Amtrak to Minnesota and Back

Foreshadowing the 2010 Amtrak Across America trip, I boarded the Empire Builder for the eight-hour trip to the Twin Cities. Southwest hadn’t started flying Chicago to Minneapolis yet, so this was $112 round-trip vs. $400 round-trip by air. I had decided not to drive – too big a detour – and I still wanted to see my loved ones there. This way I had a chance to do some of the reading for my class! My friend Paul met me at the station, late at night. It was remarkable how many people were going all the way west on the multi-day train; at the time I thought maybe I too would take a long train ride someday, but I had no idea I would be doing it the very next year!


The next morning, I saw my cousin Alexander and his family! They had moved to the U.S. just before I moved to Morocco, and were about to move back to the Netherlands. So we weren’t on the same continent for very long – but at least we were able to see each other once! What a lovely family – my, how the kids have grown since I last saw them in 2001! And of course the adults remain as young and beautiful as ever. We got pastry from a nearby shop, and Alexander made a rusk-and-aged-Dutch-cheese treat (the secret – margarine!). We talked, looked at pictures, and all too soon it was time to go. It had snowed overnight, so I was glad other people were driving!


Paul and I then went to the State Capitol in St. Paul for a tour. Most of the other people on the tour were students for whom it must have been a class assignment and their parents, which added an element of fun to it. A classical white building with a tall dome, and again, some interesting tidbits of state history. We then went to a place called The Global Marketplace. I was particularly attracted to both the Tibetan and the Hmong hill tribe products – maybe I should have bought more in Thailand, but it’s nice to know I can get them here too.


We then went to the Minneapolis Institute of the Arts; I’ve been to visit Paul many times and there are still many things we haven’t done! This is a nice museum, with a permanent collection that has a little bit of everything. We weren’t there long, but saw some Asian, some Prairie School, some period rooms, some Impressionists, and other random things. We were on the way to Trader Joe’s to get stroopwafels (Alexander’s suggestion) when I spied a bus shelter ad and we had to go around the block to photograph it. The message – “Never have to start sentences with ‘I should’ve’ ” – rings true for me. Paul, Tom and I had dinner at their favorite local French bistro. What a wonderful day!


On Sunday morning, the scheduled 7:50 didn’t leave until about 9:00 am; none of my trains in 2010 was significantly delayed. We did make up some of the time, and since we were traveling during the day, I saw some beautiful snow-covered country on the way back. With the Mississippi River, lakes, and glacial hills, it was a very pretty ride. My dining-car lunch companions were band instrument repairmen – very fun! I dozed a little and continued reading the book for my class. Dinner was back in Chicago with my friend Karen (we had to finish our Friday conversation!) and then I watched the Oscars with Edie and family – something of a culture shock, since I hadn’t seen most of the movies and didn’t recognize many of the celebrities (they didn’t either, though…). I went through the big green suitcase and found more laundry to do and got some dry cleaning together.

And on to Chicago

Iowa City to Chicago seems a far ride – until you’ve done 400-500 miles in a day, in which case 250 seems like a hop, skip and a jump. But it still seems far psychologically – and this is after living in Chicago for almost two decades and doing a lot of Midwest exploration from there.

I stopped in West Branch, Iowa at the Herbert Hoover Presidential Library and birthplace. The things that stuck with me from there were the depression and Hoover Dam. It had turned bitter cold the day before, so I didn’t walk around the grounds much. The birthplace was modest – similar to Nixon’s, but reflective of its earlier period.



I switched to I-88 (I-80 goes south of Chicago), skipping Reagan’s birthplace (as I had skipped his library in California) – the perspective of history may be enlightening, but I feel I know Reagan and his years well enough. Chicago’s outskirts are much more extensive than those of any city along the route since leaving the Bay Area. I knew that, but driving from so far away made the approach more dramatic. What sprawl! I took I-290, the route of my commute when I first lived in Chicago, and even though it wasn’t rush hour I felt the stress of that commute and that job at Keebler. I took the expressway all the way to Lake Shore Drive – the lake and the city looked beautiful. I had an unexpected wave of emotion when I passed my old apartment building; I do feel ready for a new place, but that was my home for many years, and I loved it there.

Coincidentally (well, while I still had the car), I saw one of my Keebler friends on the day I did the Keebler commute – met my friend Cynthia in Evanston at Ethel’s Chocolate Lounge. I guess the Ethelses have all closed, which is a pity – they were nice places to meet and chat, and the chocolate was good! We talked for hours. And then it was on to Edie’s, another home-away-from-home, for dinner and more talking and laundry (first since Lake Tahoe) and reorganizing my stuff for the weekend, leaving the big green suitcase and mail for my return….

The next morning, I returned the car - $1950 and 3490 miles later. Bye, Kia Spectra! It served me well for this part of the journey. My friend Helen met me at Budget and we had breakfast at Whole Foods. Then I took the bus (!) down Lake Shore Drive (!) to the University of Chicago’s Gleacher Center (seeing for myself the new Trump building at the old Sun-Times site across the river – what a change!). There, I met with the administrator of my non-profit certificate program, which had been discontinued in my absence, to discuss the classes I would do to complete my certificate. I continued downtown to have lunch at CPK ASAP with my friend Karen, and then it was on to Union Station.

Nebraska to Iowa

For years in Morocco, construction across the street started at 7:15 am, and I woke up at 7:15 every day, even on the days when it was quiet. Somehow I woke up at 7:15 this morning too – even though I was in a new time zone.

I looked at the map and realized that my route could take me right through Lincoln – another state capital! This was an interesting one. Nebraska has the only unicameral legislature in the country. The capitol building has a tall tower; it’s the third-tallest in the country. Murals, mosaics, stone, wood, symbols, pioneer stories and the love of the land and its labors. I took most of a tour, but was in one-hour parking so I had to leave early, but not before I saw some of the legislature in action, voting on a measure.



It was time to go, anyway – I had a lunch date at a Perkins just off the interstate outside of Omaha, with Rebecca, a Morocco YD RPCV from the stage before me who had extended and had just gotten home in December, and Jackie, the SBD from the stage behind me who had been med-sepped, thereby paving the way for me to work with the Ain Leuh women, which made my service more successful and rewarding! They hadn’t met, so now they have each other to talk to about Morocco. It was a nice lunch!

And then I drove 239 miles into Iowa (390 in all for the day; it had been 500 the day before), arriving in Iowa City just before dark. Passed some giant windmills and some rolling hills – well, rolling compared to Nebraska, that is. I had found an aviation-themed hotel on the internet; each room had different wallpaper, photographs and stories (and the hotel was right next to a small airstrip). I asked for the Flying Tigers suite but that was booked, so I was in the Barnstormers suite.


Iowa City is UNESCO’s third literary city, after Edinburgh and Melbourne – who knew? I had dinner on my own and then went to meet Jessica, a Morocco RPCV from my stage. I had school and other old friends in California and the Mountain West, but I didn’t have a lot of friends in the middle of the country until I met some through Peace Corps! Jessica and I had some hot chocolate and talked for hours. I also had a little chance to see downtown Iowa City (including the Old State Capitol). Quite charming! But if I were going to live in a literary city, I might prefer Edinburgh or Melbourne…

Crossing the Craton

That’s the name of the new part of Annals of the Former World. A craton is defined as, “a large, stable block of the earth's crust forming the nucleus of a continent,” and it did seem large and stable. I was a little concerned about this part of the ride – everyone I know who has driven across the country says that Nebraska is deathly flat and boring. Cynthia, Bob and I had gone to Barnes and Noble, where I picked up the audio book of “The Omnivore’s Dilemma” for the drive, and while at their house I researched the migration of the sandhill cranes. After two days of zero miles, I put on another 500. It took 200 miles just to get out of Colorado – maybe it looks more active in the spring and summer when there’s some farming, or maybe it always looks bleak. But it was interesting for its lack of interesting things. So, two weeks to the day when I left Los Angeles, I drove into the Central Time Zone. And back to I-80!

Before moving on to my new audio book, I had a Lewis and Clark audio book to listen to. I had it all through my time in Morocco but somehow it seemed too out of context to listen to it there. One of the things I noted is that when Lewis returned from his journey he experienced culture shock – although he didn’t call it that. I could relate! I stopped at another Taco Bell, this time in North Platte; still depressing. I thought about stopping at the nation’s largest rail yard, but since the drive was taking me longer than expected, I proceeded on. The stop I did make was one that intrigued me since I was first looking for things to do in Nebraska (my trip there at the time ended up being an overnight in Omaha, looking at the Missouri and thinking of Lewis and Clark, not realizing I would be learning more about them, and having an Omaha steak) – the migration of the sandhill cranes. This is supposed to be an amazing phenomenon, as thousands if not millions of them spend much of March on the Platte river. My internet research showed that the migration had just started that week – so I wouldn’t see anything amazing, but it was worth trying. Peak is mid-March. I went to a viewing area that had some trails and blinds. I saw some birds but I honestly can’t say if they were sandhhill cranes – they were a little too far away. Is it a case of if you’re not sure it’s them, then it’s not? I’m still glad I stopped, though I slipped and fell in the mud!


Then, it was on to Columbus, my longest driving detour of the trip. I thought that as long as I knew someone in Nebraska I would go out of my way to see her. Columbus was about halfway for me coming from I-80 and Ren coming from Norfolk. I hadn’t had a chance to see her to say goodbye before her medical separation from Peace Corps Morocco. Unfortunately, due to road construction, the detour involved a major detour (I might not have needed to go so far out of my way, but there was no way for me to know that). Ren got there even later; by the time she arrived, all of the restaurants in town were closed. We went to the supermarket and bought frozen pizza and cooked it in the kitchen of my B&B. I guess it was good that at least something was available! It was wonderful to see her, and the B&B in Columbus was very nice.

Boulder Days

I’d been talking about visiting my friends Bob and Cynthia for years and was glad to finally make it happen. There are many things we didn’t get to do this time – skiing and climbing a 14-er most prominent among them – but it was nice to spend two full days there. Boulder definitely has a good vibe, with a mix of consciousness and affluence; it’s laid back yet thriving. If you don’t need an ocean, it might be the ideal place to live! I know that Bob and Cynthia looked at many places before deciding on this one; their embrace of Buddhism came after their move, and it turned out that Boulder is a great place for that.

Sunday was devoted to an overview of Boulder. We started with a hearty breakfast at a local place. We then went to a prairie dog community near Bob’s office – I can see why people consider them pests (they denude the landscape and create a bunch of holes) and also why people want to protect them (they’re cute and fun to watch). We passed the school of massage therapy that Cynthia attended and she pointed out her class’s gift to the school, a Peace Pole. This is what gave me the idea to donate one to Quadrangle Club for my 30th Princeton reunion – I had seen them in many places and admired them, but I had no idea that one could purchase or donate one!


We went to Celestial Seasonings, an iconic tour to take when in Boulder. After all of the Moroccan tea I wasn’t feeling the need for more tea, but I do like factory tours. The most interesting part was the mint room – the flavor is so strong that if it were in the room with the other herbs, everything would smell of mint! It was interesting to see where the various ingredients come from and of course to know that they are harvested with fair wages and sustainability – wouldn’t it be fun to travel the world and sustainably source something? Hm… It was also interesting to see the original art of all of the tea boxes; it makes you realize it IS art.


We went on to Pearl Street, the pedestrian-only main commercial street downtown. Very busy! Street performers and lots of people. We went into a few stores and then continued our tour, seeing some of the old Victorians of downtown and a teahouse sent over and built by a sister city in Tajikistan. We were just looking, but it would be fun to go to tea there sometime!

Next was Chautaqua, a conference center that had some nature paths – we took a little walk that to me seemed entirely uphill, but that’s what happens when you’re not used to the altitude! Boulder does seem full of healthy, active people! On to Flagstaff, further up, where we could see the Flatirons behind us and the prairie below, a good illustration of what I had just driven through and what driving was to come. A pretty stark contrast!

We had dinner at a Sherpa’s, a Tibetan/Nepalese place, run by the person who had led their life-changing Nepal trip a few years back. The food was delicious! More like Indian than anything else one might be familiar with, but with its own spice combinations. Back at their house, we looked at beautiful pictures of Nepal and Bhutan and talked about Buddhism.

The next day started with some great New York bagels – a definite tick in the plus column for Boulder. And then we went off to Estes Park. We stopped at the Stanley Hotel, a Grande Dame famed for its use in the movie, “The Shining.” There are “Shining” souvenirs in the gift shop. The hotel is also known to be haunted; we listened to part of a tour before realizing we were supposed to have paid for it – oops!


On to Rocky Mountain National Park (and perhaps the final passport stamp of the trip). Much of the park was closed for the winter but we did what we could – which is all we had time for anyway! We saw herds of elk in the meadows, evergreen trees, snow on the mountains. Longs Peak is the park’s 14-er, the northernmost and the closest one to Boulder. We went to Bear Lake, a pond with a Longs Peak view, and took a snowy trail around it – great with my new boots! We then drove Trail Ridge Road to the point where it was closed by snowpack – some great views of Rocky Mountain majesties.




We went back to downtown Boulder for dinner and then went to a meditation class at one of the Buddhist centers nearby - it’s something I’ve been wanting to learn about as well, so it was a good class for me. More pictures, more piffle, more talking, and another all-too-short visit came to a close

Moab to Boulder

I knew from the day before that the B&B owner was a storyteller, so I let go of the notion of going on one last hike in Arches. I had a six-hour drive ahead of me anyway, with stops that I wanted to make. The first part of the drive was movie-set Colorado River – literally. This part of the river was filmed in several Westerns. When I got to I-70, the dramatic views continued, with the river to one side or the other and the red walls above. And the train on the same route - I started thinking it would be fun to take Amtrak Across America some day. But I get ahead of myself – first I stopped at Colorado National Monument!

National Monuments are different from National Parks in that they are designated by presidential proclamation rather than Acts of Congress (later, the CCC built the roads, an amazing engineering feat at the time). Colorado National Monument is high on the Colorado plateau, the same formation as the Grand Canyon, Arches and Bryce, and it too has a big canyon and red rock formations, semi-desert trees and awe-inspiring views. It might be just as well known as the others if it had Park status (my conjecture); it certainly has a lot to offer! I drove a few overlooks and did a teeny hike but didn’t have time for the entire Rim Rock Drive.



There wasn’t an obvious place for lunch. Well, there was, actually – Taco Bell. I had avoided chains so far, but I needed a quick lunch and Taco Bell fulfilled some of that desire for Mexican. I felt so depressed – here I had been cooking for myself with fresh ingredients, and Taco Bell was filled with Americans who regularly eat fast food. Never mind that in Manila, Julie and I went out of our way to go to Taco Bell and that I had mall food almost every night – that was different. This Taco Bell was a depressing welcome back. But it was practical, and sometimes that’s what you get on a cross-country trip.

On a suggestion from my replacement PCV in Azrou, who is from Colorado (though I might have thought of it anyway), I then stopped in Glenwood Springs (which is an Amtrak stop, too….). There are hot springs right off the road, which you enter after going through a classic building. I may not have had ski clothes, but I had a bathing suit with me, and I spent some time in the hot springs. Very relaxing – but not so much that I felt sleepy in the car; still had several hours to go!


The next part of the drive was a little challenging, the wiper fluid wasn’t working for a while and the windshield was streaked. I got to Boulder after dark, but not too much after dark. 375 miles today – and friends, wine and stew were waiting! Plus, the friends were interested in learning piffle!

Arches and Canyonlands

The B at the B&B was great – pancakes filled with cream cheese blended with strawberry juice and topped with strawberries. Between that and a chatty owner, I didn’t get an early start, but that’s part of the charm of staying in B&Bs.


And then it was on to Arches National Park! This is a great National Park – five stars! I drove a lot of it, stopping at several overlooks. The arches form when softer rock erodes more quickly than harder rock – and for whatever reason, there are a lot of them here! And other interesting formations. I took a hike to Delicate Arch, the symbol of the park and indeed of the National Park system. It was about an hour up and half an hour down (plus time spent at the top); slightly slippery where the sun hadn’t hit yet, but other than that, the weather was crisp but not too cold. I did a short hike by the Windows, and then decided I should see some of Canyonlands National Park as well.




Canyonlands has a totally different feel, so I’m glad I went to see it (not to mention getting another passport stamp…). This one has dramatic canyon vistas. From road level, one can look down at mesas and then see canyons where the rivers eroded everything even deeper. I drove to several places and looked at the vast distances, but there weren’t any hikes to be had. So I decided I had a feel for it and I went back to Arches, where the formations were right in front of you and you could hike closer to or even through them.



I went back to the Windows section for a hike to the Double Arch, and then I drove to the farthest point of the park. At this point it was getting a little dark, so no more hikes, but I covered quite a bit in less than a day. Put 150 miles on the car, too!