Dreaming of a Dreamy Trip

So, I'm dreaming of my next big Amtrak trip, and this will be a solo jaunt since Hubby swears he's not going east of the Mississippi again (been there, done that). If Hubby's not going, I'll get to take some routes he won't do for various reasons. Here's my tentative plan:

• Segment one: BND to CIN via ALY, SAC and CHI. I've never done the CS section over Willamette Pass, only north from ALY and south from CMO. Maybe I can do it coming up on a full moon, and have a hope of seeing more of the scenery, since it gets dark early in winter . I've been on the CZ several times, but over Donner Pass only once. I've never been on the Card. This will be a two-zone AGR award, 20,000 points.
• Segment two: I'll switch to coach at CIN, and continue to NWK on the Card. I will purchase this ticket, since it seems that if I book at low-bucket, it's not worth the points. It will be coach to save money, and because I figure on being awake at first light anyway to take in the New River Gorge. Looks to me like you get more of the Gorge in daylight eastbound. I'll stay overnight in NWK with a friend, so I can do segment three in daylight too.
• Segment three: NWK to RTE via a midday NE Regional. I'll purchase a coach ticket again. If my last experience on the NE Regional is a guide, I'll spend most of my time in the cafe, drinking tea and watching the view, anyway. Then I'll spend a couple weeks visitng family before I get back on the train again.
• Segment four: BOS to ELP via the LSL and TE. I've never taken the TE. This will be a two-zone AGR award, 20,000 points.
• Segment 5: I'll just stay on the TE for the last leg home, ELP to BND via the CS. This will be a one-zone AGR award, 15,000 points.

I come up with a total of 55,000 points (got some more to save to get there), and well under two hundred dollars in coach fare. Amtrak.com tells me these are all acceptable routings. What do you think? I've never taken the TE before, but if there isn't much in the way of scenery between SPG (where I went last December on the Lincoln Service) and SAS (where I've been on the SL), I'd be inclined to go via the SWC instead of the TE. Come to think of it, I have an off-grid friend real near Lamy (anyone notice the wind turbine seen above the trees on the south side of the tracks just east of LMY?), and isn't that on the zone boundary as well?? More train time isn't necessarily the goal when I'm on the last leg of a long trip... I just want the best experience. Thanks for comments.

:wub:

The only "scenery" I noticed on the TE was St. Louis all lit up at night. So, that said, I'd vote for the SWC. (Don't get me wrong - the TE is a nice ride; it's just that the Raton and Glorieta Passes beat that scenery to a pulp.)

Yes, Lamy is on the boundary. The boundary line you see on the map follows the SWC route between Trinidad and ABQ.

For a shorter bus trip and two chances to see the Cascades, take the 7:30AM bus to Chemult and take the northbound CS to Eugene (or Albany). Start the AGR points trip in EUG on the southbound CS.

On National Train Day I had 4 great hours in Eugene doing some geocaching on Skinner's Butte before heading back to Chemult.

On the return trip, most of the snow that I saw in the morning had melted off the trees.

Last December my wife and I didn't cross the Mississippi on Amtrak. We took the CZ to Burlington IA on the bank of the Mississippi and rented a car from there. We spent that night in Louisville KY.

SarahZ said:

The only "scenery" I noticed on the TE was St. Louis all lit up at night. So, that said, I'd vote for the SWC. (Don't get me wrong - the TE is a nice ride; it's just that the Raton and Glorieta Passes beat that scenery to a pulp.)

Yes, Lamy is on the boundary. The boundary line you see on the map follows the SWC route between Trinidad and ABQ.

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St Louis all lit up at night sounds pretty nice, but I think all-in-all, the scenery on the SWC is worth the trip (unless they've changed the route already by the time I get my points saved up, need ~20,000 more).

tomfuller said:

For a shorter bus trip and two chances to see the Cascades, take the 7:30AM bus to Chemult and take the northbound CS to Eugene (or Albany). Start the AGR points trip in EUG on the southbound CS.

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Ooh, that's a fantastic idea!! Looks like low-bucket with Senior discount costs $39.95, and leaves 3 hours 20 minutes before the direct bus to ALY. With over four hours for the layover, it's pretty comfortable (and Eugene is a fine place to spend some time). Is the EUG station downtown?

Yes, it's right downtown at the north end of Willamette St. There are several nice restaurants within 4 blocks of the station. There is a nice large park along the Willamette River. On Saturdays there is a nice street market downtown.

Fantastic trip! And while the Eagle is my home Train, I totally agree that doing the SWC from CHI-LAX is the way to go heading West!

Jim, Tom and Sarah: Thanks for the great ideas! A morning CS ride northbound over the Cascades to Eugene to start the trip, and a return trip via the beautiful southern Rockies, are definitely good suggestions headed for implementation!

Jennifer

The segment over the Cascades (especially northbound) was my favorite portion of the trip between LA and Portland. .Not your segment but, we were southbound on the CS (same trip) and got to see Mt. Shasta under the light of a full moon! There are tables on the internet where you can find out the status of the moon (rise, set, phase, etc.) for any date. When you get the trip set, look it up.

FrensicPic said:

There are tables on the internet where you can find out the status of the moon (rise, set, phase, etc.) for any date. When you get the trip set, look it up.

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Oh, yes, I have this sunrise/sunset calendar maker bookmarked. I use it a lot, and will definitely consider the moon phase and rise/set, as much as I am able to, when scheduling.

oregon pioneer said:

FrensicPic said:

There are tables on the internet where you can find out the status of the moon (rise, set, phase, etc.) for any date. When you get the trip set, look it up.

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Oh, yes, I have this sunrise/sunset calendar maker bookmarked. I use it a lot, and will definitely consider the moon phase and rise/set, as much as I am able to, when scheduling.

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Glad to know I'm not the only one who uses that website when reviewing my train trips.

My Magellan GPS can give me the sunrise, sunset, moonrise and moonset time as well as the moon phase. You set it for the date you want to know about and the approximate longitude and latitude.

December's full moon is on the 6th. I also use once in awhile as a speedometer on the train.

tomfuller said:

My Magellan GPS can give me the sunrise, sunset, moonrise and moonset time as well as the moon phase. You set it for the date you want to know about and the approximate longitude and latitude.

December's full moon is on the 6th. I also use once in awhile as a speedometer on the train.

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A GPS sounds like a great thing to have! On my wish list!

oregon pioneer said:

tomfuller said:

My Magellan GPS can give me the sunrise, sunset, moonrise and moonset time as well as the moon phase. You set it for the date you want to know about and the approximate longitude and latitude.

December's full moon is on the 6th. I also use once in awhile as a speedometer on the train.

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A GPS sounds like a great thing to have! On my wish list!

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I use a Garmin GPSmap 62s on all my trips. Create point-to-point routes from station to station. It too will display sun and moon rise and set for your current location. With the online tables, you can query for any location and any time past, present and future.

OK, so now I have a date, at least a date that I am going to be at my destination (Boston, specifically RTE): Thanksgiving 2015. I know that I can't make the reservations till after Christmas 2014 (11 months ahead), but I need to decide when to leave, when to return, and how to get the required points for the trip.

I currently need about 19,000 points for the two-zone trip eastbound, and the three-zone trip westbound. I know that I will be able to get a points bonus some time before I have to make the reservations, so that will probably take care of 13,000 points, but the remainder are going to be hard to come by, since I am not a big spender on my Chase AGR card (and have never yet received a 50% points bonus offer, so I won't be holding my breath for that one, but will buy and reserve at 30%).

So for all you knowledgeable folks who have responded so far, and given me some great suggestions, here are some more questions:

1. Do you know of any good reasons not to push the return trip as close to the Christmas blockout dates as possible? I want to spend up to three weeks back east, and staying later in December works better for me than leaving earlier in November.
2. If you miss a connection on a rewards trip, and the next day is a blockout day, do they let you travel or make you wait?
3. Do you think the SWC will still be on the current route through December 2015??
4. Any good idea how to get more points, except by spending more money (on either AGR shpooing portal or paying cash for the ticket)? I am under the impression that if I buy the maximum, I can't even get any transferred to my account by my ever-loving Hubby.

If all else fails, I will pay cash for a one-zone ticket on the cheapest zone of the return trip, but that might mean taking the Empire Builder CHI to PDX (and paying for WPT to PDX) instead of the SW Chief and CS scenic route! Unless perhaps --- oooohh!!! I just checked and BOS to CLE in a roomette *is* less expensive than WPT to PDX. And LSL - SWC - CS *is* a valid two-zone routing to BND. So I will manage that routing some way or another, if it is still on Raton Pass.

Note - TOL (Toledo) is the border city, not CLE (Cleveland).

1) If it works better for you, go for it!

2) I don't really know the answer, but I would say yes! After all, you did not make the train arrive late. And you did not make your reservations for the blackout date.

3) It's anyone's guess.

4) Remember that you can purchase 10,000 points per CALENDAR year. So you could purchase 10K on Dec 31, 2014 and then 10K more on Jan 1, 2015! There's 20K! Also remember that an AGR award can be booked at anytime, regardless of price. It need not be booked 11 months out.

The zone boundary for the eastern/midwest zone is TOL not CLE!

Thanks, I got the Toldeo part figured out (found the zone chart with cities). It's still significantly cheaper BOS to TOL than WPT to PDX, for a day mid-December.

I already purchased the maximum for this year, 10,000 points plus 30% bonus. So I have to wait till next calendar year to buy more. And I know that I can book any time, as long as there is space available. So I think I will make the east bound reservations fairly early, as I will be doing the eastern zone in coach on a paid ticket. And I will just wait to see how the points pan out before doing the west bound reservation.

Got burned on the Pioneer by waiting to make the trip. When we went to make the reservation, they told us we could not get the train for the date we wanted, because it would be canceled before then. :angry: So I guess if I go to make the reservation for the SWC and they tell me the schedule has been changed (because the route has been changed), that's just the way it goes. Can't go till late next year, no matter what.

I made the eastbound reservations today. The Willamette Pass segment (EUG to CMO) would not work with our three-day-a-week public transit on one end, and the Cardinal on the other end, no matter how I wheedled it, so that will have to wait for another trip. But now I can look forward to taking the Cardinal for the first, and probably only, time.

Westbound reservations will have to wait till I gather a couple thousand more points, and purchase the maximum with bonus... which means I'll have to wait till they offer the bonus... but I have almost 11 months, so they are bound to do it in time.

Now I can begin getting excited in earnest, and also hoping my CZ will be on time into CHI so I can really, actually take the Cardinal instead of getting dumped on the Cap Ltd (which I took last year).

oregon pioneer said:

A GPS sounds like a great thing to have! On my wish list!

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My son forced a smart phone on me; and about all I used it for was an alarm clock, until that is I discovered it has a GPS. It's not all that sophisticated (Nokia Lumina 521). So you might check yours.