relish in the future (although we have several more nights coming up on this leg of the trip!).
We’ll spare you a state-by-state description of the scenery of middle America. But I’ll show a few highlights. Suffice it to say, this is a big country.
I didn’t take many pictures of Chicago (where we changed trains for the first time), but I was impressed by some of the makeshift backyard garden pergolas with summer squash, cucumbers, and other vining vegetables being used for shade behind townhomes. The “yards” were about the size of my living room at home, but they were making the best of it by providing a shady place to sit while growing fresh veggies. One complex featured this behind almost every unit!
While urban Chicago wasn’t my favorite part of the trip (It’s not you… It’s me. Really!), Chicago Union Station was impressive. Quite a change from where we boarded. The picture below shows the statues of “Day” and “Night” at the top of the columns in the main lobby.
Trains successfully changed, and back into coach for a while after a nice break and coffee at the Amtrak lounge (thanks to points).
The Driftless area of Wisconsin was a surprise. It’s the part of the state that was spared glaciation during the last ice age, and consequently still has hills. It reminded me of the ridge-and-valley topography of northwestern Virginia. And rumor has it there may be trout in some of the rivers there too.
24 hours after boarding our first train, we were getting close to St. Paul, Minnesota. The St. Paul station, while not as grand architecturally as Chicago Union Station, was still impressive, with nice design and eclectic art. Not to mention some fun games for our layover and a free “little library”.
Starting in St. Paul, we upgraded to a sleeper car. Traveling in coach is more economical, but for multi-day trips a sleeper care is a nicer quality of life if it’s an option. It’s more comfortable at night, with the option to stretch out during the day or stow the bunks and have a more spacious seating arrangement with one other traveler. Not to mention a little privacy and the included meals in the dining care (which while not quite restaurant-quality were close).
Sunrise the next morning brought us into North Dakota. Seeing the sun rising over the plains brought the words of an old favorite song to mind…
” Well the moon moved past Nebraska And spilled laughter on them cold Dakota Hills… A single hawk bursts into flight And in the east the whole horizon is in flames I feel the thunder in the sky I see the sky about to rain And I hear the prairies calling out Your name”
-Rich Mullins
From farmland to plains to small towns… the scenery rolled by all day.
Ironically enough, past what might be the last RadioShack in America…
Till finally it was the end of another day with the sun going down over the plains.
The Wandering Koi 
Leave a comment