Day Twenty … train whistle blowing

When you get to read this we will no longer be on a train, but for now we are chuffing along and have just crossed the border from New Mexico into Arizona (the 21st US state on our trip).

As I explained yesterday, we are travelling on the Southwest Chief, where we left Chicago en route to Los Angeles. So far we have been travelling for 31 hours, have crossed through seven states (and have one more to go) and have had two time changes.

The train journey has been incredible. I have always loved travelling on trains, and whilst I am not a train nerd, this experience has been worth it. The train is very comfortable… admittedly we have had the two sleepers which gives us more room, but the design of the sleeper rooms maximises space, is comfortable and as we are on the top floor (there are two levels on this train) we sit high up and have fantastic views.

Being able to sit and watch the world pass by, with little demand on yourself is very nice at the end of a very busy three weeks of travel. With each passing town, city, county and state the country has been changing. From crops, to vast open plains, to desolate rocky outcrops, to cattle country, mountain country, desert and mesa … we have seen it all.

And some photos by Ian ...

Ian had thought I wouldn’t take many photos on these train days … hah … I proved him wrong. I’ve been cheerfully snapping photos as the scenery changes, or you see something unusual, like the Facebook Servers in New Mexico or the antelope leaping across the open grassland.  Every passing moment offers something new to see. Again, we are blessed with sleepers across the corridor from each other (as arranged) so sitting with our doors open and curtains pulled back we can see what is on the other side of the train as well.

We have also had the chance to get off the train when we pull in to stations that have a designated train stop (as opposed to the drop off/pick up stations). This has meant we have had a few minutes to stretch our legs and to have a look at the stations whilst we did. Not everyone gets off but the same core group tended to fall out of the train (avoiding the rush of the smokers who needed to grab their quick smoke before the train left).

The ride has been fairly smooth. There are definitely rocky bits when the train is rocking from side to side and walking becomes a tad challenging. Surprisingly I have done a pathetic number of steps today in comparison to all the other days of this trip and yet my knees are aching from trying to remain stable and upright.

The bed was super comfy last night and the gentle rocking of the train (most of the time) is very soothing. Our carriage is the first one after the engines so we do get a constant symphony of horn tooting as the driver has to blow the horn for every single road crossing, no matter what the size or the time of the day. So horn blowing at night becomes part of the norm. I even managed to tackle a shower … which on a moving train is an adventure in itself!

The food has been delicious, and we have had way too much to eat! We have shared our table with different people also on the train so we have chatted to a gentleman from Albuquerque (we had both breakfast and lunch with him) who was returning from a 3 week holiday in Europe with his daughter, and at dinner tonight we shared a table with a couple who are from St Louis who are off to visit the Grand Canyon. I normally hate the small talk, meet someone new, kind of conversations but I have thoroughly enjoyed the company of all of our dining companions.

We have one more night on the train and then we are disembarking when we pull into Los Angeles in the morning (we are currently running late so we expect to arrive a little later than anticipated). Then we have our last day in LA before we head to the airport to begin our journey home.

I would definitely recommend doing a long train journey. Amtrak have been wonderful!

Today’s tally …

Photos - 388 (plus the ones Ian also took on his phone)

Steps - a measly 2,631

Kms walked - 2.01 km

Ad Labs - surprisingly there are none on the train!

Times we’ve overbalanced as we walk to the dining car or the observation car - countless