My wife and I are at this moment in Chicago Union Station awaiting the departure of No. 5 for Glenwood Springs.
It has been a year since I rode sleepers, so it was my first visit in the same time to the Metropolitan Lounge for sleeper passengers. To my great delight, all the shabby (and sparse) furniture has been replaced by new sofas and chairs, and the stained old carpeting has also given way to new. Four stars. (The furniture design is commercial industrial shapeless, although it is comfortable enough.)
Best of all, Amtrak has at last laid on free high-speed wireless Internet. Five stars.
The customer reps at the Metropolitan desk are polite and pleasant, although hardly cuddly. (Have they ever been the latter?) Four stars.
So far, so good.
Posted by notelvis (Member # 3071) on :
That's exciting news about the free wireless in the metropolitan lounge.....
If they aren't careful, I won't want to leave the lounge and get on the train my next time through Chicago!
Posted by smitty195 (Member # 5102) on :
I'm glad they finally got the WiFi figured out. When they first launched it about two years ago, there was a hand-written sign on the front check-in counter that said something like this:
"If the WiFi isn't working, don't ask us to fix it"
Seriously......that's what was there! And of course, the day I was there it was not working. However, my trick to work-around that problem was to go upstairs to the bar and purchase internet time. Then I would go back down to the lounge and walk to the right near the juice machines (which is directly below the bar) and I could use WiFi just fine in that location. But now since I've gotten all techie, I can use my Verizon wireless card instead.
I'm glad to hear they replaced that awful furniture and carpet---it has needed replacement for years.
Posted by RR4me (Member # 6052) on :
I'm looking forward to a report, here or on your blog. Hope the weather cooperates.
Posted by Geoff M (Member # 153) on :
Enjoy your trip! I'd be interested to see photos of Glenwood Springs in the winter time - there must be clouds of steam coming off the outdoor hot springs pool!
Geoff M.
Posted by Judy McFarland (Member # 4435) on :
OK, it's official, we all wish we were coming along. Keep us posted and have a great trip!
Posted by Mr. Toy (Member # 311) on :
quote:Originally posted by smitty195: I'm glad they finally got the WiFi figured out. When they first launched it about two years ago, there was a hand-written sign on the front check-in counter that said something like this:
"If the WiFi isn't working, don't ask us to fix it"
Doesn't surprise me. In many places, from hotels to train stations, they'll hire some outside tech company to install the system, but nobody on-site will have the know-how to fix it if it goes down.
Posted by smitty195 (Member # 5102) on :
So far, his train is only 27 minutes late out of Omaha. He got out of Chicago just in time, too. A whopper of storm apparently is heading that way.
Posted by Stourbridge Lion (Member # 1796) on :
Enjoy!!!!!!!
Posted by yukon11 (Member # 2997) on :
Sounds like a fun trip! If you have never been to Glenwood, Mr. Kisor, I think you will enjoy the town. It has one of my most favorite Amtrak stations..the other is the station at Whitefish, Mt, where I should be headed this summer.
If you visit Doc Holliday's grave...he really isn't buried there. They don't know where he is buried..probably in the backyard of someone's home.
Richard
Posted by cubzo (Member # 4700) on :
I believe that Doc Holliday is buried next to his father in Griffin Georgia.
Posted by Henry Kisor (Member # 4776) on :
And a further report from the front on my 23rd trip on the California Zephyr and sixth visit to Glenwood Springs:
No. 5 departed bang on time at 2 p.m. Our sleeper, one of the original Superliners of the late 1970s, had been completely rebuiit, and by the look of the appointments quite recently. I didn't need to use the roll of duct tape every smart Amtrak traveler brings along to snub down wayward and misfitting curtains and rattling panels. I'd give the car 4 stars, and I'd also give Donald, its attendant, 4 stars. He was quiet, polite and attentive, though hardly colorful.
The diner and lounge car also rated 4 stars, looking as if they'd been through recent refurbishment at Beech Grove, Amtrak's Indiana maintenance facility. Not the coaches -- they were as shabby-rattly as any I've seen in a decade. One star for those.
At dinner, the Lady Friend and I both gave the flatiron steak 3 stars (it was tasty, albeit slightly tough and rubbery); the boiled veggies 4 stars (to my surprise, they were moist and tender); the baked potato 4 stars, the creme-de-brulee cheesecake 4 stars and the Haagen-Dazs ice cream 5 stars.
Our waiter, E.B., was an interesting case. Clearly a veteran, he was both jovial and efficient, but he was also officious, sternly rebuking the Lady Friend and several other diners for handing him their empty plates instead of allowing him to pick them up from the table. Three stars for him, but four for the over-all dining experience.
The sleeping experience: Three stars. Donald arrived not five minutes after we put in the call to make up our room for the night, and I got in a solid six hours of slumber, but sharp jolts somewhere in Nebraska awakened me at 3 a.m. and I couldn't get back to sleep. The beds are comfortable enough, but I'd swear Amtrak's minuscule pillows grow smaller with each passing year. And those heavy coal trains seem to be beating Burlington Northern Santa Fe's Chicago-Denver main line into rough-riding spaghetti. Not Amtrak's fault.
Breakfast: Four stars. E. B. helpfully recommended we not sample the scrambled eggs but was upbeat about the rest of the menu. My three-egg cheese omelette deserved 4 stars, as did the hash browns, biscuit and coffee -- but the bacon was a tad dry, rating just 3. My wife gave the hot oatmeal 5 stars and called it the best she'd ever had -- I'll have to try that on the return trip.
Jolly-officious waiter would have rated 4 stars this time, but we heard him put down another diner for handing him her plate. If he'd explained why, perhaps in a pleasant fashion, that would have saved her a little embarrassment. There's probably a good reason to allow the waiters to do the picking-up -- I suspect it's to avoid spills -- but this fellow could use a bit of a personality adjustment. He might even earn a fifth star.
He was a good deal better at lunch, 4 stars' worth. The steakburger with cheese and bacon rated a full 5 stars, even though it wasn't good for my arteries. Amtrak's burgers have always been top-drawer and I just cannot resist them.
Likewise, the Colorado Rockies scenery, the Front Range and the canyons -- Byers, Little Gore, Gore and Glenwood -- has always been a 5-star show.
And we arrived in Glenwood Springs right on the advertised, at 1:53 p.m.
In all, a 4-star trip, maybe 4 1/2.
Posted by Ira Slotkin (Member # 81) on :
Hey Henry:
I'm glad you are enjoying your trip. When do you come back thru Denver? I might be able to come down to the station and give a wave. Get the local bag pipers, poets, and ponies to gather on the platform.
Ira
Posted by Henry Kisor (Member # 4776) on :
I cannot remember who recommended (on this forum) Juicy Lucy's Steakhouse in Glenwood Springs, but I would like to give that person a big Thank You.
I had a ginormous pork chop and Debby a succulent salmon fillet, and we both rate those 5 stars. Same for the Napa Valley merlot we had, plus the creme brulee cheesecake.
Lucy's is a tad pricey (after all, Glenwood Springs is a tourist town) but still worth the tab, which came to considerably less than a C-note including half a bottle of wine and a shared dessert.
Posted by gibg (Member # 2565) on :
Mr. Kisor: I think 'twas I who recommended Juicy Lucy's. It has been a big success from the very first day. Welcome to Colorado, Glenwood Springs, Daily Bread and the Hot Springs Lodge. I sincerely hope your visit is most pleasant, since it sounds as though your trip certainly was.
If you tire of Daily Bread, may I suggest the Summit Coffee House across the street? It is adjacent to the Summit Canyon Mountaineering store. I hesitate to recommend eateries because everyone's taste is different. However, I do recommend that you check out the Hotel Colorado which has experienced a wonderful renovation in the last several years.
The Glenwood Canyon Brew Pub in the Hotel Denver is a great lunch place and their cheeseburgers are outstanding. Unless you are a real lover of french fries, I suggest you place a limit on them with the waiter.
As a long-time rider of the California Zephyr (1951-2005) in all its various existences, I certainly understand your enthusiasm. (I even rode it in 1951 via the through NYC car from Grand Central.)
Please enjoy your time in Glenwood! You're right -- there is nothing like the waters!
gibg
Posted by notelvis (Member # 3071) on :
Great report Henry......I'll even resist the urge to tease you about taking a trip with both your lady friend and your wife!
As for car attendants, unique or somewhat off-the-wall makes for a memorable trip, yes, but being able to go to bed when I like and not having to mess with the bed myself always rates the highest mark.
Again, thanks for the vicarious Zephyr trip. Let us know about the summer ponies Ira gathers on the platform in Denver on your return.....
You know, summer brown, summer white, summer brown AND white........
Posted by Henry Kisor (Member # 4776) on :
Lest one should draw the wrong conclusion: The Lady Friend IS the wife. Long story about that.
Glenwood Springs seems to have come up a notch or two in the socioeconomic pecking order. In the early 1990s it seemed middle-class and unpretentious, yet free of the downmarket Jellystone Park stuff that mars so many tourist towns in the West. It still seems unpretentious, yet has taken on a wider appeal to the slightly more advantaged.
Posted by Gilbert B Norman (Member # 1541) on :
I'd dare say Glenwood has come a LooooNG way since my first visit there during 1963, when it was a "get on/off the Zephyr' for an otherwise visit with my Mother and Father at friends of theirs in Aspen.
Back then, it could best be considered where "the help" lived.
Posted by 20th Century (Member # 2196) on :
I was in Glenwood Springs via CZ from Denver in 1985. I enjoyed the town very much. The highlight for me was river rafting.
Posted by Henry Kisor (Member # 4776) on :
GBN, several folks I know in GSC echoed what you said about the town's antecedents. The upwardly mobile with properties in Vail and Aspen needed to have a place to look down upon, and GSC provided that for many years.
These days the denizens of GSC are wallowing in schadenfreude over the comeuppance the residents of their erstwhile rival towns have suffered in recent days, especially those whose fortunes were Madoffed.
Posted by gibg (Member # 2565) on :
As a long-time resident of the area, I must submit that the "schadenfreude" referred to by Mr. Kisor not only reflects the Madoff effect, but the residents of Aspen and Vail are the ones you will see the most often in the Glenwood Springs Wal-Mart and Target, buying "necessities." Their furs and jewelry come from Aspen, but their paper towels come from Glenwood Springs. And they buy that stuff themselves.
Posted by Gilbert B Norman (Member # 1541) on :
Minturn is where "the help', as well as a ski-bum or two, for Vail apparently reside.
But Minturn is also a "railroad town" lest we forget.
Finally, on my last visit to Wally World (yes, I go there for certain items), I could not help but observe a Bentley in the lot.
A mid-sized Lexus is one thing, but a Bentley?
Posted by Henry Kisor (Member # 4776) on :
GIBG: We had breakfast at the Daily Bread yesterday and shall go to the Summit Coffee House today, as you suggested.
The DB still rates 5 stars in my book.
We had a chat with the owner of the DB. He said the original owner sold out to another party in the early 2000s, and in five years that party ran the place into the ground. The current owner bought it in 2005 and restored it to its former glory. Everything -- jam, bread, croissants -- is made from scratch there, he said. I have to say the oatmeal, boiled in apple juice, was heavenly.
The owner is a second-generation Pole from Chicago and sells Polish sausages and meats as well as bakery. He said GSC now has a sizable community of folks of Polish extraction. Gotta find out some more about that.
We had a quick lunch at the Hot Springs Deli (it was fine for quick sandwiches) and dinner at the Italian Underground (4 1/2 stars, and less than $50 for the two of us, including a pair of Stellas).
Today we'll take your advice and go to the Brew Pub for lunch.
(Stifling belch . . .)
Posted by Henry Kisor (Member # 4776) on :
GBN, you should have had a camera with you to record that Bentley in the Wally World lot! A newspaper or magazine would pay a pretty penny for that.
Posted by RR4me (Member # 6052) on :
Now you all know how they can afford that Bentley!
Posted by gibg (Member # 2565) on :
Mr. Kisor: I'm glad you felt that Daily Bread was "up to par," and will be interested in your reaction to the Summit Coffee House. One of the latter's advantages is that you have access to all kinds of topographic and other maps, as that department is part of the coffee house. I forgot to suggest Italian Underground, but will say that its popularity rivals Daily Bread both in product and longevity. I can apologize for the winter chills we have been experienced in the last several days; however, it makes the hot springs even more enjoyable.
Posted by Ira Slotkin (Member # 81) on :
I lived in Grand Junction for a few years. That's one of the places I drove taxi. And a few times folks missed their train in GJ and I would drive them to Glenwood to catch it. Good fare.
We also would sometimes drive to Glenwood for a special dinner at the Italian Underground.
Ira
Posted by graynt (Member # 17) on :
Hi Henry. Glad your trip went well. My lady friend and I rode #5 as well from January 2nd to the 4th. We left from Chicago and went to Emeryville. I did notice the Metropolitan lounge no longer offers little snacks. They used to have pastries with the coffee and I didn't notice any newspapers, but it was nice to see the wireless service available. Our trip was great. My lady friend never rode the Zephyr before and I knew she would enjoy it. I enjoyed the flat iron steak for dinner and the cheese omlette for breakfast. As always the trip was wonderful..going through the rockies and the next day with brilliant sunshine heading over the Sierra Nevadas.
On a side note, we flew to Florida from San Francisco on the 7th and took the Silver star back over the weekend,alas in coach for a good portion of the trip,but we did snag a rommette for $130 from Tampa to Raleigh, and then back to coach from Raleigh to Philly. In the coach car we were in, there were no outlets. Hard to believe. I thought by now outlets were standard in every coach car. Even the Capitol Limited we took from Pittsburgh to Chicago had outlets at every seat, something I have never seen before on any of the Superliners.
Posted by Henry Kisor (Member # 4776) on :
Last report before our return on No. 6 Tuesday:
Since we were here last, an aerial tramway has gone up the mountain to the north of the river. It had just been closed a week or so before -- it was supposed to have been open all winter but there has been a dip in tourism here as there has been everywhere else. It'll reopen in the summer.
We ended up breakfasting for free at the Hot Springs Deli (the hotel is part of that complex) and went to the Summit for lunch. I had a great hot ham and cheese slathered with sweet basil mustard sauce on a baguette (5 stars) and the wife had a quiche and tomato basil soup (both 5 stars, she said).
We will go to the Brewpub for supper tonight.
Graynt, there was a big basket of snacks at the customer service desk when we went through the Metropolitan Lounge. No newspapers, though. Just as well . . . a year from now there very likely will be no newspapers at all, except on the Internet.
The Hot Springs Pool was sparsely populated this afternoon. Mostly geezers like us, very few blondes to make a bishop kick a hole in a stained glass window, as Raymond Chandler once wrote.
It's still busy on weekends with riders from Salt Lake and Denver.
Later: Five-star burger at the Brewpub, and the local ale rated the same. I will have to be forklifted aboard No. 6 tomorrow.
Posted by TwinStarRocket (Member # 2142) on :
Ira, what is the inside story of cabs in Grand Junction? Twice I have tried to use a cab to get from Amtrak to Airport car rentals and back, and there was always an unreasonable wait, 1-2 hours.
Even on a dead Sunday from the Airport, 2 hours before train departure I almost missed my train. Another time we ended up doing the beautiful drive to Moab after dark due to the long cab wait. They never came within the time they estimated, and they didn't seem to care.
GJT would be one of my favorite train destinations if the I could get to a car rental in a reasonable time.
Posted by notelvis (Member # 3071) on :
quote:Originally posted by TwinStarRocket: Ira, what is the inside story of cabs in Grand Junction? Twice I have tried to use a cab to get from Amtrak to Airport car rentals and back, and there was always an unreasonable wait, 1-2 hours.
Even on a dead Sunday from the Airport, 2 hours before train departure I almost missed my train. Another time we ended up doing the beautiful drive to Moab after dark due to the long cab wait. They never came within the time they estimated, and they didn't seem to care.
GJT would be one of my favorite train destinations if the I could get to a car rental in a reasonable time.
What he said -
I had a lengthy wait for a cab in Grand Junction in 2005. The plan was a) drop the rental car from Salt Lake City at the Grand Junction airport and b) Get a cab downtown to catch the eastbound California Zephyr.
Good plan, right?
Not so much.
First I had difficulty finding the Grand Junction airport from the interstate, I incurred a surcharge by being 35 minutes late to turn in the rental, and......surprise.....there was no stand with a taxi just waiting to whisk me downtown.
I telephoned for a taxi and one, which I shared with two other people, appeared maybe an hour later. Fortunately I had built some safety time in and was deposited at the Amtrak station just in time to hear #6 approaching town from the west.
On the other hand, I have an old friend from Ft. Collins, CO now in the employee of the Grand Junction Police Department and she LOVES living there. Even mentions seeing the Amtrak train come through from time to time.
Of course she returned to Colorado from a 10-year exile with the Las Vegas, NV PD so I suppose it's all relative.
Posted by Henry Kisor (Member # 4776) on :
Now for the Rest of the Story:
Last night's No. 6 rolled in to Chicago Union Station at 9:46 p.m., almost 6 hours late.
Near Sacramento the second engine took sick, and somewhere along the line a UP freight locomotive, a SD70M, had to take point. At Denver a BNSF Dash 9-44CW locomotive took over. Those engines are limited to 70 mph, so by Omaha we were running 4 1/2 hours late.
We would have been home and dry 3 1/2 hours behind (given the hour's slop in the schedule) if it had not been for the Union Station derailment that choked up the entire BNSF/Metra line to Aurora during the evening rush. The run from Princeton to Aurora was slowed considerably by a coal train up front, itself slowed by the congestion on the main.
(Those commuters must have been thoroughly pistoff, given the man-with-a-gun-who-turned-out-to-be-Secret-Service scare that screwed up rush hour in the morning.)
The crew of this No. 6 was splendid, even the shirty waiter (same dining car crew the way back). He reprimanded only one passenger that we knew of, and his rebuke was relatively gentle.
Ours was a light load -- all three sleepers were full most of the way, but the three coaches were almost empty. We hauled a private dome car at the tail end, and I heard that it was some California pol and entourage on the way to D.C. for the Inauguration.
In all, even with the big delay, a 4 star trip.
I even enjoyed the Metra commuter's comment on TV (repeated on my pager) that "they could have organized this mess better."
Posted by smitty195 (Member # 5102) on :
quote:Originally posted by Henry Kisor: We hauled a private dome car at the tail end, and I heard that it was some California pol and entourage on the way to D.C. for the Inauguration.
The private car was the "Sierra Hotel". It only had 3 people on-board, but no politicians. It was indeed headed to DC for the inauguration, but I'm not sure what their plans are once they get there.
Posted by Henry Kisor (Member # 4776) on :
Party, party, party, I'm sure! Must be nice to be flush enough to travel transcon by private varnish.
Posted by Henry Kisor (Member # 4776) on :
One more thing and I'll shut up: The Glenwood Springs station has free high-speed wireless, from the same ISP as that at Chicago Union Station. Could it be that Amtrak is putting wireless into all its busier stations? That sure makes waiting for a late train easier.
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