Day 2 - The journey (Denver to Provo, Utah)

1st August 2019

We woke to the alarm at 6:30am in order to catch a very special train.

Today is the day that we take the Amtrak Californian Zephyr from Denver, Union Station to Emeryville San Francisco. This is the only reason that we flew to Denver. The original plan was to fly to Chicago and catch the full length of this train’s epic journey, but after some research we learned that the best part of the trip is between Denver and Sacramento. Hence catching the train part way through.

The train is often delayed – which is no surprise when you think about the length of the route and the varying terrain it passes. We don’t have any major hurry to get to San Francisco, so any delay will be ok by us.

We got to Union station in good time, to learn that the train was delayed by two hours due to flooding and damaged track in the Idaho area. No problem, we settled ourselves into Union Station’s beautiful lounge area and had a delicious coffee and pastry/English muffin.

The train soon arrived and we boarded car 32 and up the stairs to our room (Room D). It’s compact. It has a large picture window to the right of the train, a sofa with a bunk above and a chair. We have a sink and a toilet. A bit of a squash and a squeeze for a 6’2”, 5’10” and a 5’7”, but we all know each other pretty well, so will be fun. We thought we also had seats, but the conductor explained it’s either our rooms or a seat, not both – so it became a rush to get seats in the viewing car (but we kind of made it). We will be on the train for the whole day, one night and arrive in San Francisco tomorrow at around 4pm.

I have to say, that Amtrak are very polite and have good customer service, but trying to get information about what is included and what isn’t, is almost impossible. There is a dining car (we do have all food included and all drinks), and an observation car, with HUGE windows which stretch up and over the top (think sun roof). The observation car is unreserved seating, so I can imagine that at certain stretches of this trip there could be a fight to get in there.

We left Denver and found a table in the snack car, where Big John, the attendant, (a large man with a HUGE moustache that made him look like an old wise walrus) looks over his glasses at us taking seats and not snacks, but we bought a coffee to appease him and made ourselves comfortable.

The first stretch runs from Denver to Fraser and takes two hours. This area is called the tunnel district – 32 tunnels in an hour. The scenery is mixed – from flat plains to huge boulders and tree lined hills. All beautiful. The sun is shining, and this feels a little bit like a dream. When we reached Fraser, we saw some areas that are ski resorts in the winter, but firmly closed now. We off-loaded a few passengers, and within 10 minutes we were back hurtling through the stunning scenery. Thirty minutes later, we arrived in Granby. A nothing sort of place, a few people disembarked and we left for our next stop. The next stop is a three hour stretch, but in this time, we managed to get a seat in the viewing car. The scenery changed dramatically and we were soon travelling through canyons with granite and other hard rocks (red mainly) either side of us. Like we were cutting through the rock. We soon started to follow alongside the Colorado River, and there were many rafters and fisherman using the river. The weather also changed, sunshine to heavy rain and back to sunshine. So, we have now passed through the Rocky Mountain National Park and it was stunning.

We ate in the dining car for lunch. Oli and I had burgers, which were delicious and Andrew had chicken tortillas with salsa and sour cream. We had read that the food on Amtrak was of a very high quality, and I am pleased to say that is true.

The scenery is so breath-taking, that even after 6 hours on the train, we were still gazing in awe at the towns we whizzed through, the farmland and the open fields.

Glenwood Springs soon came into view, and we took the opportunity to get off the train and get some fresh air. Glenwood Springs looked a little like a film set. A lovely clean place and has its own hot springs.

The final stop in Colorado was Grand Junction. A place where Big John got rid of his ‘trash’ by throwing big bags out of the window, and where quite a few people got off.

Ten minutes later we were off again, and the conductor announced that we were entering Utah, and that we would not be leaving the state for another 6 hours – that’s a big old state! The landscape changed again – this time to lots of livestock. We haven’t seen much of any wildlife, which is strange. No river birds, a few horses maybe, but nothing more. The area seems to be populated by livestock farmers and livestock auctioneers. Within 15 minutes of leaving the station, the vista was flat and yellow, but we are flying through (they are trying to make up time). It’s now 7:30 pm and we are going to eat dinner soon. The day has sped by as fast as the train.

We were seated at dinner with a very nice American lady, who was in her mid-60s, very glamorous, and had boarded the train at Grand Junction after going drag racing in Denver and then visiting her cousin in Grand Junction. She lives near Yosemite National Park and was on her way home. We had some nice conversation with her about places to visit on the next leg of our trip. Andrew had steak for dinner, I had salmon and rice, and Oli had roast chicken with mashed potato. Again, absolutely gorgeous food.

When we returned to our cabin, JR, the attendant for our sleep car (0532) was preparing beds for the night. We have a top bunk which folds down, and a bed and a half underneath. Oli wanted the top bunk, and Andrew and I would have the bottom. Watching Oli trying to squeeze his long body into the top bunk was hilarious. He did it though! Andrew and I snuggled up underneath. When the car lights are off, the car is totally dark. It is surprisingly comfortable and very soon we were sound asleep with the rocking of the train. When we wake, we will have changed from MT (Mountain time) to PT (Pacific time) meaning we gain an hour. The last stop of the day should be Provo, Utah, but we won’t see it!

Today has been truly wonderful.