Waking up in Salt LakeCity during the wee hours, I felt the train lurch. Curious Islipped outside to find that a private passenger car had beenadded to the back of the consist. With little time to take acloser look before the all-aboard signal I returned to my sleeperfor a few more hours rest.
At breakfast while passing through Helper Inoticed that the corned beef hash enjoyed by a fellow diner wasquite an improvement from the disappointing goo I had eaten on thetrip out. Traveling through familiar scenes I filled the timetaking pictures of the passing landscape [see blog posts, EasternUtah, Utah/Colorado,and GrandJunction to Glenwood Springs].
A break in GrandJunction afforded me time to view the addition to our train,the Caritas, an art-deco private railway car built in1948. Another stop later at GlenwoodSprings offered another glimpse.
It was standing room only in the sightseeing car as we passedthrough GlenwoodCanyon while waiting for the call to lunch. For my meal Itried the meatloaf with mushroom gravy, potatoes, and a splash ofTabascofor some zest. Dessert was a sizable chocolate and peanut buttertorte. Decadent and sweet, the torte needed a cup of coffee forbalance.
Coming down from Moffat TunnelI went to the last sleeper car in our consist to take pictures ofthe tunnels we passed through [seeblog post]. After a final opportunity for freshair and a leg stretch in Denver, the trainmoved out for the night ride through northeast Colorado andsouthern Nebraska. Disinterest in my tablemates for dinnercompelled me to seek sustenance in the lounge car. I settled forsome overpriced vegan burgers, but no amount of condiments madethem palatable.
In the darkness of Nebraska I woke up from a seriously messed-updream, even by my standards. Featuring action movie backgroundmusic, blood smeared indigents, transsexual prostitutes, andChinese aerobatic girls wielding throwingstars, both lethal and magic healing ones. And all because Iintervened in a lop-sided street fight. My last memory was ofstumbling down the street, blowing off the crimson goo covering myface and lips, thinking what number of blood-borne viruses I mayhave picked up.
Pulled into Omaha on time and well before sunrise. The long walkto breakfast was quite chilly; the coolest weather of the entiretrip. A half-hour later I'm greeted with the familiar sight of the11-Worth Cafe, appropriately located on Leavenworth off 24th [seeblog post].
After breakfast it was a little under a mile's walk to the busstop, where I caught an indirect Metrobus that afforded me a glimpse of NorthOmaha, a side of town I rarely visit. With time to kill atthe Megabusstop, the nearby Targetoffered a clean toilet to take a whiz, and a handy Starbuckswithin to load up on unsweetened passion tea.
The ride back to Des Moines was calm, quiet and uneventful, aswas the walk home down Walnut St. Settled in my recliner aftereleven days of travel, a nap was in order.
| Photos from the Picasa Web Album: Labor Day Trip 2012 |
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