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[QUOTE]Originally posted by feveredwthesunset: [QB] A few comments: "my kids really would like to go gold prospecting." I assume you mean panning for gold, not hacking at a mountainside with pickaxes. <g> Just some words of warning: I did gold-panning in Alaska and my experience was that this is an activity that sounds appealing but the reality is disappointing. Even when they "salt" your sample with gold dust so you will have something to find, you slosh away for half an hour to an hour and have only a few tiny specks of gold to show for it. As an adult, it was interesting for about a minute and then I was ready to move on to something else. Most young children would quickly grow frustrated with this activity. Of course, you know your kids and if they're really determined to do this maybe they will be OK with it. "If you need anything more 'train' in the Denver area, there is also the Colorado Railroad Museum in Golden, CO...... roughly one third of the way from Denver to Georgetown and Silver Plume." On April 26th the Denver transit agency will open a new light rail line (the West Rail Line) from Denver to Golden, so you will be able to take a train most of the way to the train museum. I believe the connecting bus (#17) to the museum from the current Golden transit center only runs Monday through Friday, but they may add more service once the light rail line opens. The home page for the Denver Regional Transit District is http://www.rtd-denver.com/. Of course if you stop there going to or from your steam ride you will have a car and won't have to worry about buses. This light rail line opening is good timing for you, but I cannot begin to say how very aggravating it is for me I as have to go to Denver in March so I will not be able to ride on the new line. :( Also in Golden is the Colorado School of Mines, which is internationally famous in the mining community. They have a Geology Museum (http://www.mines.edu/Geology_Museum) which might be an acceptable consolation prize if you decide not to take your kids gold-panning, though I don't think the museum is specifially oriented to children. "You will see the evidence of the Continental Divide as you head westward. Prior the Moffat Tunnel, all the streams and rivers you follow flow in the opposite direction of the train as it gains elevation. These flow into the rivers that empty into the Gulf of Mexico (Atlantic). "Immediately after emerging from the tunnel's west portal, the train follows rushing streams and the Colorado River for over 200 miles. These flow in the direction the train is going and empty into the Pacific." You do indeed see the trackside streams flowing east on the east side of the tunnel and west on the west side. On the west side, though, the streams mostly become the Colorado River which once emptied into the Gulf of California/Sea of Cortez which is an arm of the Pacific Ocean. It no longer does this because all its water is pumped out for various water projects before it reaches the sea. East of Reno you will come upon another trackside river flowing east which would seem to give the lie to the Continental Divide. However, the Truckee River, which begins as the outlet to Lake Tahoe and is fed by snowmelt from the Sierra Nevada Mountains, empties into neither the Altantic nor the Pacific Oceans. It empties into Pyramid Lake in the Nevada desert, where its water both evaporates and sinks into the ground. Pyramid Lake has no outlet. So the Truckee flows from a lake to another lake, never to see the sea. Volunteers from the California State Railroad Museum board the train in Reno and do a good commentary over the P.A. system between Reno and Sacramento on the scenery and local history. Sometimes the commentary is audible in the sleepers and sometimes you have to go to the lounge car to hear it. As for Portland, I grew up in Oregon but we went to San Francisco, not Portland, when we wanted an urban vacation so I don't know what there is to do for kids there. It is a much smaller urban area than either San Francisco or Seattle so there are fewer attractions. Here's a link to a site called "Portland, OR: 50 Things to Do With Kids Before They Grow Up" that might be helpful: http://alphamom.com/family-fun/activities/portland-oregon-50-things-to-do-with-kids-before-they-grow-up/. Re the itinerary from Portland, OR to Vancouver, BC (there is a Vancouver, WA across the Columbia River from Portland, also on the Cascades route, which can be confusing): Your plan seems to be to go straight from Portland to Vancouver with no layover in Seattle. I do not recommend this. The only frequency from Portland to Vancouver that is all-train (no transfer to a bus in Seattle) leaves Portland at 14:50 and arrives in Vancouver at 22:50. That schedule makes it very difficult to enjoy the beautiful scenery north of Seattle where the tracks run right along Puget Sound, because the setting sun will be shining right into your eyes as you're trying to look west at the Sound. (You do not see this scenery from the bus as the highway is somewhat inland, out of sight of the Sound for the most part.) Also, you will be arriving into Vancouver and getting settled into your hotel very late. I suggest that you ride one of the Cascades trains from Portland to Seattle the day before, stay overnight in Seattle, and then take the 7:40 train from Seattle to Vancouver the next day. Then you have the sun on the east side of the train, you arrive into Vancouver at a convenient hour, and you are breaking up the "chair car" rides into shorter segments. An eight-hour ride with no sleeper room to retreat to may seem very long, to your daughter at least. If you do the Seattle layover I do not recommend trying to take the Coast Starlight train from Portland to Seattle. It's a long distance train so it can arrive into Portland very late which will mean a late arrival into Seattle. Stick with the Cascades trains for that leg; they're much more reliable. If you take the 8:30 train you will get to Seattle at noon which will give you time to do something in the afternoon. Again, Seattle is a bigger city than Portland and you will have no trouble finding a family-friendly activity for the afternoon. I do realize my suggestion to lay over in Seattle may not be practical because you have to balance time, money, and your daughter's birthday in all this. If leaving Portland a day early to allow a layover in Seattle means you have to travel on her birthday, she may not go for that if you have promised no trains on her birthday. A general suggestion for traveling with kids on long-distance trains: Amtrak makes periodic servicing stops where passengers can get off and stretch their legs. I would make use of all of these, at least in the daytime, to give your kids a chance to run around a little and work off some energy. OTOH, sometimes even if you try to go to the diner between servicing stops, there are unexpected delays and you are in the dining car eating a meal when you get to a servicing stop. I would prepare your kids for this possibility so it doesn't come as an unpleasant surprise that they aren't going to be able to get off the train. You might think up some car-type game to play to distract them when this happens, like watching the passengers walking by outside the window and counting how many people walk by with red shirts vs. blue shirts, etc. -- you know the sort of thing. Another life-on-the-train suggestion: If you have a device that plays audio books definitely bring that loaded with books so you can look out the window and read at the same time, while your kids are watching a DVD or playing video games. I like bringing books set in the areas I will be visiting on the trip. (Young children tend to quickly tire of scenery, even beautiful scenery, unless there is something active to look at like wild animals. You will likely see some deer and elk but they will be few and far between; wild animals aren't crazy about trains and tend to avoid the tracks.) For the mountain scenery, the lounge car is definitely best because the western mountains are steep. Often you have a solid rock wall on one side of the train and steep dropoff on the other side with a beautiful view. The "good" side changes throughout the day as the train goes back and forth across canyons and from one canyon into another. In the lounge car you have a good view out both sides of the train plus above due to the wraparound glass. However, you are traveling at the busy time of year when the lounge car fills up and there are more passengers wanting seats than there are seats available. At that time of year you want to be seated in the lounge car before the train leaves Denver. Then at some point you have to have lunch and you lose your seat then. (You can't just save a seat all day -- use it or lose it, except for restroom breaks.) Young children soon get restless and want to play games instead of looking at the scenery and it really isn't fair to take up a lounge car seat when it's crowded if you aren't looking at the scenery. I would settle in your bedroom instead of the lounge car. When the "good" side is on your side of the train, fine; when the "good" side is on the ohter side you can stand in the doorway to the room and look out the corridor windows. The scenery through the Rockies is beautiful; if your kids have games or movies they find especially absorbing I would save them for that day so you can enjoy the views! Life-off-the-train suggestion: Your kids will be cooped up on the train a lot on this trip and though kid's museums can be fun they may tire of museums on the stopovers and just want some time to play. You can search the web for public parks in the cities you will be visiting to find some parks with a good variety of playground equipment that your kids would enjoy. Also, here in San Francisco you can take the N-Judah Muni Metro light rail train to the beach. Make sure the kids understand the water is very cold, though, even in July (Alaska current - brrr!) so it isn't good for swimming. Bring sweaters, too, because the air is also often cold at the beach. This isn't Southern California! You will see surfers out in their wetsuits, though, and people do wade in the surf. Climate notes: Washington will be hot and humid in July. New York and Chicago may be hot and humid. Denver will probably be hot but not humid. San Francisco can be warm and pleasant or cool and foggy in July, or both at once depending on whether you are on the ocean or the bay side of the city. Be sure to bring sweaters (jumpers?) so you aren't cold. Portland, Seattle, and Vancouver will likely be warm and pleasant but could be hot, especially in Portland. Bring hats and sunscreen! This has been an long post and perhpas more advice than you really wanted, but hey -- you did say you were looking for advice! It sounds like you have a wonderful trip planned. I think you and the kids will have a great time! Laura [/QB][/QUOTE]
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