Posted on August 10, 2008 by offthebeatentrack
WINNEMUCCA, Nev. – As was the case yesterday, I set the alarm clock this morning for 5:45 a.m., but it never went off.
That’s because the sun woke me up 15 minutes early, as it began to creep over the mountains in the Great Basin. Though part of me definitely wanted to sleep some more, the [...]
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tagged: amtrak, blackberry, 2008 summer olympics, sleep, california zephyr, burlington northern santa fe, colorado, utah, swimming, grand junction, winnemucca, nevada, sunrise, great basin, elko, google maps, google, union pacific, salt lake city, michael phelps, gymnsatics, 400-meter individual medley, stars, the big dipper, desert | 1 Comment »
Posted on August 10, 2008 by offthebeatentrack
(Did you really expect me to use anything else for the headline?)
We finally reached Denver at around 11:30 a.m. MT. We spent about 20 minutes there, during which time the train was cleaned a bit and some supplies were restocked. We also got newspapers delivered, in this case the Rocky Mountain News.
I was a bit [...]
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tagged: chicago, amtrak, blackberry, 2008 summer olympics, washington d.c., philadelphia, "washington, west virginia, women's soccer, pennsylvania, indiana, illinois, california zephyr, emeryville, california, iowa, nebraska, newspapers, usa today, slingbox, colorado, denver, rocky mountain news, denver post, joggers, rocky mountains, joint operating agreements, democrats, barack obama, appalachia, virginia, north carolina, continental divide, turkey burger, hamburger, tuna, caesar salad, turkey, gravy, biscuit, microwave, Moffat Tunnel, high altitude, diesel, coal, utah, arizona, new mexico, four corners, fraser, winter park, granby, colorado river, rafting, mooning, campsites, fishing, french open, tennis, clay court tennis, terre battue, paris, parisians, canyons, ipod, podcasts, aaron copland, appalachian spring, appalachian mountains, glenwood springs, volleyball, fencing, dim sum, swimming, rowing, bay area rapid transit, bart, grand junction, moon | 2 Comments »
Posted on August 9, 2008 by offthebeatentrack
FORT MORGAN, Colo. – I had a hunch that we wouldn’t be able to make it all the way across the country without running into rain somewhere.
And so it was overnight, as I rolled over at one point and saw two bright flashes out the window. Once my ears woke up, I could tell that [...]
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Posted on August 9, 2008 by offthebeatentrack
OSCEOLA, Iowa – A couple of things happened this afternoon that were reasons to pause and think for a while.
The less prosaic events were delays, a few of which were considerable. Two were the result of stop signals on the Burlington Northern Santa Fe-owned tracks, while a third was the result of tugboats traveling on [...]
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Posted on August 6, 2008 by offthebeatentrack
WATERLOO, Ind. – Good morning…
I set the alarm clock on my phone for 6 a.m., and rolled out of bed not too long after that. The sun hadn’t quite risen yet, but we were pulling into Toledo. Which meant I had to make sure the window curtain was totally shut, and it was.
We were supposed [...]
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tagged: 2008 summer olympics, abby wambach, alarm clock, amtrak, atlantic city, brazil, capitol hill, capitol limited, cereal, chicago, chicago cubs, french toast, fruit, germany, grits, indiana, msnbc, new jersey, norway, notre dame, ohio, omelette, shenyang, soccer, south bend, toledo, u.s. soccer, united states, washington d.c., waterloo | 2 Comments »
Posted on August 6, 2008 by offthebeatentrack
PITTSBURGH – I did manage to stay up this far, and as we pull into the Steel City we’re rolling past a neon sign-bedecked Heinz factory. The central marquee is an animated ketchup bottle. It’s pretty cool.
Speaking of designed things, I studied a lot of planning and design stuff in college and that part of [...]
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tagged: 2008 summer olympics, amtrak, capitol limited, heinz, ketchup, olympics, pittsburgh, pittsburgh pirates, pnc park, showers, soccer, toilets, towels, u.s. women's soccer | 2 Comments »
Posted on August 6, 2008 by offthebeatentrack
MARTINSBURG, W. Va. – I never really have been much of a country boy. I was born and raised in one big city, then went to college in another and still live there. I prefer carrying an iPod and a subway pass to a fife and a fiddle.
But the scenery as we’ve rolled through West [...]
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tagged: 2008 summer olympics, amtrak, beijing, capitol limited, country roads, harper's ferry, john denver, potomac river, u.s. soccer, west virginia, women's soccer | Leave a Comment »
