Cryslers Are Tripping: 2016 May 4 to May 6th Amtrak Tripping across Country to Colorado-Part 1

May 4th and 5th, 2016: Amtrak Train Trip from Boston to Chicago

North Station - Boston

Before I left Portland, I was given some good advise. "Find a Red Cap as soon as you get off the Bus because its complicated to find the Train Station from the Bus station". As I entered the Bus section of North Station, there were no 'Red Caps' to be found but a very nice porter took me directly from the Bus to the Train Station ~ to this sweet man ~ my Red Cap. He had me wait in an area and said that he would be back to personally escort me to the Train. Not only did he escort me, but he upgraded me from Coach to Business on the Boston to Chicago Link.

Very Nice Man~As were all the Porters on the Trains.

The first night, I had dinner in the dinning car.
I was seated with a gentleman who happened to be an architect and kitchen designer in Boston. Needless to say, with my Kitchen Renovation about 2 months away, we had a very nice conversation, and the food was delicious.

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We changed trains around 10 pm in Albany and went to sleep (no roomette for this leg of the trip), waking up around 5 am to see the sights of Ohio & Illinois.
Hey John, here's a great view of ole' Toledo!

Across from me was a young couple from Old Orchard, Amber and Duncan. They were on their first cross country vacation with the train trip ending in San Francisco and plans to travel all around SF, Big Sur, Napa and the Red Woods. Their excitement was contagious!

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The sights of Ohio and Ill

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Arriving in Chicago

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'Blowing away the alternatives is what Zephyrus,

the ancient Greek god of the west wind & his name sake,

The California Zephyr, do best!'

https://www.amtrak.com/ccurl/692/258/Amtrak-California-Zephyr-Train-Route-Guide-2014.pdf
~The California Zephyr and our route~

"....Upon leaving Chicago Union Station, the train travels along theMetra BNSF Railway Line, with an intermediate stop in Naperville, Illinois. After passing through Aurora, Illinois, the train passes through the seemingly endless corn, soybean fields and small farming towns of Illinois and Iowa. The route crosses into Iowa at the Burlington Rail Bridge across the Mississippi River in Burlington, Iowa, then into Nebraska between Council Bluffs and Omaha. Overnight, and into the early morning, the train traverses Nebraska and northeastern Colorado, before making a morning arrival into Denver.

At Denver the train departs BNSF Railway-owned track. From Denver west, the train runs along the Union Pacific Railroad's Central Corridor. The scenery changes dramatically departing Denver as the train climbs the Rocky Mountains. After going through the Tunnel District, the line crosses the Continental Divide via the 6.2 mile-long Moffat Tunnel under James Peak. The tracks then follow the Colorado River, through the transition from a narrow, whitewater river (popular with rafters, who habitually moon the train as it passes) to a much wider stream past Glenwood Canyon and Interstate 70 toward Grand Junction. The train finally departs the now much larger Colorado River after exiting Ruby Canyon, which is also where the train enters Utah.