4 ms·
You'll adore the California Zephyr. The passage through the high, snowy ravines in the Rockies and beyond into the painted deserts of Utah and Nevada is a glori
by kibwen 4y ago
You'll adore the California Zephyr. The passage through the high, snowy ravines in the Rockies and beyond into the painted deserts of Utah and Nevada is a glorious sight to behold. However, if you have a choice, get on in Denver rather than Chicago, unless you're keen to spend 20 hours marveling at the endless ocean of corn blanketing Iowa and Nebraska.
- jdwithit 4y agoThe OP is from Europe so there was probably some novelty to the 20 hours of endless corn the first time. But, yeah, once is enough. Having driven cross country several times for various reasons, the only appeal of the run from Chicago to Denver at this point is that you can do 100mph without much worry and get through it that much quicker. I will say both Des Moines and Omaha are surprisingly nice to visit even as an awful "coastal elitist". Had some wonderful experiences in both.
- sizzzzlerz 4y agoMy train got stuck behind a very slow moving freight train while crossing Nevada. With a GPS app, I tracked our speed at 2 MPH for nearly 30 minutes. I don't believe we ever exceeded 30 MPH at any time between SLC and Reno. I'd look out a window and see cars and trucks speeding along at 80 MPH on nearby I-80 while we were creeping along 20. And, of course, we were already 2-3 hours behind schedule. We ended up arriving in Emeryville 3.5 hours after the expected arrival time.