berkyo
Service Attendant
- Joined
- Dec 30, 2011
- Messages
- 114
I wanted to post this to thank all the members of this forum for the great information they supply. We could not have done this trip without your help. Due to time and finances we could not do everything everyone suggested, but what we manage to include was great. This trip used our year’s supply of Points and was basically a free train ride
Last September, My husband and I boarded the Lakeshore Limited in Roc at 11Pm and went to our coach seats. Most of the occupants were asleep and it was packed full. As suggested here, we told the attendant that we had roomette reservations from Toledo onward. She said she would check on it and returned saying it was occupied to Toledo and would we want to be woken up at 5am? We of course said YES! We are usually up early in coach anyway.
At about 5:30-6am she woke us up and took us to the dining car where we had breakfast (The roomette included all meals from there on) and we watched the sunrise in Indiana. Our roomette on the LSL was very nice and had a potty and sink in the cabin with us! It was much roomier than I expected from the photos online.
On to Chicago. Arrival about 10:30AM.
In Chicago, we had access to the Metropolitan Lounge. What a treat! We left our carry on bags there and took a walk down town in the sunshine. Had a great lunch at Panera and sat to watch the lunch crowd along the river. Then back to relax in the lounge. The Drill Sergeant there runs a tight ship!!!LOL She checked on us three times and made sure we were in the right place to get to our roomette. There were lots of passengers for several different trains and a tour group too. So we stayed where he put us. Without her, we would have been lost. Nice hot coffee or cold drinks and a clean rest room. Comfortable chairs and hook ups for the Laptop and Nook that actually worked if you were on the correct side of the lounge. When it was time to board they took the sleeper car passengers and led us to our car. It was so quiet and peaceful after the busy city and station. Our real first roomette and all for us! I was very pleased.
A little later the California Zephyr got under way and we met our Attendant whose name I forget, But he was a very nice person. He made sure we were comfortable and knew where everything was. Another attendant took dinner reservations so we were all set. The roomette was lovely, comfortable, roomy and peaceful. We spent a lot of time there and in the sightseer car. We had a delicious dinner - The Salmon and Chicken. So nice to pick what you want and not worry about the cost. Wine was also available but on our bill. And it was also very nice.
We met so many people in the dinning car. Couples from Australia and Europe, a student from Germany and a man traveling from job to job in this difficult economy. All kinds of people ride the trains for all kinds of reasons.
Bedtime was when we wanted and our attendant got the beds ready while we watched the sunset in the sightseer car and talked with other passengers. Sleeping was very comfortable. Hubby took the upper and I the lower. Changing clothes is a bit tight but we learned to use the shower room for that as it has plenty of room and a hand hold.
Early morning in the prairie, a lovely breakfast with a group of women off on an adventure in a Cabin in the Rockies and then the stop at Denver. After that we both - and every body else - went to the sightseer car to listen to the park volunteers take us through the trip to Grand Junction where we got off. They were very informative and the scenery is gorgeous. What a fantastic ride! Too many people in the car and some rude noisy card players on one end (They did not appear to know everyone else was listening to something) made it difficult to hear everything. But we sat with repeat riders and they filled us in on what we missed.
In Grand Junction we spent the night at a motel near the station and rented a car to travel by road south to Mesa Verde National Park. We took the road less traveled and were rewarded with canyons of red rock and mesas of every color. No one on the road except for encountering a bike race of amazing people biking up the long canyon that we were driving down. We stopped for lunch at a Colorado road side rest that was beautiful - nestled by a brook with rocks and trees all around. We were the only ones there and while we were there a state employee stopped to check the rest rooms. WOW .The drive up to Mesa Verde itself is amazing. I don't know how they put that road in but I am glad they did. We stayed in the park that night and spent a great day viewing the ruins and the area. This has been a dream of mine since I was 12 and I was not disappointed.
We left the park late the next day and headed over to the 4 corners area, staying in a small town for the night. Next day we put a foot in all four corners and of course took a picture. Just up the road from there is Monument Valley. This was probably the highlight of the trip. Raised on TV westerns and John Wayne movies, it was like going home for us. Only home was much, much bigger than we realized. The Park office has a great museum on indian history. The Monument is run by the Navajo. We could have stayed there for days in the beautiful motel/inn they have established. Maybe next trip?
We continued north in Utah to Needles and Islands in the Sky - 2 sections of Canyon Lands National Park. Again we were more than pleased at the area and even car camped in Needles so we could stay there the next day. The most beautiful and strange formations ever. And all easily reached by car or short hikes. The camp ground was full but you would never know it. A interesting evening park discussion on famous books of the Southwest was given by a summer ranger who was an English teacher during the school year. He gave us a recommended reading list. We are definitely going there again. At the Park office I bought a copy of John Wesley Powell's diary of the first trip down the Colorado river (Recommended the night before) and I read most of it on the train as we rode up the Colorado.
The next day we slept in Moab and visited Arches National Park. I was disappointed. Not by the loveliness or the immensity of the arches, but the fact that since it is easy to get to, it made it very crowded. Something we had not had to contend with the whole trip. It was like we owned the whole 4 corners region until we got to Arches. There were busloads of people and we had to hike in line to get to some of the view points. But it is lovely. I was getting tired by then (one week on the road) and knew a short drive away was the Zephyr and a place to put my feet up. We drove up the Colorado river back into our own private canyons and mesas and stopped for lunch at an abandoned home site on the river. Another well maintained rest stop/camping area in Utah and we were all alone with the echoes of the family that was brave enough to make a home there in the middle of nowhere. Such a peaceful way to end our trip.
The Zephyr welcomed us the next morning and hubby went up for the rerun of the Park volunteers discussions of the scenery in reverse while I relaxed with John Wesley Powell's first mapping of the Colorado. He too was mesmerized and had no words for the Canyon Lands area where the Green and Colorado rivers meet. But then I also think he was crazy for doing it. LOL You should read the book if you go to the area.
Not one complaint about the trip back. Another fine attendant and good food (MMM Dessert- lemon berry cake!!), lovely scenery and what a lot of nice friendly people traveling the easy way.
I read a review of the cross country trains recently. The writer, who packed office work and lots of books but never used them, said it was a trip through Unbranded America and he was spellbound with the country passing his window. Seeing the USA that way to used to be. He is right. No traffic, little towns with people just like us, barbeques in the yard and kids in the playgrounds. No fast food signs or malls or gas stations or billboards. Just a lovely way to see this great and terribly big country of ours.
Last September, My husband and I boarded the Lakeshore Limited in Roc at 11Pm and went to our coach seats. Most of the occupants were asleep and it was packed full. As suggested here, we told the attendant that we had roomette reservations from Toledo onward. She said she would check on it and returned saying it was occupied to Toledo and would we want to be woken up at 5am? We of course said YES! We are usually up early in coach anyway.
At about 5:30-6am she woke us up and took us to the dining car where we had breakfast (The roomette included all meals from there on) and we watched the sunrise in Indiana. Our roomette on the LSL was very nice and had a potty and sink in the cabin with us! It was much roomier than I expected from the photos online.
On to Chicago. Arrival about 10:30AM.
In Chicago, we had access to the Metropolitan Lounge. What a treat! We left our carry on bags there and took a walk down town in the sunshine. Had a great lunch at Panera and sat to watch the lunch crowd along the river. Then back to relax in the lounge. The Drill Sergeant there runs a tight ship!!!
LOL She checked on us three times and made sure we were in the right place to get to our roomette. There were lots of passengers for several different trains and a tour group too. So we stayed where he put us. Without her, we would have been lost. Nice hot coffee or cold drinks and a clean rest room. Comfortable chairs and hook ups for the Laptop and Nook that actually worked if you were on the correct side of the lounge. When it was time to board they took the sleeper car passengers and led us to our car. It was so quiet and peaceful after the busy city and station. Our real first roomette and all for us! I was very pleased.A little later the California Zephyr got under way and we met our Attendant whose name I forget, But he was a very nice person. He made sure we were comfortable and knew where everything was. Another attendant took dinner reservations so we were all set. The roomette was lovely, comfortable, roomy and peaceful. We spent a lot of time there and in the sightseer car. We had a delicious dinner - The Salmon and Chicken. So nice to pick what you want and not worry about the cost. Wine was also available but on our bill. And it was also very nice.
We met so many people in the dinning car. Couples from Australia and Europe, a student from Germany and a man traveling from job to job in this difficult economy. All kinds of people ride the trains for all kinds of reasons.
Bedtime was when we wanted and our attendant got the beds ready while we watched the sunset in the sightseer car and talked with other passengers. Sleeping was very comfortable. Hubby took the upper and I the lower. Changing clothes is a bit tight but we learned to use the shower room for that as it has plenty of room and a hand hold.
Early morning in the prairie, a lovely breakfast with a group of women off on an adventure in a Cabin in the Rockies and then the stop at Denver. After that we both - and every body else - went to the sightseer car to listen to the park volunteers take us through the trip to Grand Junction where we got off. They were very informative and the scenery is gorgeous. What a fantastic ride! Too many people in the car and some rude noisy card players on one end (They did not appear to know everyone else was listening to something) made it difficult to hear everything. But we sat with repeat riders and they filled us in on what we missed.
In Grand Junction we spent the night at a motel near the station and rented a car to travel by road south to Mesa Verde National Park. We took the road less traveled and were rewarded with canyons of red rock and mesas of every color. No one on the road except for encountering a bike race of amazing people biking up the long canyon that we were driving down. We stopped for lunch at a Colorado road side rest that was beautiful - nestled by a brook with rocks and trees all around. We were the only ones there and while we were there a state employee stopped to check the rest rooms. WOW .The drive up to Mesa Verde itself is amazing. I don't know how they put that road in but I am glad they did. We stayed in the park that night and spent a great day viewing the ruins and the area. This has been a dream of mine since I was 12 and I was not disappointed.
We left the park late the next day and headed over to the 4 corners area, staying in a small town for the night. Next day we put a foot in all four corners and of course took a picture. Just up the road from there is Monument Valley. This was probably the highlight of the trip. Raised on TV westerns and John Wayne movies, it was like going home for us. Only home was much, much bigger than we realized. The Park office has a great museum on indian history. The Monument is run by the Navajo. We could have stayed there for days in the beautiful motel/inn they have established. Maybe next trip?
We continued north in Utah to Needles and Islands in the Sky - 2 sections of Canyon Lands National Park. Again we were more than pleased at the area and even car camped in Needles so we could stay there the next day. The most beautiful and strange formations ever. And all easily reached by car or short hikes. The camp ground was full but you would never know it. A interesting evening park discussion on famous books of the Southwest was given by a summer ranger who was an English teacher during the school year. He gave us a recommended reading list. We are definitely going there again. At the Park office I bought a copy of John Wesley Powell's diary of the first trip down the Colorado river (Recommended the night before) and I read most of it on the train as we rode up the Colorado.
The next day we slept in Moab and visited Arches National Park. I was disappointed. Not by the loveliness or the immensity of the arches, but the fact that since it is easy to get to, it made it very crowded.
Something we had not had to contend with the whole trip. It was like we owned the whole 4 corners region until we got to Arches. There were busloads of people and we had to hike in line to get to some of the view points. But it is lovely. I was getting tired by then (one week on the road) and knew a short drive away was the Zephyr and a place to put my feet up. We drove up the Colorado river back into our own private canyons and mesas and stopped for lunch at an abandoned home site on the river. Another well maintained rest stop/camping area in Utah and we were all alone with the echoes of the family that was brave enough to make a home there in the middle of nowhere. Such a peaceful way to end our trip.The Zephyr welcomed us the next morning and hubby went up for the rerun of the Park volunteers discussions of the scenery in reverse while I relaxed with John Wesley Powell's first mapping of the Colorado. He too was mesmerized and had no words for the Canyon Lands area where the Green and Colorado rivers meet. But then I also think he was crazy for doing it. LOL You should read the book if you go to the area.
Not one complaint about the trip back. Another fine attendant and good food (MMM Dessert- lemon berry cake!!), lovely scenery and what a lot of nice friendly people traveling the easy way.
I read a review of the cross country trains recently. The writer, who packed office work and lots of books but never used them, said it was a trip through Unbranded America and he was spellbound with the country passing his window. Seeing the USA that way to used to be. He is right. No traffic, little towns with people just like us, barbeques in the yard and kids in the playgrounds. No fast food signs or malls or gas stations or billboards. Just a lovely way to see this great and terribly big country of ours.
