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1995
Colorado & the Southwest, part I
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September 22nd - October 9th 1995
States visited: Kentucky, Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma,
Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada and California
Miles on the road: 3761
Gallons used: 148
Rental car: Ford Thunderbird V8 from Hertz
Airlines: Braathens, SAS, Delta & Virgin Atlantic
Traveling mates: Svein Tore, Jan & Stener
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2 weeks. Flying into Denver, Colorado in late september. Two days later we were driving through a blizzard in the Foothills of the Rockies.
We continued south to Pueblo and turned west to Garden City, Kansas where we continued straight south to the "panhandle" of Oklahoma and Texas.
From there we continued southwest to Tumcumcari, New Mexico where we discovered the old Route 66.
By now the weather was much better and we tried to follow the "Mother Road" wherever we could on our way west.
We made a stop in Santa Fe, passed Albuquerque and into Arizona. We walked on the south rim of the Grand Canyon, drove across the Hoover dam and through Las Vegas.
Then we met up with the rest of our travelling mates in LA and spent the second week driving around in California from San Diego to San Francisco and up the Feather River Valley.
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Friday September 22nd.
We flew from Trondheim on a warm September morning and after changing to another plane in Oslo we arrived at London Gatwick Airport. We used the
spare time to browse through the stores and I bought a new stereo microphone for my camcorder. We boarded the Delta DC10 for Cincinnati and it
must have seen better days, because it was shaking and rattling like hell as we took off. It did not look promising. But after what seemed like
forever we arrived in Cincinnati and after waiting to pass through the imigrations we started on the final leg of the trip towards Denver.
We arrived in "the mile high city" very tired and suffering from serious jetlag. We where surprised to hear that they have just had the first snow of the season and the temperatures
were not too promising for the planned trip into the mountains. We picked up our rental car which turned out to be a silver Ford Thunderbird V8
with plenty of power... Soon we were cruising into Denver searching for a place to stay. It took awhile before we found something that was
reasonably priced and had vacancies, but we decided on Rodeway Inn west of downtown. It didn't take us long before we were sleeping tight.
Saturday September 23rd.
We spendt saturday getting used to the time and climate, but the main target for the day was of course Caboose Hobbies. After
a couple of hours we came out with several bags and our eyes still wide open...
Next on the agenda was to get a radio scanner so we could listen to what was going on at the railroads. In the beginning most of it is
hopeless to understand because they mention mileposts and places we've never heard of. But after using it for 14 days I found it to be a
valuable tool to make me be able to be at the right place at the right time.
We parked the car next to the light rail line and photographed a couple of trains before heading back
to basecamp. In the afternoon we went to the Colorado Railroad Museum in Golden and used several quarters on the layout in the basement...
Outside we met two couples who wanted us to take a picture of them in front of a caboose, because they were competing with some other guys
to get "evidence" that they have been to different "objects". One of them even had relatives in "Flekkifjord"!
Sunday September 24th.
Sunday morning was overcast and dark. We still decided to try a trip towards the Big Ten Curves at the foothills of the Rockies and by the time we arrived it was snowing.
We saw a SP train waiting at a signal, but we didn't feel like waiting for something to happen as it was getting cold.
We continued towards Rollinsville and Central City passing the highest altitude on this trip. We stopped briefly in Central City an old mining town now filled with tourists and a few casinos.
But because of the bad weather we skipped any further mountain ventures and decided to head south towards Colorado Springs. Just outside Denver we saw the first MOVING train - a BN unit coal train,
which we more or less followed towards Pueblo. In Pueblo it was time for the weirdest attraction of the trip - the Association of American Railroads
test site. It's 18 miles straight into nowhere, even the road signs agree saying: "Just 10 miles to go" and "Pretty country isn't it?".
Well, after what seemed like forever, we arrived but there wasn't much to see... So we drove back and Svein Tore used the opportunity to
push the car a bit more than normal...
From Pueblo it was straight east before we parked the car in La Junta. We was fortunate enough to catch the arrival of the eastbound
Southwest Chief and yet another unit coal train after dark. He probably didn't intend to, but the Amtrak engineer really scared me when
he turned on the lights and strobes and using the horn on his Genesis unit to mark it's departure from La Junta.
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"Cooling off" with a Sprite in Central City, CO
September 24th 1995 |
Monday September 25th.
Svein Tore is looking for trains in Garden City, Kansas
September 25th 1995
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After leaving Colorado we continued straight east into the open fields of Kansas. By then it was time to slip into something more comfortable as it was getting warmer.
In Garden City we "made a right turn" and started on the southward trek toward Liberal, KS and the Southern Pacific mainline, the Cotton Rock.
Along this endless stretch we saw (and smelled) billions of cattle. No wonder why the hamburger is so cheap in the US.
At Liberal we stopped and stayed at the "station" for a while until a westbound double-stack arrived with 5 units. While they
refueled from a truck, we headed southwest towards Tucumcari. The tracks follows the road just 50ft away almost all the way and we were hoping to meet some trains.
In Guymon it was time for lunch and after passing Stratford, TX we stopped as we saw a train waiting in a siding. In just a
few minutes a train came from the east and it turned out to be the same one we had seen in Liberal. That's when THE CHASE
started. We followed the train for about half and hour until we reached Dalhart, TX where they slowed down.
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I filmed most of it and got some really nice shots which will be something I'll remember for awhile. We saw several other trains
on our way towards Tucumcari, NM. We spendt the night at a Super 8 motel.
Tuesday September 26th.
Tucumcari, New Mexico is one of those small cities with hundreds of motels and little else. We continued west on I-40, but at Clines Corners
we got off the Interstate and drove to Santa Fe along US 285. Santa Fe is certainly a tourist trap, but it has many fascinating buildings and
most important for us - it is one of the "hometowns" of the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe. The old Santa Fe no longer owns the tracks into the city, but it is still used by shortline
Santa Fe Southern both for freigths and most important - hauling tourists.
In Tucumcari we met the old Route 66 but didn't pay much attention to it until we reached Albuquerque. On our way to Gallup we almost forgot
the railroad tracks, but because the highway and the railroad are parallell to each other most of the way, we did stop to get some nice shots of several Santa Fe hot shots.
In Gallup we decided to have cheap night (under $30) and stayed at the Thunderbird (!) Motel which wasn't the best in town...
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Along Route 66 between Albuquerque and Gallup, New Mexico,
September 26th 1995
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Wednesday September 27th.
View from the South Rim
September 27th 1995 |
In the morning we headed down to the station but it was quiet. After getting back on I-40 we soon entered Arizona and made a stop at the Painted Desert
visitors center were the Route 66 fascination really hits us both as Svein Tore buys a video and I buy a book. Then it's off to Flagstaff and lunch at
Burger King. While we sit there several freights thunder by. After visiting the station we start on the trip to Grand Canyon.
Words cannot describe this place. It's not huge - it's humongus, extra terrestrial, whatever, it's well worth it! We make a brief encounter with
the Grand Canyon steam train and heads back to Williams and the Interstate. We have the setting sun straight in front and for a moment Svein Tore
isn't quite sure where the road is and almost drives on the shoulder. In Seligman we decide to stop and find a motel.
We spend the night at the most appropriate motel along the route 66 - the Route 66 Motel... Our neighbours turns out to be Norwegians as well
and we chat for awhile about our encounters on the road. They are heading east coming from Las Vegas in a huge Lincoln.
At night we can see a thunderstorm passing to the south while they are busy switching over at the Santa Fe.
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Thursday September 28th.
A small cactus in Kingman, Arizona
September 28th 1995
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In the morning we can see that it's ben rather cold in the night. The decision to follow the old 66 to Kingman instead of I-40 is an easy one
as the Santa Fe runs along the road almost all the way and our love for the Mother Road is steadily increasing. This stretch is highly recommended, plenty of action and
very little road traffic to disturb.
In Kingman, Svein Tore finds what he's been looking for the whole trip - a huge cactus. Here it's time for yet another sidetrip from our way to the west.
We drive straight across the desert along US 93 to Las vegas. But first we pass the huge Hoover Dam on the Arizona/Nevada border. Down in the valley
it's hot - very hot - more than 40oC. It's just a warning of the temperatures we'll get in California!
Las Vegas. It's fascinating, ever changing and a nightmare of architecture. Anything from Pyramids to highrise hotels.
We stop for lunch and drive straight through this city of sin (!). As we drive south we can see the city as an oasis in the desert in the mirror.
We soon enter California which is the last state on this trip and cross the Mojave desert. We made a short sidetrip to the Afton Canyon
and waited for an hour without seeing any trains. Then we drove the short stretch into Barstow and found a Motel 6. The rest of the evening
was spendt at several factory outlets buying Levis pants etc.
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Ready to hit the road in Seligman, Arizona
September 28th 1995
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Friday September 29th.
Today it's time to meet the rest of the gang as we were supposed to meet Jan & Stener at a
Best Western motel near the airport. We had plenty of time and
visited the Barstow station before heading down to the LA basin. On the way got a sneak preview of the Cajon pass and stopped for awhile to shot
some more trains. We then passed through San Bernardino and started on the journey towards the LA airport on overcrowded freeways.
We checked in at the motel and since we still at some time to kill before we should meet them, we decided to find a hobby shop. The nearest is LA's most interesting one as it
is built as a copy of the LA Union station - Allied Model Trains. They have several small layouts at display, but they are a bit too expensive.
We did however like the sign at the door. "This is not a TOY STORE, if your child is crying, bring it outside NOW"
Soon it was time to meet the other guys and we told them about our trip so far. They were kind of tired so we didn't do much except get something to eat and
browsing through some stores nearby.
This travelogue is continued in Part II
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