All Aboard

 

Reno to Glenwood Springs All Aboard Story

Tuesday November 25th

 

We’re officially on our way — choo-choo-ing our way from Reno to Glenwood Springs, Colorado aboard Amtrak’s legendary Zephyr Route for Thanksgiving. Because nothing says “holiday spirit” like rolling through the Rockies in a steel tube full of strangers on the way to their holiday feast.  It is a quick trip with just one night on the train each way and two nights at Glenwood Springs.

 

Why the train? Well, my dad and brother were “hog heads”. That’s old-school railroad slang for engineers who wrangled the mighty steam locomotives, aka “hogs.” Thanks to their hog-wrangling credentials with Southern Pacific, our family got the golden ticket: free rides on SP passenger trains. So yeah, I grew up riding the rails when I was young. And now? I still love train travel. It’s got everything: scenery, food, drinks and people.

 

 Meeting people on a train is definitely a mixed bag. Some are the most interesting people you could ever hope to meet and some well, are not. Being stuck with them rolling toward a destination together, for better or worse, is always an experience.

 

The Zephyr route has been declared by far the prettiest route in the United States. While the complete route goes to and from San Francisco and Chicago spanning over 2,400 miles, the stretch from Provo, Utah to Denver, Colorado travels through the Rocky Mountains is the highlight of the trip… hands down.  We know because Jay and I did this trip in 2017, when we took the train from Chicago to Reno.

 

We remember when the train left Chicago, the terrain was flat and stayed flat for hours. You see endless rows of cornfields and cows.  Then there are more corn and more cows. If you are lucky, you can spot an occasional tractor.  Talk about America the Beautiful, and its fruited plains, you see it firsthand.  Just about the time you think the world is really, really flat… BAMM, the train reaches Colorado and hits you with its mountains. It is stunning.

 

We’re stopping short of Denver at Glenwood Springs for Thanksgiving—because let’s be honest, who chooses Denver when you could be sipping a glass of wine and eating turkey in a cozy, historic town of 10,000 instead a metro jungle of 700,000?

 

Now, this is why we like train travel: it’s scenic, comfy, and free of brake lights and road rage. You sit back, relax, sip your drink and enjoy the ride.   To be fair—train travel also comes with its quirks. It’s usually pricier, slower, and has a punctuality rating somewhere between “LOL and “in your dreams”.

 

We’re kicking things off with a night at our beloved Peppermill Resort. I’ve got a free night at the Peppermill. Which, as everyone knows, is code for “you already paid for it with your money, points and loyalty.”

 

From the Peppermill, it's a short taxi ride to the Amtrak station in downtown Reno. Once alive with slot machines, vibrant nightlife, and nonstop entertainment, the area now feels more like a faded backdrop from a casino-themed movie. There's a lingering sense of melancholy and grit, with familiar faces loitering nearby, adding to the edgy atmosphere.

 

See you tomorrow all… Aboard time is 3:37 p.m.