2014 Moab

Day 2

April 1, 2014 rick wojack

Gaylord and TommyH had a great night sleep, the rest of us in coach tossed and turned but before we knew it the sun was coming up. Got to have patience when traveling by rail. We eventually became two hours late on route mainly caused by having to pull over on siding’s to allow freight train, who have the right of way to pass. There were also 35 areas where we had to run at restricted speed because of the poor Burlington Northern track condition. Maximum speed is 79mph and through many of these 35 areas we were running below 25 mph for some time.

Getting ready for the ride through the mountains during our 30 minutes rest stop in Denver.

Room with a view . . . shaking out his sleeping bag

The schedule set back meant we would arrive late in Grand Junction by at least two hours. The car rental operation closes at 5:00pm and are not willing to accommodate our late arrival. Our two designated drivers Greg and Dave will be renting a truck in Denver and driving to Grand Junction arriving before 5:00pm to get our second truck. Good thing we are retired and not on a time strict schedule

Climbing into the front range if the Rockies.

Snow in Winter park.

The passing trains on the east bound line come REALLY close . . . could reach out and shake hands.

Fraser Canyon, one of four canyons we rode through on our way to Grand Junction. VERY scenic.

Todd, the manager/ restaurateur of the Lower level lounge. Quite a character! made the trip much more enjoyable.

Gaylord and TommyH had their own stateroom with special service provided by Michael their own butler.

At Glenwood Spring, TommyG made the 3 block RUN (literally) to the local brew pub to buy a growler during the five minute train stop. They DO NOT wait for you if you are late!

We became good friends and had lots of discussions with a family of 8 Amish heading to Montana. QUOTE OF THE DAY: After spending nearly 24 hours with us, on and off, one of the young Amish men asked us, “Are you guys (all) right?”