Today I’m reaching the end of a fairly nondescript summer break at home, hence the lack of interesting any blog posts this past summer. Starting tomorrow I will be heading back to DC to start my junior year at American University. But while I will save my traditional annual new school year blog post for a little bit later, I thought I should probably share some of my travel plans.
Turns out, thanks to some interesting scheduling ideas, budget, and the attraction of doing a bit more travel, I will be taking the train cross-country from San Francisco to Washington, DC this week.
Tomorrow (Tuesday) I’ll be hopping aboard the California Zephyr in Emeryville, CA at 9:10 AM, arriving almost 52 hours later in Chicago at 2:50 PM on Thursday. After a 3 hour layover, I’ll board the Capitol Limited at 6:10 PM, and arrive 17 and a half hours later in DC at 12:40 PM on Friday. During the trip I will traverse through twelve states, covering over 3200 miles.
Anyway, despite having to go three days with no bed and no internet, I’m looking forward to trying this new travel experience, and to try to push my enjoyment of train travel to the limits. Besides, since AU is starting classes a week later this year, what better way to spend the extra week? Plus the best part is this trip is actually costing me less than it would have been to fly.
Here is a detailed schedule of my route this week:
Amtrak 6 California Zephyr
| Time | Stop | Miles |
|---|---|---|
| Tuesday, August 16 | ||
| 9:10a PT dp | Emeryville, CA | 0 |
| 9:22a | Richmond, CA | 8 |
| 9:54a | Martinez, CA | 28 |
| 10:36a | Davis, CA | 72 |
| 11:09a | Sacramento, CA | 86 |
| 11:35a | Roseville, CA | 103 |
| 12:21p | Colfax, CA | 138 |
| 2:38p | Truckee, CA (Lake Tahoe) | 202 |
| 4:06p | Reno, NV | 237 |
| 7:08p | Winnemucca, NV | 426 |
| 9:31p PT | Elko, NV | 568 |
| Wednesday, August 17 | ||
| 3:05a MT ar 3:30a dp |
Salt Lake City, UT | 831 |
| 4:35a | Provo, UT | 876 |
| 6:37a | Helper, UT | 951 |
| 7:59a | Green River, UT | 1022 |
| 10:23a | Grand Junction, CO | 1128 |
| 12:10p | Glenwood Springs, CO (Aspen) | 1216 |
| 3:12p | Granby, CO (Rocky Mt. Nat’l Park) | 1326 |
| 3:50p | Fraser-Winter Park, CO | 1339 |
| 6:38p ar 7:10p dp |
Denver, CO | 1401 |
| 8:25p MT | Fort Morgan, CO | 1479 |
| 11:49p CT | McCook, NE | 1656 |
| Thursday, August 18 | ||
| 12:54a | Holdredge, NE | 1733 |
| 1:42a | Hastings, NE | 1787 |
| 3:20a ar 3:26a dp |
Lincoln, NE | 1884 |
| 4:59a ar 5:14a dp |
Omaha, NE | 1939 |
| 7:04a | Creston, IA | 2047 |
| 7:40a | Osceola, IA (Des Moines) | 2080 |
| 9:09a | Ottumwa, IA | 2160 |
| 9:54a | Mount Pleasant, IA | 2206 |
| 10:36a | Burlington, IA | 2234 |
| 11:31a | Galesburg, IL | 2277 |
| 12:23p | Princeton, IL | 2335 |
| 1:43p | Naperville, IL | 2411 |
| 2:50p CT ar | Chicago, IL | 2439 |
Amtrak 30 Capitol Limited
| Time | Stop | Miles |
|---|---|---|
| Thursday, August 18 | ||
| 6:10p CT dp | Chicago, IL | 2439 |
| 8:34p ET | South Bend, IN | 2523 |
| 8:53p | Elkhart, IN | 2540 |
| 9:44p | Waterloo, IN (Ft. Wayne) | 2595 |
| 10:56p ar 11:06p dp |
Toledo, OH | 2673 |
| 11:56p | Sandusky, OH | 2720 |
| Friday, August 19 | ||
| 12:29a | Elyria, OH | 2755 |
| 12:59a ar 1:08a dp |
Cleveland, OH | 2780 |
| 2:07a | Alliance, OH (Canton) | 2836 |
| 4:35a ar 4:50a dp |
Pittsburgh, PA | 2920 |
| 6:29a | Connellsville, PA | 2980 |
| 8:49a ar 9:01a dp |
Cumberland, MD | 3073 |
| 10:30a | Martinsburg, WV | 3145 |
| 10:55a | Harpers Ferry, WV | 3164 |
| 11:40a | Rockville, MD | 3203 |
| 12:40p ET | Washington, DC | 3219 |
Anyway, there’s my full itinerary for my upcoming week on the rails. When I get back to DC, I’ll have a new blog post focusing more on the coming year; in the meantime, I’ll try to tweet as I travel wherever I can find cell service.
