Tuesday, May 17, 2011

Back Home Via the California Zephyr

California Zephyr
On board the California Zephyr!


We took the train (yes, the train, not plane) back home from Chicago, IL to Emeryville, CA aboard the California Zephyr, which is run by Amtrak. It is a 52 hour journey, passing by some spectacular scenery along the route. We bought two coach seats for slightly less than the price of a plane ticket. You can buy tickets on Amtrak's website in advance. The train also has sleeper cars, but they were very pricey (it would've cost us almost $1000 for the trip in a sleeper room). Although I'm sure its very luxurious, sleeping flat for the two nights of the journey, having access to a shower, and every meal included in the dining car, we weren't going to pay that much! In fact, we thought that the coach seats were pretty good. They were like extra large versions of a plane seat, with ample leg room, and almost fully reclining.

California Zephyr
Passing through the flat farmlands of Illinois. Notice how its not very interesting.


We boarded the train in Union Station in Chicago. It leaves here everyday at 2:00pm, and gets to Emeryville two and a half days later at 4:10pm. After leaving the gates at the train station (similar to an airport gate waiting area), we were hustled to the platforms, which were dark, loud with the sound of roaring locamotives, and stinking of diesel fumes. A conductor looked at our tickets outside of the train (which was two stories tall) and told us which car to get on. "Go upstairs, take a right," She told us, and pointed to the first door. She also gave us our seat numbers (55 & 56). She organized the people by their destination. Everyone in our car was either getting off in California, or taking a short trip and jumping off in western Illinois or Iowa. You could tell every person's destination because a second conductor came by shortly after we left the station and pinned a three-letter destination code above each person's seat (ours was EMY for Emeryville, CA).

California Zephyr
We spent most of our time in the observation car, which has open seating.


We pulled out of Union Station slowly, but soon the train began to speed up. All the familiar streets were streaming past us. My dad gave me a call, knowing we were leaving at 2:00pm, and told me he was going to wave at our train as it passed by his house, near the Berwyn station. We saw him waving, but we passed by so fast! Before we knew it, we were already in Lagrange, Hinsdale, then Naperville, then Aurora. Then the scenery began to change from urban to country side. We passed many grain silos and farms, but strangely, it seemed all the fields were bare. Either the sprouts did not shoot up from the ground yet, or a lot of farmers were paid off to not grown this year, or something.

California Zephyr
The dining car serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner for all passengers.


There was lots of room in the overhead bins for all of our baggage and food. We had double seats with a full, unobstructed window. There was even a 12 volt plug at every pair of seats. We were halfway between the stairs and the end of the car, which had a double door that opened to get to the next car. Soon we learned that we were seated in the car right next to the observation car (which also has a small cafe in the lower level). How convenient! Although our seats were very comfy, with a huge window, we ended up spending most of our time in the observation car. It has open seating, first-come-first-serve, in swiveling chairs which face towards the windows. The ceiling has curved windows too, so you can see above you if you want to watch the clouds, canyon walls, or tall mountains. There was also 6 tables with bench seating for eating your own meals, playing cards, or socializing.

California Zephyr
Having a snack in the observation car.


After the observation car, the next car was the dining car. It was entirely filled with the table and bench style seating, except they put a fancy tablecloth over the tables, and had waiters and waitresses buzzing around. The dining car was almost always full with passengers who were staying in the sleepers, since they had all of their meals included in the price of their ticket. We tried the dining car for breakfast, which was the least expensive meal they served, just for the experience. I remember when we took the Trans-Siberian train in Russia and went into the dining car once for a beer and pistachios. It was completely deserted (Russians seem more frugal).

California Zephyr
The train starts to climb into the Rockies, outside of Denver.


The majority of the people taking the train were taking it for pleasure, and were retired. The retirees were mostly staying in the sleeping cars, while the younger people stayed in the coach seats. We had an interesting car. The guy behind us looked like he was straight out of Burning Man, complete with weird juggle balls that he swung around when the train stopped long enough. On the opposite side of us we had who we called Grumpy California Woman, slightly pudgy and easily upset (although understandably). She was on her way to Sacramento. Behind Grumpy was Young Party Girl sitting next to Disgusting Douche Loud Guy. She was from Arkansas and he was from 'Frisco' (the dumbass name for San Francicso). He was flirting with her the entire time, although she was only 23 and he was divorced with a couple of kids. Ewwww gross. They kept talking about parties and stupid stuff, and very annoying loud. Loud Guy also could not just sit idly and look out the window. He needed to talk to somebody constantly. So much so, that he was always on his phone and sometimes it was funny overhearing his stupid conversations (this is how we pieced together his retardedly dumb life story). Finally, Grumpy California Woman yelled at Loud Guy, basically telling his to shut up and go somewhere else if he wanted to be loud (like the tables in the observation car).

California Zephyr
Climbing through the Colorado Rocky Mountains.


The second day of the trip, we spent almost every hour of daylight in the observation car, since it was the day the train went through the Rocky Mountains. There we were sitting near Amateur Tour Guide Man, who was also a photographer. He was retired, and boarded the train at the stop before Denver (around 5am) to make sure he got a seat in the observation car when it started climbing up into the mountains. We were sitting in our seats since 5:45am, which might have been a little overkill, but we were awake from the excitement! He was sitting next to Polite Silent Older Couple, who he gave a non-stop narrative of the entire journey (which was honestly interesting) through the mountains until they had enough and decided to leave. He quickly found a new set of ears to keep talking to. Soon after we got out of Denver, the observation car was packed with people! Everyone had their cameras out and were taking pictures as the train took us up the mountainside and through more than 25 tunnels and stunning canyons! There was one older skinny guy who we called The Raptor (after the type of dinosaur, Velociraptor) because he was taking pictures as if he was hunting or something. He had such a strange look in his eyes, wildly flipping his head back and forth, like he was after prey, but the prey was a perfect shot. He stopped at nothing, even almost knocking me over as I threw a banana peel into the garbage bin, because there was something cool out the window he had to take a picture of.

California Zephyr
Following a river in eastern Colorado.


The first of many canyons began as we were leaving Winter Park, Colorado, which still had plenty of snow. The train here followed Hwy 40 most of the way, which we recognized from our road trip last summer in the two bajas. But the dramatic part was when the train branched away from the highway and took a route right along a river through the Gore Canyon, which is accessible only by the train track that runs through it, kayak, or by foot. The walls of this canyon rise more than 1,000 feet, and its only as wide as the river. However, after that, the scenery began to tone down a bit, as we were crossing the rest of the Rockies. A few hours later, we were going through Glenwood Canyon. Although its a highlight of a roadtrip on I-70 in a car, on the train it wasn't as exciting as I thought, probably because there was so much better scenery we've already seen that only a train track runs through.

California Zephyr
The Colorado River in Utah.


I personally liked the scenery in Utah and Nevada the best. I guess that's because I like the desert. The second evening, we took a seat at one of the tables in the observation car, and we were planning on having some wine, chips, and hummus for dinner while we went over Soldier Pass. We had our bottle of wine out, and the conductor saw it. He said you could only have alcohol purchased from the cafe downstairs and not your own. I didn't know that! They sell Heineken Beer in the cafe by the bottle (for an outrageous price), so bringing your own Heineken would be a stealthy way to BYOB, since they couldn't tell the difference. But they don't sell entire bottles of wine, so we looked obvious. We decided to save it and drink it at our coach seats, where we could be more discreet (or we could've pouring it in a different bottle first, but it was too late).

California Zephyr
The red rocks of Utah.


While we were sitting in the observation car, there were two Amish couples that frequented the car as well. They already smelled like B.O. on the first day of the train ride, so you can imagine what they smelled like after 52 hours. But they were very nice, and most of the time they spoke Pennsylvania Dutch, so we couldn't understand them. They perpetually played Yahtzee and checkers on a paper checkers board. And it seemed they were always laughing and having fun.

California Zephyr
Cisco, the ghost town on the way to Moab!


The second night on the train seemed more comfortable than the first, because I discovered better sleeping positions. We brought our selk bags to sleep in, and they seem to make you comfortable no matter where you are or what position you're in, so they made sleeping in the reclining seat better. We also brought our own pillows, but the conductor hands out pillows every night if you need them. They don't provide blankets though. At night it was very quiet in the train. All of the bathrooms were downstairs, and they were very similar to an airplane bathroom (there were 6 bathrooms in each car). They even had the extreme suction flush, which reminded me again of the Trans-Siberian train we took in Russia. The bathrooms on that train in Russia were much bigger (although there was only one in each car) and there was no flush. There was just a hole in the bottom of the toilet bowl which dropped everything straight onto the train tracks below! Be careful when you walk along the tracks in Russia, you might step in somebody's shit. The conductor had to lock the bathroom door 10 minutes before a stop in major cities to avoid people shitting near populated areas. I have no idea where everything went after you flushed on the Amtrak train, probably into a tank.

California Zephyr
The Humboldt River snakes its way through Nevada.


The train traveled through Nevada on the last night. That kind of sucked because I really like Nevada, and I would've liked to see it in the daytime. I woke up when the moon was setting outside of our window. It was very bright (almost full). As soon as it set, the sun started rising on the opposite side of the train. Once it got bright enough I could see mountains covered in fresh snow, low hanging misty clouds, and wetlands with numerous steaming springs! Many people think the desert is very boring and plain, but the low angle of the sun rising over the mountains and the desert made everything so colorful. There was the pink and orange of the sunrise, the white clouds hanging over the mountains with fresh snow, green patches of sagebrush, a bright blue sky, and purple and brown rocks in the mountains. It was my favorite part of the trip, and after waking Romy up we ran into the observation car as soon as we got out of our sleeping bags. It was still a while before the cafe opened and started serving coffee.

California Zephyr
Nevada in the early morning hours with fresh snow.


That morning, the conductor told everyone that we were all stopping and getting off in Reno, which we arrived at about 8:30am. The Zephyr from the previous day had an engine breakdown just west of Reno, and was blocking the only track through the Sierra Nevadas. So it meant that we would have to take a bus from Reno to Emeryville instead of the train. That sucked because there was supposed to be a train historian between Reno and Sacramento that told you about the history of the gold rush in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. So Reno was effectively the end of our trip, since the bus was not very interesting, and we've driven on I-80 through the Sierras that way a millions times already. Its okay though, since we really liked the train trip and we will do it again. It was much better than flying, in my opinion, even though it took 52 hours. It was very comfortable and scenic, and relaxing to veg out for a few days and enjoy yourself and the journey!

Thursday, May 12, 2011

The Buick Gets a Vinyl Top

While we were back home in Berwyn for Bobby and Julie's wedding on the 15th, Romy wanted to get a new vinyl roof put on the gold Buick. A few years ago, he got a completely new paint job, including body repair, and the vinyl roof was one of the last finishing touches to the exterior of the car. It was his grandma's car, and she bought it brand new in 1969 off the showroom floor and paid in cash. Romy took it to Ogden Top & Trim, a shop in Berwyn which specializes in doing custom upholstery and interiors of old cars. It turned out really nice! Not all the trim is on yet, because a few pieces are still missing (we suspect Scott must still have them somewhere, the guy who did the paint job). Here are some before and after pictures:

BEFORE (no vinyl roof):

Buick Vinyl Top

Buick Vinyl Top

Buick Vinyl Top


AFTER (brand new vinyl roof):

Buick Vinyl Top

Buick Vinyl Top

Buick Vinyl Top

Buick Vinyl Top

Buick Vinyl Top

Monday, May 02, 2011

Darwin Falls, a Real Oasis

Before we left Death Valley on this trip, we decided to check out Darwin Falls. The first time we attempted this was when Mark and Emma were visiting, and Mark was giving us directions on how to get the the falls. Instead of parking at the small parking lot, which was at the end of a 2 mile gravel road which followed a wash up towards the narrow canyon where the waterfalls are, we kept driving past it along one of the craziest mining road I've ever been on. It was called Zinc Hill Rd. That first attempt to go see the falls took us to China Springs, where Emma found a lush pool with a bunch of koi fish swimming happily in the middle of the desert next to an abandoned miner's house. This time, we read the directions and parked at the parking lot, which is the trail head to the falls.

Darwin Falls
The surroundings start to get greener as we near the falls.


The trail starts out in the middle of a wash. It was pretty hot already even in the morning, and it seemed a strange place to start a hike into an oasis, since it was bone dry! But less than a quarter mile from where we parked, we started to see some vegetation. First some tall reed grasses, and then leafy bushes, small willows, and finally a forest of cottonwoods. Then we started to hear the quiet trickling of water as it flowed beneath our feet. The farther and farther we went, the greener everything started to become.

Red Dragonfly
A huge red dragonfly buzzed around us as we hiked towards the first waterfall.


As we entered the canyon, we started to see lots of flowers, many birds, and a lot more insects. We saw gigantic red dragonflys, lizards, and frogs. We were the only ones on the trail. The temperature was a lot cooler too, since everything was moist. As we hiked, we noticed some man made pools, which might still be used for a cool bath, but they were really overgrown and gross looking (even for our low standard).

Darwin Falls #1
The first of nine waterfalls at Darwin Falls.


The trail involved a lot of water crossing, since almost the entire canyon bottom was filled with flowing or standing water. Mostly, the crossings were made by fallen logs and branches, or small slippery stepping stones. We both had sandals on, so it didn't matter if we stepped through some wet spots. It was nice to have some cool fresh water on my feet anyways.

Darwin Falls
Hiking up and around the first waterfall.


Finally, after about a mile of total hiking so far, we reached the first waterfall. There are nine waterfalls in total. The first one was kind of hidden behind a lot of vegetation, so to see it entirely, we had to wade through some swampy area to get closer. The waterfall cascaded over a tall solid stone wall, and the only way past it to see the others was to go up and around it. Luckily, we had Mark's old guide book with us, which told us how to get past the first fall. When we read the directions, it was kind of vague. All it said was to look for a footpath up the steep canyon wall to the left of the falls, and proceed along the narrow ledges until you see a safe trail back down. When we looked for a footpath up, as described, there were actually many, so we picked one and followed it.

Darwin Falls #3 and #4
We found the third and fourth waterfalls!


I guess we picked a good enough trail, because it took us up and over the fall, along the canyon walls on ledges that were sometimes less than a foot wide (not the best place to slip!) From up top, we could see the tree tops which filled the bottom of the canyon with a bright green color, in contrast to the dark towering rock walls. We didn't know how far to keep traversing. We saw a few steep drop points that were 'safe' enough to down-climb back to the bottom of the canyon, so again, we just picked one and went for it. When we got to the bottom, under the thick canopy of trees, we found an overgrown trail, and a bright orange ribbon that somebody tied to a branch. I took that as a sign that we found the trail again!

Darwin Falls #4
The fourth waterfall is the highest of the nine falls at 60 feet!


It wasn't very far to the second small waterfall, which was only 2 or 3 feet high. Getting around that was no big deal, and we continued on. Finally we got to the third which was a bit bigger. Behind that one, we could see the bottom of the fourth waterfall, which was roaring! This thing had to be big, but it was hidden from us by steep canyon walls. We were a little confused on how to get to it, and after trying to traverse a few parts of the walls in our clunky sandals, we gave up and looked at the book. It told us that we needed to go find a scree pathway to the right of the two falls. Half-way up the scree, we should see an opening in the canyon wall which would lead us to the top of the third waterfall, and to the base of the fourth.

Darwin Falls #4
The bottom of the 4th waterfall.


We followed the scree pathway, as the guide book told us to, and there it was - a narrow opening through the wall which opened up to a grotto-like space where the fourth waterfall dropped 60 feet into a clear and deep pool! The pool water then cascaded past where we were standing, into a second more shallow pool filled with grasses. The water here then poured out into the third waterfall, which we were standing beneath just a few minutes ago. It was a little challenging hopping between the pools to get to the bottom of the fourth and tallest waterfall with our wet sandals. Once we got underneath it, the force of the water was so powerful! We tried putting our hands under it, and it smacked our hands down really hard. Good thing we didn't fall in under the churning water, because some of the moss covered rocks were slippery!

Darwin Falls #4
Water cascades from the 4th to the 3rd waterfall.


We decided to stay in the sun-filled grotto between the third and fourth waterfall for a long and relaxing lunch break. It was so amazing to find such an awesome waterfall, and the fact that it was in the middle of a desert made it even more spectacular. We didn't see a single person on our whole hike, which made it even cooler! I have a feeling that 95% of the people hiking the Darwin Falls trail stop at the first waterfall.

Romy Climbing up to the Falls
Part of the hike back took us along the high canyon walls.


After spending a few hours at Darwin Falls, we made our way back out towards the car, which was baking in the heat! What a different world we just came from.