It is about an hour from the SLC airport to Pam and John's house near Ogden, Utah. We stop for dinner on the way.
The weather has changed, it is much cooler than expected. The tops of the mountains are covered with snow. No problem, I didn't plan any mountain climbing.
Our days plans have been sidelined by our ineffective politicians. We had planned a trip to Promontory park, the site where the transcontinental railroads met. Unfortunately the park is closed because of the government shutdown.
Additionally the new golden spike moument is still in storage. We sailed with the scupture last year and were looking forward to seeing his creation. Even though the 40 foot gold guilded spike has been finished for a couple years now, the park isn't prepared to install it. So goes the plans of travellers.
Instead we spend the day just visiting.
I purchase tickets for the Huber Valley excursion train for Monday. Maybe we will have better luck.
Monday morning is cloudy and cold with a splattering of rain. Huber Valley is about an hour away near Park City. On the way we plan a stop at the Union Station in Ogden. Again our plans are foiled. Access ia essentially denied because they are using the station to film a movie. What exactly we don't learn.
A couple of pictures through the fence is the best I can do. We continue on our way
As we climb in elevation to over 5000 ft the air temp gets lower, to about 35. In spots the mountain tops are hidden in clouds.
By the time we get to the Huber Valley station the weather totally changes. The skies are blue, the sun is out, and temperatures have risen.
The railroad is in good shape. The trip covers about 10 miles of well maintained track. They have about a dozen restored cars, today they are only using one. It's about 80% full.
Around they yard they have lots of spare equipment. Trucks, axles, even a spare power plant and motor for the GP9 they are using today.
The scenery is what it is. Too late in the fall for any colorful foliage, too early for the snow.
Teenagers for conductors and a 70 year old train robber and story teller. Just as should be expected on a tourist train.
We stop at Roosters for dinner, a local pub and brewery, well as much of a brewery as you will find in Mormon country. I order a cheeseburger with fries. The fries are cold, the server brings another batch from the kitchen. They are worse. A sequence of events I don't think I have ever experienced before.
Tusday morning and it is off to the airport to fly home. The temp is about 30. Pam has to use this strange scrapper thing to remove the ice from the windshield. The smog over SLC is very apparent. Since I was here about 25 years ago there has been tremendous growth. Traffic is heavy, urban sprawl at it's finest.
There are about 30 empty seats on our plane. We are late boarding as the crew was tied up on their prior flight, but we still manage to leave on time.
I have plenty of time on the plane to write this, and even post it as there is free WiFi. Much more timely than I usually am at the end of a trip.
About 4 weeks before our next trip.