#5 The California Zephyr, Sacramento to Chicago, Day One

 May 3, 2023

The California Zephyr takes three days to cover the 2,350 miles from Sacramento, CA to Chicago, IL.  There's a lot of thinking time as she labors through the mountain passes of the snow-capped Sierra Nevadas and the Rockies.  Miles and miles of sage brush, sunrises, sunsets, canyons, lakes and rivers.  Whistle blowing through a hundred sleepy towns.  I can't seem to resist the challenge of taking pictures through dirty, reflective windows, as the train sways and bounces along.  I took hundreds, but will try to pare it down to some of my favorites.  I'll label locations if I know them.

Departing Sacramento, I was again ushered straight to the dining car.  Now that the C protocol has been dropped, community dining prevails.  There can be ten empty tables, but they will still cram four people into a booth.  Sometimes I really enjoy it, and sometimes I don't.  This day I was seated with a military couple who also loved sports and a guy who had a big interest in all things military, and happened to love sports.  I was tempted to pull out my phone to see if I had service.

As we left the city and its numerous homeless camps, we rattled our way past orchards and sweeping views, as we began to climb the Sierra Nevada foothills.  By the time we were done with lunch, my ears were fully blocked with the pressure.

Emigrant Gap in the Sierra Nevada Mountains

The Sierra Nevada Mountains

Snowy Sierra Nevadas

I always enjoy looking down the tracks when the train curves.  Behind are the memories, ahead is the unknown.  One never knows what will be around the bend, on the tracks, the trail, or life.  

Somewhere northwest of Lake Tahoe is the Soda Springs Mountain Resort.  I didn't see a lodge, but there were distant chairlifts visible from the train.  The snow was quite deep but seemed to be shrinking with the advent of spring temperatures.  

At Soda Springs Resort

Soda Springs Resort

Soda Springs Resort

In 1846 a group of pioneers known as The Donner Party set out for the west a bit too late in the season to safely make it through the mountains before winter set in.  Unfortunately, they also tried to take an untested shortcut.  An early snowfall caught them off guard and they were stranded in the mountains.  Some were able to make it to Truckee Lake, where they did their best to survive, even resorting to consuming human flesh.  I think this speaks to the human desire to live, that is wired into us by our Creator.  Eventually some were rescued.  The lake has been renamed Donner Lake and the entire area is a memorial park. 

Donner Lake

Donner Lake

After getting through the Donner Pass, we descended and followed the Truckee River towards Reno, Nevada.  

Bridge over the Truckee River

Truckee River rapids

When we traveled in my younger years, I'd lay my head against the station wagon seat and gaze out the window.  I saw myself astride a beautiful horse (always a palomino), galloping along the hills we were passing.  Now I'm in a bright blue kayak, paddling along in the river.  

Truckee River

Rustic steel bridge over the Truckee River

Lingering fall color brightens the banks of the Truckee River

A last glimpse of the Truckee River and the foothills

Crossing the border into Nevada, we stopped in Reno, then continued eastward into the dry flat land.

Cattle foraging in the salt, sand and sage

As the sun dropped lower with the advent of evening, clouds moved in, softening the harsh landscape.

Near Winnemucca, Nevada, the sun touched down on the marshy areas, flashing its brilliance across the landscape.  Dinner over, it was time for me to pull the curtain on my little room and enjoy sleeping to the rocking and clacking of the train

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