The landscape became considerably more arid as the train rolled on through the broad canyons of Western Colorado. While enjoying lunch in the dining car, I had an interesting conversation with a couple of people from England regarding the town of New Castle, Colorado, located about 15 miles west of Glenwood Springs. The topic came up because they were from the English coal mining town of Newcastle which sits on the River Tyne. Much like the English town, the mountains surrounding this area are rich with coal which became the impetus for New Castle, Colorado’s development into the bustling mining community it became in the late 1880s. Although agriculture is probably responsible for more jobs around the area these days, you can still see some impressive coal trains on this line – many with multiple locomotives in the front and back of the trains.



West of Rifle, Colorado


Western Colorado scenery – approaching Grand Junction, CO


Train time in Grand Junction, CO


Grand Junction is a service stop for the Zephyr and the train spends about 15 minutes there. Trash is disposed of while some food and beverage items including ice are re-stocked. There’s a small railroad themed store inside the Grand Junction train station. It’s quite popular with passengers although for me the best part of this trip was stepping off the train and meeting briefly with some old friends of mine who used to work with me in Alaska.

We departed Grand Junction right on time and accelerated smoothly out into the beautiful red Canyonlands of eastern Utah. This is one of the prettiest parts of the journey and is best experienced during the late spring and summer months when the longer days and early evening sun color the canyon beautifully during the Zephyr’s transit.



Entering Ruby Canyon


Ruby Canyon


Ruby Canyon


Red rock goblins watch our passing


Leaving Ruby Canyon, the Zephyr emerges into the arid desert landscape of east central Utah. Earlier in the day I’d made reservations for the 6:15pm dinner sitting. And what a setting it was! To the north of the train runs the thousand-foot-high wall of cliffs known as “The Book Cliffs”. It is the longest continuous line of cliffs in the world, winding for about 250 miles from western Colorado well into Utah.



Utah’s Book Cliffs


Utah’s Book Cliffs


We has just pulled out of Green River, Utah when an announcement notified us that passengers holding 6:15pm dinner reservations should report to the diner. I know Green River well from my days of rafting its namesake Green River through Desolation and Gray Canyons. After six days on the river, the town of Green River represented a veritable oasis. The downtown area has changed little to this day and remains one of my favorite Utah destinations. Unfortunately, the train station is located on a dusty side road on the outskirts of town. It is a nondescript cinderblock building that offers only a platform with no passenger shelter or ticketing services.

Up in the diner I had requested a table on the right hand side, facing the Book Cliffs. As a single diner it wasn’t a difficult request to fulfill. My tablemates were Steve and Karen, a couple from Reno, Nevada, and Dorothy, who, like me, was a single traveler on her way to Colfax, California.

Menus were presented and we settled into introductions. Steve and Karen had boarded this morning in Denver and were on their way home after a week’s stay visiting friends up in Conifer, Colorado. I know Conifer! I used to live just down the road in Evergreen. Karen had grown up in Aspen Park, famous in my day for its unique Coney Island Hot Dog Diner, shaped as a 42-foot-long, mustard-and-relish-covered hot dog resting on a 35-foot bun. The diner was originally located down in Denver on West Colfax. Despite the daunting logistics (the complete diner weighs about 18 tons) the diner was relocated to the tiny mountain town of Aspen Park in 1970. Karen informed me that the diner had been moved again about ten years ago and now sits 20 miles down U.S. 285 on the banks of the South Platte River in Bailey, Colorado.

Dorothy had boarded in Granby, Colorado. She’d spent the winter working as a ski instructor in nearby Winter Park and was now returning home to California where she hoped to land a job with the trail crew in Sequoia National Park. Woo! My kind of girl! She’d ridden Amtrak out to Colorado in November and had enjoyed the experience – not to mention the price which – given the fact that the California Zephyr actually stopped at Winter Park - was about half of what she’d have paid had she flown into Denver and arranged ground transport from there.

I usually like to take full advantage of menus that are included in the fare but as I’d eaten a late lunch, I really wasn’t hungry enough to eat a full dinner. As such, I ordered my longtime luncheon favorite – the Black Bean & Corn Veggie Burger. Yes, this was my second one of the day but damn! Those burgers are really good!



Black Bean & Corn Veggie Burger


Steve and Karen were particularly happy with the “free” meals. They had ridden out to Colorado in Coach and had decided to upgrade to a roomette for their return trip to Reno. Karen commented that the roomettes were pretty cozy for two people but the complimentary meals really added to the value of their upgrade. On the way out to Denver they’d limited their dining car meals to just one breakfast because they considered the cost of lunch and dinner to be too expensive. Now, the fact that they could order whatever they wanted off the menu really made the trip for them. Both were pleased with their meals – steak for Steve and salmon for Karen. Dorothy also ordered the salmon and I made a mental reminder to make that my next entrée choice two nights from now aboard the Coast Starlight.

After dinner, we all went our separate ways. I headed back to my roomette to grab my daypack, Jack Daniels and laptop. Then it was off to the lounge car where I found plenty of empty seats – in stark contrast to earlier today when every seat was taken as we headed up into the Rockies. No doubt, that scenery through the Rockies is pretty special but in its way, tonight’s visage as we sped across the broad expanse of Utah desert at sunset was almost as alluring.


Lounge Car ambiance – speeding across Utah at sunset


Speeding across Utah at sunset
Photo courtesy of Amtrak

Relocating to an empty table, I fired up my laptop and then headed downstairs to the café for a couple cups of ice. I felt pretty safe about leaving my gear unattended while I went downstairs. It’s hard to imagine someone absconding with it in full sight of other patrons across the aisle and besides, where would they go? I had my wallet with me and used it to purchase a can of Ginger Ale. The Ginger Ale purchase would explain the need for two glasses of ice (not that the café attendant probably cared either way) and it looks very similar to bourbon in the glass, so if a conductor were to wander by, all would look legit with my can of Ginger Ale on the table and Jack Daniels in my glass.

Maybe it was an apparently light load on this portion of the ride, or perhaps it was my misshapen hump and antlers but I never did come across anyone in the lounge car to chat with and share my bourbon. Of course I wasn’t really looKing that hard since I had the laptop open (and at times my headphones on) and the people seated around me all seemed to be comfortably into their own things, be it a game of cards or just conversation.

For my part, although I enjoy the company I’m hardly lonely in these situations. So many of my travels have been on my own that I’m quite comfortable keeping my own company. Indeed, I would never dream of imposing myself on anyone. Just because you’re sitting next to someone doesn’t mean you’re compelled to talk to them. It’s been my experience that most conversations with complete strangers while traveling just sorta happen – maybe through a shared experience or something we just saw. The last thing I’d ever be caught doing is trying to force conversation on anyone.

In any event, I put in some time on my laptop for an hour or so, listened to music, drank whisky and even put in a bit of work on this trip report. That was so long ago that I can’t possibly recall what part I was writing about but I’m quite sure it wasn’t the train ride. More than likely I was probably still composing the preamble.

By 11:00pm I was back in my roomette, teeth flossed and brushed and ready for bed. Hard to believe this is my third straight night on the rails. My how time flies…