여행기/경험 170314 미국여행의 로망, 대륙횡단기차여행(1)
2017.07.17 05:21
March 14 Tuesday 2017 / 시카고 마지막 날, 유니온 스테이션
“Tourists don't know where they've been, travelers don't know where they're going.”
사실 예전엔 꿈도 꾸지 못했던 일이지만, 해외 자유 여행을 다니면서 막연하게 생각했던 미국 대륙횡단에 대한 꿈을 꾸기 시작했었다. 비행기 여행은 뜬구름 여행이고 자동차도 여행하기엔 너무 피곤하다.
기차여행은 서두르지 않고 사색할 시간을 준다. 대륙의 크기와 모습을 살펴보기엔 기차여행이 딱이다.
대륙횡단열차로 몇날 몇일을 끝없이 거친 황야를 달려 간다는 것은 상상 만으로도 신나지 아니한가?
꽤오래전 미국에 있는 친구가 은퇴하고 미국대륙횡단 자동차 여행을 제안 했을때 만해도 어느 세월에 였었는데 내가 제일 먼저 시작해 보는 것이다.
직전에 대서양 해안의 워싱턴에서 시카고까지 18시간을 캐피탈리미티드를 타고 왔고..
이제 나의 꿈꾸던 로망은 캘리포니아 제퍼를 타고 시카고에서 샌프란시스코를 향해서 달려 갈 것이다.
블리자드가 휘몰아치더니 잠잠해졌다
호텔의 장점중의 하나가 조식인데 이 호텔에서는 조식 별도라 예약하지 않았다..아침이야 워낙 대충 먹는 스타일들이라 커피와 삶은 달걀과 빵 정도 있으면 훌륭하다.
여행을 다니며 제일 유용하게 쓰는 전기제품이 여행용 커피포트이다. 미니 사이즈라 짐싸기에 좋고 이제보니 프리볼트라 미국 110 V에도 끄떡 없이 사용할 수 있었다. 물을 끓일수 있으면 할 수 있는 간편 요리들이 있다. 첫째가 컵라면, 외국음식에 느끼할때 신라면 하나 끓여 먹으면 속이 다 시원해진다. 그 다음이 누룽지탕이다. 누룽지에 물을 부어 조금 있다 먹으면 딴 나라 사람들은 모를 우리만의 그 구수함이 끝내준다. 게다가 부드럽게 술술 넘어가니 해장에도 그만이다. 그리고 많은 레토로트 식품들이 있지만 사용해 보지는 않았고 햇반에 뜨거운 물 두어번 헹구다 시피 먹으면 그 또한 소싯적 겨울철에 찬밥을 뜨거운 물에 두어번 헹구어 김치 찢어 하나 씩 얹어서 먹던 그 맛이 그대로다.. 커피는 기본이고.. 이 정도면 여행자에게 거의 만능 주방기구나 마찬가지다.
시카고 유니온 스테이션에서 14시 출발하는 암트랙이라 시간 보내기가 어정쩡한데다가 잠시 나갔다 오는데 길이 전날 밤새 내린 눈 때문에 엉망진창이었다. 아침 티비를 켜니 제설 기차가 도자를 앞에 달고 눈을 치우며 달려 가는 모습을 보니 눈이 여간 많이 내린 게 아니었다. 체크아웃을 하고 유니온 역을 가기 위해 미시간에비뉴쪽으로 갔더니 방향은 맞는데. 버스 노선이 틀리다.
점심을 하려고 푸드코트를 찾는데 쉽지 않았다. 게다가 에스컬레이터 공사중이라 길은 복잡했고 2층으로 올라가는 길은 찾기 어려운 곳에 있었다. 푸드코트에는 여러가지 음식점들이 늘어서 있는데 그 중 시카고 Gold Coast Dogs 를 먹어보려고 찾아 갔는데 안해가 별로란 듯이 눈길도 주지 않는다. 시카고에는 패스트푸드점들 보다 핫도그 상점이 더 많다고 했다.
점심은 중식 스타일의 볶은밥 선택 메뉴로 한식 분위기와 비슷했다. 점심 후에 내려와서는 프라어리티 서비스인 매트로 라운지에 일단은 짐을 맡기고 VIP라운지에 들어가 쉬었다.
커피등의 음료와 신선 야채샐러드를 제공해준다. 와인도 한잔 겯드려 맛있게 먹고 시간되여 특별 안내를 따라 캘리포니아 재퍼에 별도로 우선 승차를 했다.
아래는 캘리포니아 재퍼 리프렛 내용임.
California Zephyr
From Towering Skyscrapers to the Golden Gate
Experienced travelers say the California Zephyr is one of the most beautiful train trips in all of North America. As you climb through the heart of the Rockies, and further west through the snow-capped Sierra Nevadas, you may find it hard to disagree.
Experienced travelers say the California Zephyr is one of the most beautiful train trips in all of North America. As you climb through the heart of the Rockies, and further west through the snow-capped Sierra Nevadas, you may find it hard to disagree.
The Zephyr runs daily between Chicago and San Francisco, coursing through the plains of Nebraska to Denver, across the Rockies to Salt Lake City, and then through Reno and Sacramento into Emeryville/San Francisco.
Reserve a spacious coach seat for your journey or, for a more luxurious experience, reserve a roomette or bedroom in one of the Superliner Sleeping Cars.
Scenic highlights include:
- Rocky Mountains
- Sierra Nevadas
- Moffat Tunnel
- Colorado's Gore, Byers and Glenwood Canyons
- Winter Park
- Truckee River
- Donner Lake
- San Pablo Bay and the Carquinez Strait
The California Zephyr connects to San Francisco and Oakland stations via Thruway Bus Service at Emeryville, California.
Stanford Flats (2243 mi.) We now cross back and forth across a series of ascending plateaus as we begin the climb over Donner Pass to the peak of the Sierras. Below is a panoramic view of the Truckee Basin.
Donner Lake (2245 mi.) on the right side of the train is where the famed Donner Party, traveling west from Illinois, was stranded during the winter of 1846-47. Some of the party of 87 resorted to cannibalism; only 48 survived. After passing the lake, the California Zephyr passes through a series of snow sheds that protect the track from being blocked by the more than 30 feet of snow that falls in the typical winter.
Mt. Judah (2248 mi.) We enter a tunnel through Mt. Judah some 7,000 feet above sea level, the peak point of our climb across the Sierras.
When we emerge, a ski lift from the adjacent Sugar Bowl Ski Resort carries skiers over the track. The resort closed during World War II for fear the Germans might blow up the tunnel and block this key transcontinental rail route.
Norden (2252 mi.) was once the site of a Southern Pacific turntable and maintenance point. It is marked by another snow shed.
Soda Springs (2255 mi.) As we reach Lake Van Norden on the left, watch for Castle Peak on the right, a mountain with a rock formation that looks like a castle on top. After Lake Van Norden is the Soda Springs Ski Resort on the left. About 12 miles west of here is where the Southern Pacific’s City of San Francisco streamliner, with 226 passengers aboard, got stuck for three days in a raging blizzard in 1952.
Emigrant Gap (2273 mi.) As we cross Interstate 80, look for a gap in the ridge on the California Trail as it crosses the Sierra Nevada, west of Donner Pass. The cliffs here are so steep that 1840’s pioneers crossing to California were said to have lowered their wagons on ropes in order to continue.
American River Canyon (2279 mi.) on the left side of the train is the valley of the North Folk of the American River, located 1,500 to 2,000 feet below track level.
Cape Horn (2298 mi.) is a rocky bluff on the left side of the train some 1,500 feet above the American River. The slope from here down to Colfax is the steepest on the Zephyr’s route. In this direction we’re going the easy way--downhill as we complete our crossing of the Sierras.
COLFAX (2301 mi.) was named for Schuyler Colfax, seventeenth Vice President of the United States under the Ulysses S. Grant administration between 1869 and 1873. A statue at the station showing a prospector panning for gold during the Gold Rush days of the 1850s is featured immediately off Main Street, a charming section of town that can be seen on the right.
Auburn (2319 mi.) This is the heart of “Gold Rush” country. Just south of town is Sutter’s Mill, where gold was discovered setting off an influx of fortune seeking “49ers” (not the football variety) in the mid-1800s. Claude Chana, a young Frenchman who had come by wagon train to California, is said to have panned for gold and made his discoveryon May 16, 1848, in what became known as the Auburn Ravine.
ROSEVILLE (2336 mi.) Settled by prospectors who had come to California looking for gold, the town was originally a stagecoach station but soon became a stop on the transcontinental railroad. In the 1900s the Southern Pacific opened a major switchyard here which turned Roseville into a rail town. Now part of the Union Pacific, we’ll pass those yards after we leave the station. Today the city features a diverse array of businesses, including one of the largest auto malls in the U.S. Like many California cities it actively encourages transportation alternatives to the automobile and now offers residents over 100 miles of bicycle routes to get around.
SACRAMENTO (2353 mi.) was first settled in 1839. The city grew significantly during the California Gold Rush, and in 1854 became California’s capital. Sacramento was the western terminus for the Pony Express, and was the starting point for eastbound construction to meet the westbound track of the first transcontinental railroad at Promontory Summit, Utah, in 1869. Sacramento State University is located here. The city is home to the Sacramento Kings of the National Basketball Association, and the Sacramento River Cats, a farm club of the American League’s Oakland Athletics and one of the most successful minor league baseball franchises.
