Our son & new daughter-in-law have been inviting us to come see them in California since they moved there a year ago. It's hard to go on vacation when you live in an outdoor recreation destination! But, we were dying to see where they live and work and decided that the timing was right.
We love a good journey. We have been talking about taking a train trip for several years and spent a good deal of time just figuring out logistics. From Grayling, how could we fly out and rail back?
Chicago was the answer to "you can't get there from here". We drove to Chicago and flew out of Midway to Reno. From there our son picked us up and drove to Lake Tahoe.
It is so-o-o beautiful!!
We went out for omelettes in Truckee at this really cool, little place, "The Squeeze In", that had been featured recently on the Food Network.We headed out to the 1960 Olympic Cross Country Ski Trail.
It was about sixty degrees and if you stepped off of the trail, you sunk into thigh deep snow. The trail winds through a state park full of Ponderosa pines which smell like butterscotch.
We had the priviledge of visiting during the Wounded Warriors Week. Our son works for the Disabled Sports Far West Division and at least twice a year they host these amazing men & women. We were honored to hear their stories and so inspired by their attitudes.
After what seemed like a too short visit, we rode the bus from Truckee to Colfax, CA. Most people would not head west to catch an eastbound train, but.... We wanted to see Donner Pass and Immigration Gap from the rail. What a beautiful view! It was so interesting to take a 30 minute bus ride and go from winter to full bloom spring.
We grabbed a burger at a local joint and waited for the train.
The Sierra mountains were just gorgeous. We had a view from our little sleeper berth that was unbelieveable. We passed Donner Lake as well as the other highlights I mentioned and spent the afternoon oohing & aahing.
Our quarters were a hoot! We didn't mind the shared bath, but I hated going to the club car just to change my mind. It was cozy.
Twenty two square feet of pure pleasure for twenty five hundred miles and 51 hours. Of course we did have his & her seats which folded into his & her bunks. Adapt, overcome and improvise we always say. We enjoyed every minute of it. We had some great table mates at our meals and the food and service was really good. We couldn't get over the scenery; The Sierra's, Rockies, The Wasatch, mule deer, elk, all the tunnels, the Colorado River. It was almost as good as Northern Michigan and the AuSable River!
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