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Across the USA by Train for Just $213
41–50 of 101 posts
Re: Across the USA by Train for Just $213
#42Talk about meeting new people on a train: "An hour later, at a small Nevada town, there was a scene of confusion as the train pulled into the station with police cars standing by. The police boarded the train and arrested my dinner companion on suspicion of possessing firearms." On the other hand, its totally legal in Nevada to open carry; a permit is required only for concealed carry. So I'm wondering what the fuss…
I would take this with a grain of salt as this man is known to plagiarize and make up content in his previous posts. Also given that he took a picture of everyone and everything you think he would not do anything in the world to get a picture of that scene?
Re: Across the USA by Train for Just $213
#43Earlier quoted context omitted.
How is a train better than a car in this regard? You don't have to take the freeway if you don't want to.
You don't have to drive? If just yourself, driving 3000 miles cost more time, $, mental energy.
>You don't have to drive?
You don't have to take the freeway ("interstate"). You can always go for smaller roads.
>If just yourself, driving 3000 miles cost more time, $, mental energy.
If time, $ and mental energy is at premium, train is not the solution either. A plane ticket will be the same cost or less and take 1/40 the time.
If we're talking about seeing places and travelling to see the "real side, kooky, etc" as he mentions, then driving is a far better option. It doesn't take reading Jack Kerouac to know this.
Re: Across the USA by Train for Just $213
#44I couldn't help but compare this to my experiences of driving coast-to-coast. Note that about half of the article and far more of the words are dedicated to the first day. The second gets some space, but the third and fourth are barely there. What little there is is all about things other than the view. That very much mirrors my memories of my drive (vancouver-seattle-boston x6, mostly all i090/94).
In short: The coastal and rocky mountains are interesting. But after that the US is flat flat flatter and more flat. That first Midwestern wheat field is cool, but numbers 2 through 15239 are not. At least during the nights I'd see some deer. I remember driving for five hours without even touching the clutch. Then you hit the hills of the east coast. Wow. A tiny gravel river. A rusty old mill. If I run through my memories of the drive, the west is filled with images of places and people. The east is filled with traffic, gray concrete and rusty bridges. If I were doing this for fun I'd have turned around and repeated day one.
The west: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:I-90IDWallace.jpg (note the bend in the road)
The middle bit: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:LaCrosseCountySignI90.jpg (note the pickup truck)
The east: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:I-90_west_in_West_Seneca_... (note the traffic)
Re: Across the USA by Train for Just $213
#45Earlier quoted context omitted.
Sadly this is very common. The freight companies own the rails, and if there's ever a route conflict their trains get priority over passenger trains. This means long delays in shitty railyards, and you have no way of making an itinerary.
Federal law mandates Amtrak priority over freight, even when operating on freight railways, but my understanding is that the law is not often followed.
I think that Amtrak gets priority if they're on schedule. But if they're not, the "hole" in the freight traffic may be gone. At that point the freight railroad will do the best they can for Amtrak without bringing the rest of the railroad to a halt.
But that's just my amateur understanding of the situation...
Re: Across the USA by Train for Just $213
#46I've taken this trip before; round trip between Chicago and SF for an Erlang course. It's so beautiful (at almost every point along the SF to Salt Lake leg described here) that sometimes after coming around turns, you'll hear the entire carriage audibly gasp in awe about the new scenery. Strangers talk to each other a lot - it feels as much like a ride as a trip.
Re: Across the USA by Train for Just $213
#47The photo captioned as a view from the Willis Tower is actually from the John Hancock, you can see the Willis Tower on the right side of the photo. However, very cool, and has perhaps inspired me to make the same trip one day.
the photo of downtown Denver was taken from the Denver Museum of Nature and Science, looking across Ferril Lake. I have a 60x40 print of a photo my brother took from the same spot [0] hanging on my living room wall.
I was a little surprised he spent 2 days in and around Denver, but didn't post any photos of Red Rocks [1].
[0] https://instagram.com/p/3Rvfxvo6Ye/?taken-by=gerry_darrow is a slightly-cropped version.
Re: Across the USA by Train for Just $213
#48Earlier quoted context omitted.
Whether its the frame or the glass, it's still impolite.
Why? It isn't blocking anyone else's view, it doesn't disturb anyone else, and it is unlikely to damage the window frame. Who is the victim, aside from you?
It's a difference in cultural expectations. As I found out recently, putting one's feet on the table is considered rude in Germany.
If you come from a culture where picking your nose in public is impolite, then it might disturb you to see someone really going at it. In the US, using the middle finger is generally considered rude or offensive, but the act on its own is meaningless and not especially prone to damage anything.
But acts do have cultural associations, which is why putting feet on a table, or window frame, may disturb others, even if it doesn't disturb you.
Personally, I have no problems with foot-on-frame.
Re: Across the USA by Train for Just $213
#49Earlier quoted context omitted.
You don't have to drive? If just yourself, driving 3000 miles cost more time, $, mental energy.
> You don't have to drive? You don't have to take the freeway ("interstate"). You can always go for smaller roads. > If just yourself, driving 3000 miles cost more time, $, mental energy. If time, $ and mental energy is at premium, train is not the solution either. A plane ticket will be the same cost or less and take 1/40 the time. If we're talking about seeing places and travelling to see the "real side, kooky, etc…
> You don't have to drive?
They're saying you don't have to focus on driving. On a train you can watch the scenery pass and not pay attention to piloting your mode of transportation.
Re: Across the USA by Train for Just $213
#50When I lived as a poor vagabond couch-surfer in China, I did almost 100% of my traveling by train. I'm convinced there's no better way to travel. When you travel by airplane, you're pretty much rapidly moving from huge city to huge city. You miss everything in-between, from the terrain to seeing how people outside of the cities live. Even driving from one place to another, you're confined to the freeways. You see a l…
How is a train better than a car in this regard? You don't have to take the freeway if you don't want to.
It's several orders of magnitude safer, for one thing.