The Great Amtrak Train Trip Adventure

Twenty years ago this day, on August 15, 1997, my family concluded a wonderful and incredible vacation in which we looped around the western United States, traveling by train.  It certainly left quite a big impression on me as a 6-year-old, given the few memories I have of it.

We departed on August 2, 1997.  A family friend who lived on the other side of the alley from us drove our family foursome to Chicago Union Station.  There, we boarded Amtrak's Empire Builder route, and rode it to Whitefish, MT, arriving in the evening of August 3.  The one part of that leg of the trip I remember is passing by Glacier National Park on our way to Whitefish, which is west of the park.  We stayed there for a few days and spent time in Glacier National Park, enjoying the scenic wonders there, the forests, the mountains, the lakes, and even the Continental Divide.  We hiked around, and even went for a ride on a ski lift gondola.  At one point, we went up somewhere high, and then a thunderstorm came over ahead--we may have reached that spot on the lift.  We had to stay inside the building and got lunch like most everyone else.  After another rain event passed, I remember looking outside the window of our hotel room and seeing a rainbow.  Mom used that as an opportunity to remind me of the story of Noah, and how God used the rainbow as a sign of His promise never to flood the Earth again and destroy all life.  I don't really remember much about being in Whitefish, except that we went to some place in town, and I think it was for ice cream.

We then boarded the Empire Builder again at Whitefish, and rode it overnight southwest to Portland, OR.  I sort of remember the end of that leg of the journey as we pulled into Portland Union Station.  I remember walking around the downtown area, passing some fountains, and stopping at a book sale being held outside.  I even remember picking up a book that had some kind of soft fur-like material inside, which was scented.  After spending a few hours there, we boarded the Coast Starlight and rode it south to Sacramento, CA, another overnight ride.  We sat in the lower level of the double-decker car and had Subway sandwiches for dinner.

I was aroused from my sleep early when we arrived in Sacaramento between 6 and 7 AM.  Mom or Dad put on my shoes, and led me as all of us walked from the station to the Holiday Inn hotel where we had booked accommodations.  I think it was me who expressed puzzlement over why we were staying at a Holiday Inn if it wasn't a holiday, and Dad remarked that any day could be a holiday.  After we checked in--Mom said the hotel clerk said we were doing "really early" check-in--we got on an elevator with a family who were all dressed up, went to our room, and then I fell asleep again.  I awoke to see that the clouds of the early morning had cleared, and it was sunny.  We then went to breakfast.

In Sacramento, we went to see the Old Sacramento historic area, which included some shops, and a railroad museum, which I have some memory of being by a river.  We also visited the California State Capitol, which I'm fairly certain was the first state capitol I've ever visited, at least outside of Illinois, with a long string of other state capitols to follow.  There was also some kind of mall near our hotel that had a store with a Looney Tunes theme, which my brother Eric and I really enjoyed.

After a few days there, we boarded the California Zephyr route and rode it east to Denver, which was an overnight ride.  This part of the route is famed for its stunning scenery, but the only thing I remember seeing out the train window was a sign at Reno declaring it the Biggest Little City in the World.  The train was late arriving at Denver, arriving after dark.  Uncle Leonard and Aunt Carmen were at Denver Union Station to pick us up.  We got ourselves into the car, and I sat on someone's lap in the back seat as Uncle Leonard drove us to their house, where we stayed during our time in Denver.  I remember walking around in downtown Denver, and visiting the state capitol.  And, of course, we had opportunity to visit with our other family members in the Denver area, though I don't recall much about the visit we had together as a larger group.  So far as I know, this was my first visit to Denver and my first time being with my wonderful extended family there.

As Mom recounts it, we had a short visit there, and then, on August 14, we boarded the California Zephyr again and headed back to Chicago.  I remember the train was very late arriving at Denver--nearly 5 hours.  Because it was so tardy, we had Uncle Leonard drive us four, with Aunt Carmen accompanying, to the station well before the train arrived, and we just waited there until nearly midnight when it finally arrived.  Mom and Dad made it very clear we had to be quiet as we boarded because most everyone on the train was asleep, and the lights were turned down so that it was dark onboard.

We awoke the next morning well after the dining car had ended breakfast service, so we went to the cafe car.  I remember having cereal, which I haven't seen served in the cafe car of any Amtrak train I've ridden recently.

Because of the major delay, the train handed out complimentary sandwiches to everyone for dinner.  It was still somewhat light out when we arrived at Naperville, but it had gotten much darker by the time we arrived at Union Station, well behind schedule.  After a taxi ride from Union Station, we were back at home sweet home.

In reliving this amazing trip 20 years later, I don't have rely solely on my memory.  There are some great pictures in a family photo album that can help me recall what our foursome experienced during that nearly 2-week period.  You probably remember seeing some of them in my blog posts about my recent trip to the Pacific Northwest.  Below are some more photos I dug out, mostly taken by Mom and Dad.

I'm in the red shirt standing to the left of my brother Eric, also in a red shirt.  Dad is in a lighter-colored shirt all the way to the right, and Mom is in a pinkish shirt behind me.  The caption Mom created says it all:  Here we are upon our departure, right before we got into the car that appears to the right, belonging to the neighbor, who took this picture, and were taken to Union Station, where, in the photo below, you see Mom, my brother Eric, and me in the waiting room, right before boarding the train.  I'm wearing that bright orange hat in many of these pictures.

Here I am at the entrance sign of Glacier National Park.

Above, Eric and I are in some kind of mountain stream.

Above, I'm standing with some kind of mountain ridge in the back.

In this photo, I'm by one of the many lakes in the park.

Here I am out in the woods.

Above, Mom and I are standing by one of the many lakes with breathtaking mountain views.

I think that Eric was the one who most likely took this photo of Mom, Dad, and me, with a stunning mountain view in the background.

In this photo, Mom and I are posing with a mountain stream in the background.

Above is the gondola at Big Mountain, MT.  Below is Eric and me riding in the gondola car.

This photo was taken before we boarded the Empire Builder train and headed to Portland.

In this picture, I'm standing by a vintage train engine at the California State Railroad Museum.  Maybe this museum, along with all the train traveling of this trip, stoked my intense enthusiasm for trains.

Here's me at the Red Rock Ampitheatre just west of Denver.

Eric and I appear in this photo after climbing up to the top of the Colorado State Capitol in Denver, with the view overlooking Civic Center Park toward the Denver City/County Building.

This vacation was truly an extraordinary opportunity of adventure for me at such a young age.  I was able to gain a sense of the large breadth of this country by traveling so many miles.  I got to enjoy scenic wonders, and historical places.  It was also great to spend quality time with family over a nearly two-week period, and even include some time with extended family in Denver.  And we got around to all of it while experiencing the delights of train travel, which, even despite the enormous delay, I remember liking very much.

During those August days, I know I made memories to last a lifetime.  I am certainly grateful my parents provided this great opportunity for us to be together and enjoy so much of what the United States has to offer.