Thanksgiving 2007 trip, Part II: Kansas to Albuquerque

Nov. 22, 2007, 2:47am - I don't think we're in Kansas anymore.

Sure the fuck you are! Now git o'er here and sit on Daddy's lap...

Yea I'd be imagining someplace, somewhere over the rainbow. But I'm not. I'm on a speeding train hurtling across the snowy Kansas landscape. At least what landscape there may be since its pitch black out.

Woke up to stumble down the stairs and take a pee. I noticed the glint of snow crystals reflecting the lights of some industrial parking lot in some unknown community. We should be past Topeka by now. We got into Kansas City in a timely fashion, but we appeared to be delayed a bit before I went back on a much deserved nod.

Hurtling... well not so much right now, we've stopped somewhere in the darkness, anyway... Hurtling... oh, freight train passing by on our right, that's why... I digress... Hurtling across Kansas in the middle of the night leaves one little options. Especially when someone doesn't bring any music or video cos' he did not want any distractions from keeping him recording his thoughts. Damn, I wish I brought my Beavis & Butt-head collection along. Maybe I can torrent some shows when at the Strahl's.

The only thing left to do of some note, utilizing the luxury of a sleeper compartment, is to join the 79-mile per hour club. Of course the best that a lone fat fuck such as myself could do is spank the monkey. The concept does have some appeal; especially now as I ponder some more useless words to commit to this passage, my hand is lazily draped between my legs, the fingers nonchalantly curling up and down...

But I'd feel hollow inside. Well, slightly more hollow. And then I'd have to get up and go get some tissue. Damn, we used to get our own boxes of tissue in these sleepers. Probably too many people whacking off somewhere over the rainbow. I should have brought some Kimwipes from work.

7:40am - Supper and breakfast are sitting inside me like a lead weight. Passing on lunch.

I'm having better results with the camera. Set ISO to a higher automatic setting and am getting better resolution on the pics.

I do believe we are in Colorado now, though we are running about 45 minutes behind. Easy enough to catch up on in Arizona, or the beginnings of a significant delay.

The landscape here does lend itself to picturesque photography. Am getting my hopes up on Trinidad and Raton, although it's really an issue of been there done that. I'm going to have to shoot most of my "wad" from here on to Albuquerque. Darkness will settle in soon after we leave there. A bloody shame. The scenery going through the Pueblos and the Navajo Nation is stunning.

There's usually a 15 minute smoke break in La Junta, although I think there is an engine crew change there as well. Engine crews generally work a specific area of the line, going back and forth. Hopping off the westbound, taking a break, and grabbing an eastbound for the return trip. Over time they gather a lay of the land and can operate almost entirely on instinct. But one still needs a keen eye and sense as the final arbiter.

Sometimes when trains get significantly delayed the crew change can be short of the desired stop and a contract carrier will drive out to where the train has stopped to make the exchange. I had that happen most notably on a late westbound Zephyr that stopped about an hour east of Sparks, Nevada. We sat there for a good hour until the replacement crew came out.

Delay compounding delay led us to a further delay going over Donner Pass while Union Pacific cleared heavy snowfall off the track. We eventually pulled into Sacramento nine hours late and Amtrak put me up for the night at a nearby hotel.

La Junta in 45 minutes. In the meantime, maybe I can unburden myself in one of the fine, spacious lavatories downstairs. A passable place to 'pass', but just enough room that you may get by with just one bruised joint during your visit. Or a crushed testicle.

9:43am - Pop machine in La Junta ripped me off. Such is life. Not so sure of the higher ISO. Pictures look bitmappy upon closer inspection on the laptop's screen.


10:57am - Just as we entered the Raton Pass tunnel I uttered "I command the Sun to disappear!" I think the humor was lost on this crowd, or they just didn't pay attention. Still running behind. We should have left Raton already, and that's down below the other side of the pass.

1:55pm - In Glorieta Pass. Skies are overcast, and so am I. There come these moments while traveling when one longs for a companion to share these moments with. Not so much of a travel buddy, but more of a mate. But such laments are not new for me, especially this year in particular. I've invested a substantial amount of myself into developing friendships that appear to have gone stagnant, or have become intermittent.

Hopping on the train doesn't stow away these feelings. In some cases it intensifies it. The long hours of self-reflection catch up with you. It's easier when you're actually at somewhere, filling your mind with idle pursuits. Like roaming the streets of Chicago looking for liquor, running around with Christmas booty, or stuffing my face with gyros, quaffing a cold bottle of beer, and engaging the barkeep in friendly conversation.

Sun has popped out and I can see greens and blues again. I'm almost photo'ed out. These digital cameras just keep going and going. It's not at all like a film camera, where you need to much choosier lest you run out of film prematurely.

Its two hours to Albu-turkey and green chile burritos. It's either that or the mystery meal tonight. The veggie "stir fry" last night left something to be desired, like freshness. Might as well been drained vegetable soup laced with soy sauce and mixed up with a can of water chestnuts.

Coming up to Canyoncito now. Usually this is where one Amtrak train will stop and let another Amtrak train bound for the other direction pass through. I'm sure they don't plan on this delay, but I've seen it happen several times before.

This time though the eastbound got through first and we slid slowly by each other. Lamy is coming up: stopping point for the "served" to get off and take the shuttle to Santa Fe. Afterwards it will be a blistering streak down the hill and into Albuquerque. Would go downstairs and take more pictures, but the "served" are getting served at this point.

4:08pm - Shite! Feck! The trinket vendors are out plying their wares, but the burrito stand is a no-show. Obviously celebrating the holiday. God, I hate Thanksgiving!

They've combined the Greyhound and Amtrak stations here in Albuquerque under one roof which is good news. The bad news is that armed guards are keeping everyone but departing passengers from entering the station, so no popping through the station restaurant to grab some local grub. Now I've got to eat the train food tonight and my reservation isn't until 7:30. And I spotted a Bueno Foods red and green chile billboard mocking me!

And I can't get a wireless signal either. This stop sucks! How, pray tell could this get any worse. Well, we could always lose one of our engines and limp our way across Arizona with little or no power. I've had that happen once. I got off in Needles while the train continued as far as Barstow, where everyone piled on buses for the remainder of the trip.

The armed guards are bogus! I don't know if it's a 911 thing or a border thing. Maybe there's a bus station rapist or something.

Truly a day in New Mexico without green chile is like a day without the sun. It gnaws at you with a hunger that cannot be satisfied. Only one thing to do: break out the whiskey!