Wife took me to the Union Depot at 7am after a particularly not refreshing few hours of sleep. It was really nice seeing her though even if for just a short while.
I had been monitoring the train online and it appeared to be coming in on time. With only a 2 hour connection window in Chicago, I was very worried about timing. Half an hour late is fine, but those delays that last 3 or more hours -- that would be tough. We boarded easily, and I found an upstairs seat in coach, on the left side. I figured this would allow me a view of the river as we followed it south, and maybe some Wisconsin Dells action.
As we rolled out of downtown, I noticed "Korn" carved into the cliffs under mound park. A band from the 90's and on. Aren't they old enough they should be doing the casino circuit as "Korn, with the original bassist"? The train yards in that area were where we used to go trainspotting with Dad. I never really understood the draw until I got older, but I suppose that's how it is.
Just a bit further on, passing the area where Phelan creek leads to the Mississippi and the island across the way where Kaposia (look it up, it's interesting!) was located, I thought about the history of the city, river, state, and everything else. You get a different perspective from a train. Sometimes right on the river, other times next to a road. But my favorite bits are the lost little pieces of land right by the tracks. The train feels like it's on old forgotten trails and roads. And honestly, the rail right of way has been there since the early days of the state and territories, so technically much of the land by the tracks is (somewhat) untouched since those days.
When we passed through Red Wing I saw the giant teepee frame sculpture. I had seen it from the river when I was making the 80 mile trek from the cities down to Lake Pepin in my tiny-ass boat. At that time I felt like I was cruising in the biggest yacht on the river. Passing the sculpture on the train and looking up that wide monster of a river, I was a little amazed I had done that. Successfully. The perspective from land and the perspective from water are so completely different.
I watched eagles and cranes and sand hill cranes and all sorts of wildlife on the river, especially Lake Pepin. And floating branches, of course.
When it comes to river navigation there are two types of floating markers. The red ones are triangular and are called nuns. The companion green ones are called cans and are square, or look like a can. Red on the right, green on the left. (Red river right return) My extensive (not) Internet searches using the sketchy train wifi did not clarify if the cans are removed in the winter. I sort of remember they're not. At the very least they're there every day and every night. They are beaten and battered by the river, as well as any flotsam that happens to run into it. That might be a branch, a whole tree, or a stupid boater. I think of the countless gallons of water that has passed them by, but also the storms and weather, the winter cold and ice at the edge of the open water season. They're just out there. Cold metal in a cold river, sitting patiently waiting to help guide the next tow/barge combo.
We also passed countless backyards. Some of them in the cities are neat and look inviting. Some others look like they're collecting different types of rust and the vehicles that can contain it. Some of them are just bizarre. Who has barrels upon barrels in their backyard. What are they doing with that? Besides the backyards are many businesses - factories and such. You'd occasionally see one or two people sitting at the "smoking" picnic table out back, watching the train go by. You'd see cars waiting at crossings and bikers who have stopped to look at or even take a picture of the train. How many times have I seen a plane or train or boat and wished I was on it? This time I was!
My spot in coach was okay. Two older ladies behind me chatting and laughing the whole way - not as bothersome as you would think. A couple in front of me mostly sleeping and cuddling. More Amish in groups of half a dozen, usually just a single family with a farmhouse full of kids. Sitting three rows back and one across is a young lady who needs to maybe take a phone free vacation. It's not actually that annoying, but it's just amazing how many calls she can make and chat with people. She sounds exactly like the "Sweet Birthday Baybeeee!" character from Russian Doll.
For all of my planning, I have everything organized and efficient. But no wall wart. You know, the thing you plug into the wall and it looks like a wart - and you plug a USB cable into it to charge your phone? I do have a power extender that has USB ports on it as well, but that's a bit bulky. There are certainly worse things to forget.
Passing through Wisconsin Dells was amusing as usual (ghost boat!) but that might have been the highlight of the state of Wisconsin. Sure, it's pretty this time of year, but not really that diverse. Trees, fields, green, towns, etc. Milwaukee not as bad as I thought it would be, especially near the train tracks? I think I may have seen a nice suburb for the most of that experience. Lots of chain businesses.
I saw my first Amish at a fresh air stop. The wise passengers get out there and walk and stretch legs. And these Amish folks appeared wise. I've always been mesmerized by the old school lifestyle, though I get a little confused about how strict they are. My old phrase was "how Amish can you be shopping in a K-Mart" but I realize they need to buy necessities that they can't make or grow themselves. Everyone under the age of married had on the same black sneakers. This was common across pretty much all of the Amish I encountered. But my new phrase is "how Amish can you be wearing a Dora the Explorer backpack?" Though that family was traditional in all other elements -- except the dad. He had the beard, no mustache, and a hat. But it wasn't the standard square straw hat, it was a "cool guy hat" but still made of something woven. And he had cool guy sunglasses perched on the brim. He was always smiling - a smile that was genuine and made you think maybe you should just smile all the time. He also had a yellow polo shirt on and sweater. Gray pants and non-stylish brown sneakers, but he just didn't seem to be following many of the rules. This was in Chicago, and I wondered that maybe he had enough work or contact with "the English" that this was just the way he rolled.
While we all waited in line, there were at least four different groups of Amish folk. Some in all black, others in the more relaxed black and gray, but they all had the trappings and stood out quite a bit from the random mix of urban and suburban, old and young people in the waiting area. At one point the mother (yeah, I'm making a crap ton of assumptions) from one group (wearing all black) came over to the confusing Dora family and started chatting with them. Just connecting with like minded folk. I have trouble hearing in loud environments like that, so I couldn't really hear what they were saying, but eventually recognized they were speaking in German. I wish I had paid more attention in language class in high school. Fun fact - the Pennsylvania Dutch are not Dutch. They're originally German. But German in German is deutsch. So somewhere deutsch got confused for Dutch and there you have it. (Google told me that's how it's spelled, and yet it's marked as misspelled. And when I look at the options for changing the spelling, guess what's first? Dutch. Point made.)
I needed lunch, so I headed out of my comfort zone (seat) to the lounge car to get some food. The lounge car is the modern equivalent of the observation car, with bigger comfortable seats facing out the large windows. On the lower level is the "café" where you can get snacks and microwaved fare. THe nuked pizza looked like a grade school cafeteria in the 70's tried to make pizza but instead of a lunch lady they had a janitor. And maybe dropped it on the ground. The hot dogs however, with the right level set on expectations, are awesome. Last time they were Nate's but this time they were Hebrew. Large dog, buns reasonably less rubbery than they could be. Again, I think expectations have so much to do with enjoying a train ride.
The couple in front of me were Amish. Seriously, I'm pretty sure they shun air travel, so trains are the way to go. Technically trains haven't changed all that much since the "olden days" so I could maybe see it as a traditional technology. I knew they were a couple because she had the bonnet color that indicated married (white, I think?) and they were clearly a couple. But young. He was probably 20something but on the low end, and hadn't been able to grow a beard out fully. She looked like she could be nineteen. I wondered if they fell in love and had a dream Amish wedding, or if it was an arranged marriage. How awkward would that be? I hope they were in love. I saw another couple later with a baby and they didn't even look twenty. That must be so hard, married with a kid and you're really just starting out in the adult world. That's a lot of work and pressure. Watching one of the older mom's working her butt off to tend to the army of children I thought about depression and how in some societies it's something you can live with and work on and get support for. But in others "suck it up" is the rule. I'm not saying it's like that with them, but it gave me pause to think about the pros and cons of both their lives and ours.
We ended up coming into Chicago on time, and I went to the "important people" lounge because I have a sleeper car ticket. Free pop and snacks, comfortable and plentiful seating, and a place to store your luggage so you can walk around the block or just wander the station. Or sit in the comfortable chairs and work as hard as you can not to fall asleep. I'm tired. So tired. I was worried I'd wake up in the comfortable chair and my train would have been long gone. But I didn't, and when the train was announced, I headed off to the gate.
My train is the Cardinal, which dips through the Appalachian mountains before rolling back up the east coast. It's supposed to be the most scenic route in the system, but the more I read I realize people say that about every route pretty much. It'll be great, no doubt.
The lines to board the train were long, but mostly just waiting to be let into the train area. Once we got moving it was game on. Since I was in a sleeper I was in one of the first (or last, actually) cars so it was a nice short walk. I got settled into my roomette and really let the appreciation sink in. I could burp out loud and nobody would hear it. And I wouldn't hear anyone on their phone. Also, full meal service is part of the ticket, so I had the vegan enchiladas for dinner - the same thing I had last time because it was so good! I was also awarded one alcoholic beverage for the trip. Which is cool, since they're pushing ten dollars and I wasn't going to pass that up. I don't normally drink but thought a Corona would go well with the meal, and it did. Ordered breakfast at the same time, and it's going to be delivered at eight in the morning, so early alarm again it is. But that's actually good, because the really amazing (read: mountains) start at about that time. If I'm too tired I'll nap later on the trip. Yeah, right. I'll probably just keep adding to my sleep deficit like a politician adds to the national deficit.
Spent time as the sun went down writing, and eventually the porter came by at nine and set up (lowered) the bed. I can still it in the seats and chill, the bed is just like a lowered ceiling. Can't see much outside unless we pass through a town, so it may be an early bedtime for me.
It was an exhausting day, but a good one. I just pushed through and acted like a normal human being, and now I can crash hard. I only had one anxiety attack mid-day as I was worrying about connection times, but it passed. There's only so long one can pretend to be a person. So we'll see how long that is with me.
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