Day Two - On The Train

Getting delirious in the station.

It was quite a haul to get all of the baggage from the car to the Amtrak station. As we entered the main hall, there was a party going on at the end of the other haul. The music was loud and incredibly creepy. I wondered what kind of party this actually was. Later on we realized this music was not some satanic symphony. This old railroad station had maybe the worst acoustics you'll ever hear. Journey's Faithfully started playing and it actually sounded worse than it already does. It was getting close to boarding time and then we heard the news, the train was running a hour late. That next hour was very painful as we had two very tired and cranky boys and one cranky mom. It was well after midnight our time.

Getting on the train.

We had the boys brush their teeth and wash their faces in the station. That way they could jump straight into bed on the train. We finally boarded around 11:40 pm (12:40 our time). The room was already made up for us. It consists of a bed along the back wall and a short bed making an L shape. Above that were two bunks the same size. It took Bethany and I few minutes to get everything figured out. The boys actually fell asleep very quickly.

Dining car crossing into Colorado.

Sleeping on the train is a strange experience at first. The jiggling of the train is just not a natural sensation. Plus the track through Kansas had some rough patches. It was a night of sleeping in spurts. We woke up and it took a while to get our bearings. We were in western Kansas about to cross into Colorado. Crossing into Colorado put us another hour off. We had a good breakfast and returned to the room.

Approaching the Rocky Mountains.

Bethany catching up on her sleep.

Climbing the Raton Pass.

I've gotten my bearings now and have enjoyed the day on the train. The grasslands leading up to the Rocky Mountains are beautiful. I started listening to Carrie Newcomer through here. Her midwestern-folk sound is perfect listening accompaniment for the visual beauty. There were some cool peaks near La Junta, Colorado. We then climbed up the Raton Pass on the Colorado-New Mexico border. This is the highest point of our journey ad it was awe inspiring. Travelling out west is always a worshipful experience. We saw a few eagles, a couple of antelope and a lot of horses and cows.

Lunch in the dining car.

Raton, New Mexico

The boys have some homework to do and we had them work on it before lunch. Jonah cooperated, Eli did not. There were tears shed. I managed to coax 3 pages of work out of him. He promises to work on it during the return trip. We'll see.

The boys and I took a shower and that is quite the experience I tells ya. We are now stopping in Albuquerque. We can get off and stretch our legs. Tomorrow will be in California.

The viewing louge.

Windy in Albuquerque.