NW cannonball
Conductor
After a week in Cottonwood Arizona, first time ever for me in that great, but dry, state --
Friends drove me to Flagstaff with an afternoon pause to explore a few of the amazing red rock formations - and a drive-by past the old Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff by the light of a full moon.
Amtrak #3 arrived late at Flagstaff out of on time at Albuquerque. The station agent kept us up-to-date as the arrival time went from 10 to 20 to 30 minutes late. The SW Chief was booked totally full in coach and there were 67 persons boarding at FLG. Departed FLG at 21:41 vs 20:57 schedule time.
Two pax, me and a man returning to Thailand from WAS DC, didn't get our reserved coach seats at boarding, we had to wait in the SSL - he was seated after the next stop, I didn't get my reserved coach seat until after Kingman - and after midnight - but the seat I did get had an empty seat beside it.
So - good nap time - until --
Arrive LAX 30 minutes ahead of schedule. Was (minimally) worried because had two separate tix - if missed connection would be my problem, not Amtrak's (I did research previous month's on-time record for #3 connecting to #14 and saw no problem likeley. And in fact had extra time at LAUS with not much to do)
Boarded #14 Coast Starlight on the fourth and last coach - totally full with a Chinese tour group - they all detrained at Santa Barbara leaving the coach more than half empty.
Highlight of the trip was when someone's 9yo grandkid in the SSL noticed some anomaly in the rolling waves north of Santa Barbara where the CS runs near the Pacific.
Was baby humpback whale cavorting in the waves. Local pax with beach experience confirmed - baby har umpback and mama following. Whale watching from the Coast Starlight -- wow!.
Dining car companions, sleepers and coach like me this trip - also very companionable, polite, and informative.
The coach attendant Stephen was really good - the dining car people also.
Also the random people met and spoke with in the SSL were polite, well spoken, and well informed - and well worth listening to.
Arrived PDX early, after the really scenic stretch from North California into Oregon. Unfortunately Mt Shasta was clouded at sunrise.
Overnight in Portland.
Took Amtrak Cascades PDX-SEA next morning early.
Two things on the Cascades I didn't expect.
* The diaphragms between Talgo cars were leaking rain a bit - the train staff warned pax to watch footing between cars. Not real bad, but definitely leaking rain.
* The $6 "salmon snack" was just a BIG hunk of smoked salmon - 3-4 ounces - a days worth of protein and omega-3. Real good deal, when diluted with a $1 banana.
All-in-all a very good trip in coach.
PS - on the CS my ankle was sore, couldn't sleep in coach seat, no way to adjust seat and footrest to avoid pain. So - about 1:00 AM, north of Sacramento, hobbled down to the lower level of the coach-baggage car and stretched out on the not very clean carpet (not much baggage there) and slept well for 5 hours. When I woke there were there other coach pax sleeping there also.
Friends drove me to Flagstaff with an afternoon pause to explore a few of the amazing red rock formations - and a drive-by past the old Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff by the light of a full moon.
Amtrak #3 arrived late at Flagstaff out of on time at Albuquerque. The station agent kept us up-to-date as the arrival time went from 10 to 20 to 30 minutes late. The SW Chief was booked totally full in coach and there were 67 persons boarding at FLG. Departed FLG at 21:41 vs 20:57 schedule time.
Two pax, me and a man returning to Thailand from WAS DC, didn't get our reserved coach seats at boarding, we had to wait in the SSL - he was seated after the next stop, I didn't get my reserved coach seat until after Kingman - and after midnight - but the seat I did get had an empty seat beside it.
So - good nap time - until --
Arrive LAX 30 minutes ahead of schedule. Was (minimally) worried because had two separate tix - if missed connection would be my problem, not Amtrak's (I did research previous month's on-time record for #3 connecting to #14 and saw no problem likeley. And in fact had extra time at LAUS with not much to do)
Boarded #14 Coast Starlight on the fourth and last coach - totally full with a Chinese tour group - they all detrained at Santa Barbara leaving the coach more than half empty.
Highlight of the trip was when someone's 9yo grandkid in the SSL noticed some anomaly in the rolling waves north of Santa Barbara where the CS runs near the Pacific.
Was baby humpback whale cavorting in the waves. Local pax with beach experience confirmed - baby har umpback and mama following. Whale watching from the Coast Starlight -- wow!.
Dining car companions, sleepers and coach like me this trip - also very companionable, polite, and informative.
The coach attendant Stephen was really good - the dining car people also.
Also the random people met and spoke with in the SSL were polite, well spoken, and well informed - and well worth listening to.
Arrived PDX early, after the really scenic stretch from North California into Oregon. Unfortunately Mt Shasta was clouded at sunrise.
Overnight in Portland.
Took Amtrak Cascades PDX-SEA next morning early.
Two things on the Cascades I didn't expect.
* The diaphragms between Talgo cars were leaking rain a bit - the train staff warned pax to watch footing between cars. Not real bad, but definitely leaking rain.
* The $6 "salmon snack" was just a BIG hunk of smoked salmon - 3-4 ounces - a days worth of protein and omega-3. Real good deal, when diluted with a $1 banana.
All-in-all a very good trip in coach.
PS - on the CS my ankle was sore, couldn't sleep in coach seat, no way to adjust seat and footrest to avoid pain. So - about 1:00 AM, north of Sacramento, hobbled down to the lower level of the coach-baggage car and stretched out on the not very clean carpet (not much baggage there) and slept well for 5 hours. When I woke there were there other coach pax sleeping there also.
