Glenwood Canyon & The Rockies

Now having shifted to Union Pacific tracks, our route rose up from Denver starting around 10 am. We snaked through twenty curves and twenty tunnels in as many miles on our journey up to a 9300 foot elevation. Beneath James Peak, we won’t see the transition through the highest point as thousands of feet of rock stand above us in the 6.2-mile-long Moffet Tunnel. This nearly century old structure affords us access across the continental divide, a three hour shortcut from the old route pre-1928.

A cluster of Pronghorn graze by the river as the California Zephyr rolls past at a gentle 40 miles per hour. Lunch is served while we arrive to Glenwood Canyon. We meet a young guy with a great sense of humor traveling from Fort Collins to visit his parents in Grand Junction. Gliding past “moon river” we spot rafters and campers showing us their backsides with the traditional greeting on the Colorado. On to Ruby Canyon and into Utah, the terrain fills our windows with mesas and silhouettes while the crimson sun reaches for the horizon.

At breakfast, just after departing Winnemucca, we learn of a second couple traveling for a wedding, this one in Sonoma. Coffee reestablishes life and fills our veins with fresh energy. Each conversation seems to touch on how much more civilized train travel is, we all long for more. We gaze out to wild horses, a mother nursing her foal, others sipping from the Truckee river swirling beside. Later in the observation lounge, one of our former dinner companions plays his guitar and sings some blues. Another passenger joins on harmonica for a Willie Nelson song. Spectacular scenery and snowy peaks continue to unfold as we climb to Donner pass in California’s Sierra Nevada range. From here, it will be a gentle descent all the way down into Sacramento and then into Emeryville.Read more