After the Coast Starlight ride over the Tehachapis and on up to Sacramento, the return trip home was - how you say - anticlimactic, to put it mildly. To put it not so mildly, it was boring as hell. I mean, the Central Valley for a second day in a row? YAWN.
And to add insult to injury (or was it injury to insult? No matter, the effect was the same.), the return trip included two bus rides.
Departed Sacramento on an Ambus to Stockton to catch San Joaquin 714 to Bakersfield. The ride was no worse than the average root canal.
The weather had changed quite a bit, and it was cooler around noon at Stockton than it had been when the Coast Starlight arrived at Sacramento at 11:30 the night before. Also much hazier than the day before, due to numerous fires that had broken out in the region.
Train 714 was in push mode, and equipped with what are known as "California" cars, which in coach are not too different from Pacific Surfliner equipment. Hadn't been on this stuff before. The major difference is in the food service. Shoulda thought to take pictures, but was kind of on autopilot by this stage of the trip. I apologize. Anyway, the food service car was pretty cool. Up on the high level (down below on Surfliners), with nicely upholstered booths, and counters with swiveling, low-back stools. A much more extensive menu than available on Surfliners, including several of the same items listed on the Coast Starlight dining car menu, which tells you something. After stuffing myself at the hotel Denny's before departure I just snacked on a microwave burrito and Fritos.
The run through the Central Valley is mostly a straight shot, and might be characterized as "The Drag through the Ag." As with the Coast Starlight on its regular route through the Salinas Valley, it's fun to note the crops. The orchards present a real challenge, though: Are those peach or plum trees? Almonds or pistachios? A botanist I ain't, and 79 mph doesn't help matters. Walnut orchards are pretty easy to spot, though. Not much in the way of orchards in the Salinas Valley. As with that, though, lotsa grapes; vineyards for miles on end. Also a surprising (to me, at least) amount of corn and wheat. I know there's a good deal of cotton production in the region, but didn't see any from the train.
Much meat and dairy action. California was until recently getting close to Wisconsin on the dairy front, but those cheeseheads got riled, stepped up their efforts, and are now pulling away. And recent state regulatory issues have served as a brake on California's dairy growth. Pretty easy to tell the difference between steak on the hoof and dairy stock - very different-looking breeds. Even dairy stock eventually gets eaten, though, as in Alpo or Hungry Man dinners (same thing). From time to time large areas of long, closed metal sheds with big, slow fans on the ends. Not positive, and no animals visible, but I'm thinking industrial hog farms. EDIT: Poultry is another possibility.
The train itself was great. Didn't have a San Joaquin timetable handy (stupidly stuck it in my checked bags), so don't know about the interim stops, but we departed Stockton and arrived at Bakersfield pretty much on the advertised. One thing that struck me was the heavy passenger turnover at most stops. And the train was well-populated throughout the run. Not crowded, but fairly full. Fresno was a smoke stop, and as I was puffing away in 100-degree heat I heard a woman exclaim, "Remember when only six people rode the train?" San Joaquin 714, on that day at least, was indeed a busy train.
At Bakersfield I had time to step inside the station for a picture before boarding another Ambus for the final Amtrak leg home. The run on I-5 over the Grapevine wasn't all that bad, as I hadn't seen the route in about 20 years - which was also the last time I saw the Central Valley (day before notwithstanding). The driver must be some kinda saint to put up with the amount of atrocious driving I saw along the way. Just insane. What's wrong with you car people!? And more often than not, the worst offenders were yapping away on cell phones; easy to see from the overhead vantage point of an Ambus.
Upon arrival at OXN I said to the driver, "You must be a very patient man. The driving I saw today was hideous." "That's why I don't carry a gun anymore. Might be too tempted to use it."
Return From Tehachapi (a measly 10 pics)
And to add insult to injury (or was it injury to insult? No matter, the effect was the same.), the return trip included two bus rides.
Departed Sacramento on an Ambus to Stockton to catch San Joaquin 714 to Bakersfield. The ride was no worse than the average root canal.
The weather had changed quite a bit, and it was cooler around noon at Stockton than it had been when the Coast Starlight arrived at Sacramento at 11:30 the night before. Also much hazier than the day before, due to numerous fires that had broken out in the region.
Train 714 was in push mode, and equipped with what are known as "California" cars, which in coach are not too different from Pacific Surfliner equipment. Hadn't been on this stuff before. The major difference is in the food service. Shoulda thought to take pictures, but was kind of on autopilot by this stage of the trip. I apologize. Anyway, the food service car was pretty cool. Up on the high level (down below on Surfliners), with nicely upholstered booths, and counters with swiveling, low-back stools. A much more extensive menu than available on Surfliners, including several of the same items listed on the Coast Starlight dining car menu, which tells you something. After stuffing myself at the hotel Denny's before departure I just snacked on a microwave burrito and Fritos.
The run through the Central Valley is mostly a straight shot, and might be characterized as "The Drag through the Ag." As with the Coast Starlight on its regular route through the Salinas Valley, it's fun to note the crops. The orchards present a real challenge, though: Are those peach or plum trees? Almonds or pistachios? A botanist I ain't, and 79 mph doesn't help matters. Walnut orchards are pretty easy to spot, though. Not much in the way of orchards in the Salinas Valley. As with that, though, lotsa grapes; vineyards for miles on end. Also a surprising (to me, at least) amount of corn and wheat. I know there's a good deal of cotton production in the region, but didn't see any from the train.
Much meat and dairy action. California was until recently getting close to Wisconsin on the dairy front, but those cheeseheads got riled, stepped up their efforts, and are now pulling away. And recent state regulatory issues have served as a brake on California's dairy growth. Pretty easy to tell the difference between steak on the hoof and dairy stock - very different-looking breeds. Even dairy stock eventually gets eaten, though, as in Alpo or Hungry Man dinners (same thing). From time to time large areas of long, closed metal sheds with big, slow fans on the ends. Not positive, and no animals visible, but I'm thinking industrial hog farms. EDIT: Poultry is another possibility.
The train itself was great. Didn't have a San Joaquin timetable handy (stupidly stuck it in my checked bags), so don't know about the interim stops, but we departed Stockton and arrived at Bakersfield pretty much on the advertised. One thing that struck me was the heavy passenger turnover at most stops. And the train was well-populated throughout the run. Not crowded, but fairly full. Fresno was a smoke stop, and as I was puffing away in 100-degree heat I heard a woman exclaim, "Remember when only six people rode the train?" San Joaquin 714, on that day at least, was indeed a busy train.
At Bakersfield I had time to step inside the station for a picture before boarding another Ambus for the final Amtrak leg home. The run on I-5 over the Grapevine wasn't all that bad, as I hadn't seen the route in about 20 years - which was also the last time I saw the Central Valley (day before notwithstanding). The driver must be some kinda saint to put up with the amount of atrocious driving I saw along the way. Just insane. What's wrong with you car people!? And more often than not, the worst offenders were yapping away on cell phones; easy to see from the overhead vantage point of an Ambus.
Upon arrival at OXN I said to the driver, "You must be a very patient man. The driving I saw today was hideous." "That's why I don't carry a gun anymore. Might be too tempted to use it."
Return From Tehachapi (a measly 10 pics)
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