Welcome to the Wild Wild West!

Not all of our train chasing adventures are as crazy as the one before.  In fact, after the last trip, we were very concerned that this upcoming trip would have similar problems and we would find ourselves stranded somewhere.  It was the annual Denver Post Cheyenne Frontier Days Run and the whole crew was getting ready for this trip.  However, there were some issues to take care of before we could leave.

As stated in the previous blog the "D" was having issues when we tried to go to Alamosa.  As it turned out, the computer died a few days after that trip.  Although the part was ordered, it would not be be delivered until after this trip.  We didn't have a big enough car to hold 8 and we felt that if we went in separate cars, it would make it complicated in trying to navigate though all the traffic.  It was decided that we should rent a car big enough to hold all of us plus our gear.  I was certain we were going to end up with a bus, or worse, another van.  As it turned out, we were able to get a suburban.

The day we were supposed to pick up the car, they told us to come by at 2:15.  When we arrived the car was not there, and they would call us when it was ready.  You can imagine that we were getting a tad bit on the nervous side because if we didn't receive this car, we would have to be split up and we weren't sure of the outcome.  Thankfully the car arrived an hour later and we picked up our new ride.  I decided that we should be dubbed "suburbanites" for the rest of the weekend.  Catchy isn't it?  I have never been in a vehicle so large as this car.  I felt like we were driving a tank.  Not only did we fit all 8 of us in the car (the way way back was a little snug) but we hauled all of our gear comfortably (tripods, backpacks, clothes, cameras etc etc.)

My dad, Carrie and I were supposed to pick up Ed and Milissa, then swing by to get Josh & Reesa, and then finally my mom at work.  However, I had ordered a clamp that would secure my GoPro to the top of the car.  It was to be delivered the day were were to leave.  Unfortunately, the time came to leave and the clamp was still not here.  You can imagine my frustration, I had paid for faster shipping so that I would have it in time. We drove around the neighborhood hoping to find the truck but with no luck.  By now were were late and hadn't picked up anyone yet.  So my dad, Carrie and I drove into town and picked up Reesa and my mom from work.  Then we went and collected Milissa, Ed and Josh.  We were spending the night in Denver so we wouldn't have to get up at 4 in the morning to chase the train to Cheyenne.  We had plenty of time to get to Denver so I was able to swing by my house before we left.  Thankfully the clamp arrived and we started our journey.

We ate dinner in Colorado Springs and then found our hotel in Denver.  The train was leaving at 7am from downtown Denver, where it would take it's passengers to Cheyenne's Frontier Days.  This event has occurred every year since the late 1800s.  Now normally the Union Pacific 844 doesn't run often during the year.  This is one of the few events that you can count on every year.  People from all over the United States come to ride this train, or in our case, chase it.  It was another reason why we wanted to ride in the same car.  Normally the engine runs next to double lane roads, but the tracks it followed ran parallel to a two lane highway.  This isn't a horrible thing, because at least it is next to a road, but when there are hundreds of cars chasing this beautiful engine it makes for a challenging day.  Part of our crew has chased this train several years running, but it was my first time as well as Carrie's, my mom and dad.  They knew several places to stop to get great shots.  We were following their lead.  So bright and early, we roused the troops and filled our tanks up as we headed to our first stop.

It was a bridge that was on the outskirts of Denver next to a natural gas plant.  We had to scramble up the side of the bridge that was entirely concrete (for runoff and such).  We did not allow my father to scramble up the side of the hill because he has a history of being off balance (more on that story later).  Ed, Milissa, Josh, Carrie and I found spots on the top we liked, while Reesa was lower on the bridge videoing the train.  This is probably my favorite photo I have ever taken.  I couldn't have asked for a clearer sky or better spot.

I did not have problems going up the bridge, but I sure had problems going down.  I did not like that I had my camera hanging around my neck as I went down a very steep hill with only asphalt to greet me at the bottom.  So I went down on all fours like a crab.  Yup, I'm such a stunning gymnast! I ended up with little pebbles embedded in my hands that bruised my palms.  I didn't have much time to think about it because we raced to the car and we were off.  Unfortunately, we encountered a car accident and several lights that put us at the back of the pack pacing the train.  No big surprise, but the leader of the pack was none other than Yackass himself.  We expected to see him, but we were hoping that we would be lucky and he would be out of town.  Wrong.  He drove like a lunatic like normal, and passed cars on the wrong side of the road, blew through stop signs and almost collided with several cars head on.  Things were off to an exciting start.

We were not able to get ahead of the engine until after it's whistle stop in Greeley.  There were just so many people on the road, we couldn't get through the traffic.  I decided that we needed a motto: We are kind and courteous, now get the hell out of our way!  Everyone in the car agreed, but the other cars didn't seem to care.  The whistle stop in Greeley helped us get ahead and we were thankful.  Between the road construction and crazy people it was a miracle we made it.  Just outside of Greeley we stopped and set up for the second shot of the day.  While we all scrambled to find a spot without standing in each other's way, Josh decided to leap onto a concrete block, which he slipped on and ended up scraping his shin.  Don't worry, he wasn't bleeding like crazy, but he sure did hurt.  He was very lucky that we didn't witness this because we would have gotten proof and plastered it all over the net.  We settled into our spots and waited.  It was here that they decided to "highball" her which means let her fly down the tracks at 70+ mph.  She came screaming past us and at that speed I was lucky to get a few shots of before she was gone.  I hadn't seen her move like that in quite some time.  It was amazing and I was lucky enough to capture it on video (I put together a few of the clips I took during our trip, I am by no means a videographer.  I just like to play with the equipment, Josh and Reesa are the videographers.  If you want to see the real deal click this link: Notch Eight Production.)

Once again we were back on the road trying to chase her down.  We caught up to her and the people on the train had started to notice us.  I decided to try and have a conversation with a gentleman on board.  He was drinking a beer and tipped it to me.  I simply wanted to know where mine was.  He didn't have an answer.  We passed her and headed for our next stop, thankfully the traffic seemed to taper off for a few miles and we were able to make great time.  However, by the time we got to one of the other spots it was filling up fast.  I was not thrilled at how some of my photos came out at this particular location, but that was mainly bc I wasn't sure where I wanted to go and before I could decide the train was upon us.

Cheyenne was right after this stop and we knew that we were pretty much done chasing the train until it left later that night.  For those of you who don't know, Frontier days runs during the month of July in Cheyenne, where they have concerts and, most importantly, a rodeo.  The train runs the first weekend of the event and takes people from Denver to Cheyenne to watch the rodeo than back to Denver in the evening.  We now had several hours to kill and it was time to explore Cheyenne.

Upon arriving in Cheyenne we parked in a vacant lot just outside of the station.  We managed to get a few photos of the engine pulling in to the station, but there were several people standing there waiting and it was impossible to get a shot without someone else in it.  We started making our way to the Depot where my dad stepped in a hole and almost biffed it. Now normal people, when they slip, they don't make that much noise, but my dad tends to make lots of noise.  He happened to be in front of us and the concrete dipped a bit.  My dads one leg slid out from under him and he pitched forward.  He managed to save himself, but we saw the whole thing and we weren't gonna let him get away without teasing him a bit.  See, what you don't know is that my dad has a history of slipping and sliding all over the place.  In order for you to understand the humor in this, I am going to tell you a story.  

Several years ago, we were in Washington D.C. visiting some relatives of ours.  It was one of the last days in D.C. and we were trying to see as many sights as possible.  We went to this old torpedo factory that had been turned into a shopping complex.  I don't remember much about the factory, but I do remember what happened as we were leaving the factory.  My father was behind us as we climbed down some steps to reach the street.  Next thing I know, I hear this noise coming from behind me and as I turn to my right I see my father stretched out full length (like superman) flying past me.  He literally shot out of the factory like a torpedo.  He hit the cement at the bottom of the stairs and bounced a couple of inches barely missing hitting his head on the side of a truck parked on the street.  I think we were in shock for a couple of seconds, but we managed to get our bearings to help my father.  My dad sits himself up and grabs his chest and says "oh my chi chi."  I don't know about you but how are you supposed to keep a straight face when someone says that? I busted out laughing as the rest of the family helped him to his feet. Now this was quite some time ago when it was normal to carry rolls of film in your pocket; my father landed so hard on the ground that he flattened the roll of film.  He had a bruise on the side of his leg the size of a large grapefruit.  To this day we will not let him live this down.  Now you understand why he isn't allowed up steep cliffs or any uneven ground.

Back to Cheyenne, we had eaten early and were starting to get hungry.  We wandered downtown hauling our gear as we went.  The day started to heat up and it was approaching 90+.  We took shelter in a place called 2 Doors Down.  If you want an awesome burger this is the place to go.  You would be amazed at how many different types they had; plus unlimited fries.  It was fantastic!  Reesa, Josh and Carrie had shakes.  They were just as good.  I had the lucky job of removing whip cream from Carrie's and Reesa's shakes.  Apparently I'm a great vacuum, I wish I had recorded it.  It was one of my finer moments. ;)  Shamelessly some of us fell asleep at this establishment.  It was hot and we didn't have any place else to go.  We killed several hours there before we took off to visit the Governor's Mansion.  Although this place didn't have air conditioning and it was terribly hot, the history behind this place was amazing.  If you get a chance when you're in Cheyenne, I highly recommend it.  For more information in regards to it, click this link: Governor's Mansion

Shortly after our visit to the mansion we headed back to the Depot.  It was getting closer for the train to depart and we bummed around.  Some of the crew found ice cream and it helped cool our hot bodies.  There is a steam shop next to the Depot in Cheyenne where it houses it's other engine The Challenger.  This is a 4-6-6-4 engine.  I've never seen her in person and I'm dying to watch her run.  Every year they keep saying "next year", but the truth is it hasn't run since 2008.  I hope that one day I will get to see her run.  Anyways, Milissa thought she knew the way to the steam shop so we went out an "alarmed door" (don't worry it wasn't on at the moment) and we went into a restricted area.  Apparently, this wasn't the way to go and we back tracked it as fast as we could.  Funny enough, the door we came through was locked and we were trapped in the back of the depot.  There were several people sitting in the depot but they were afraid to open the "alarmed door" so we had to knock continuously until a "very pleasant" lady opened the door.  We tried to say thank you but she just glared and glared at us.  Oh well, can't win them all.

We headed back to the engine and took pictures of her before the crowds swarmed.  I should mention that for this trip we had shirts that said train chasers on the front and our logos and names on the back.  These were quite a hit and I can't tell you how many times we were stopped.  Apparently we made waves.  No one is ever going to forget us.

This photo up top you'll notice the red light.  Not many people get to see this light.  They were trying to signal us to get off the tracks.  They do not like people on their tracks.

Shortly after these shots, the 844 left Cheyenne and headed back to Denver.  We were lucky she left when she did for a huge storm grew on the horizon and the last thing we wanted was to get drenched (again). We planted ourselves on the previous bridge but were there early enough that we beat the crowds.  Chasing it back was just as crazy, but we hooked two cameras on the top of the suburban and caught footage as we paced the train.  I can't tell you how many people pointed to the cameras on the top of the roof.  Apparently, they had never seen this before.  As we made our way back to Denver, Reesa (notorious for falling asleep in the car) fell asleep in between two people.  This is not the smartest move because the entire car has camera upon camera.  We documented several photos of her sleeping, but because I am a nice person, I will not post them.  (Just remember that.)

She pulled into Denver just as the sun was going down, so we were able to capture some shots at dusk.  Unfortunately, there were tons of people swarming around so they weren't spectacular. By the time we were done, it was closing on 9pm and we still had to drive to Dillon. We were going to Leadville the next day to ride the train there.  What can I say? A whole weekend of trains!  We rode the train in Leadville and had a great afternoon.  That evening we had mouth watering barbecue at Rusty's in Colorado Springs.  Overall, the weekend was a success and it was nice not to have a million things go wrong.  Until next time! 

Train chasing day from hell...

When I write this story, I can say with absolute certainty that this is probably one of the most bizarre adventures that has ever happened to us.  To simplify it: you can't make this shit up.

Lets start out with an idea: my idea.  I wanted to go take photos of the Rio Grande Scenic Railroad in Alamosa, Colorado.  We hadn't been down since the first of the year in 2010.  I decided that we could all go together and just make a day trip out of it.  My parents struggled to get out of bed on Sunday and it put us behind by a few minutes.  We met Ed and Milissa at their house and got in the "D".  We had to pick up Josh and Reesa along the way.  They were running a few minutes behind as well.  Luckily they live at the south end of town and we got to the interstate quickly.  Ed's driving, Reesa's sleeping and the rest of us are making small talk.  Despite the late start, it's going to be a good day.

We're cruising along at 75+ mph when the "D"'s gauges just go down to zero.  The engine is still running and we're still moving, but the "D" isn't responding.  Of course everyone in the car freezes and all eyes are on Ed and the gauges.  He pulls off to the side of the interstate and turns the engine off.  He waits a few minutes, but the car won't turn over.  Now we're in a pickle.  There are seven of us crammed in the car, who could we call? Ed tries again and the "D" turns over.  We all breathe a sigh of relief as we pull back onto the interstate.  It seems to be running fine and we make our way towards Colorado City.  Then I had to open my big mouth: "At least it didn't happen to us when we were on the hill towards the exit at Colorado City." I don't think that sentence was out of my mouth before the gauges all went down to zero again.  We coasted to a stop and realized we weren't going to get any further south in this car.  We got the car started, exited, and headed back towards Pueblo.  Looks like we're going to have to ride in two separate cars.  The ride was pretty quiet heading back to Pueblo and my frustration was at an all time high.  This was the second time within weeks that something had gone wrong on a train chasing trip for me.  I wasn't mad at anyone in particular, but I really needed something to go right.  The "D" made it back to Pueblo without further incident, but by then we had used up an hour of our time to get to Alamosa.

Josh had an idea that maybe his grandmother would let us use her van, it conveniently seated seven people.  We pulled in the driveway and Josh bolted towards the door.  She said yes and we all piled out of the car and transferred our gear into the van.  Josh had forgotten his tripod when we left the first time and was able to get it when we came back.  We left the "D" in the driveway and got back on the road.  Me, Reesa and Milissa sat on the bench in the back, while my parents sat in the middle and Josh took the wheel and Ed assisted him.  Now, going back to a previous post, imagine a 26 year old driving a turquoise Dodge Chrysler Mini-van complete with stuffed frogs on the dashboard and a bright yellow smiley face air freshener.  For those of you who can't imagine here's a picture:

COMING SOON

We managed to make it past Colorado City and into Walsenburg where we were lucky enough to get stuck at a railroad crossing.  Imagine that, the one time we don't want to see a train we get stuck at a crossing.  Reesa fell asleep in between Milissa and I and her head just swayed back and forth.  It was pretty funny because at one time she swayed all the way onto Milissa's shoulder.  Because of our technical difficulty, we were not able to make it to Alamosa before the train left.  We decided to catch it in Blanca, CO and go on the hunt for a good spot.  There was more traffic than anticipated and we didn't have much time before the train caught up to us.  We decided on a dirt road and piled out.  I felt like we were a bunch of clowns climbing out of a clown car.  We prepared for the shot and Josh had to go to the bathroom (again).  He hides behind the van and as he so eloquently put it, "watch out for the lake by the left rear tire." Great huh? We prepare for the incoming train, film and snap the photos and we run back to the van.  Josh and I are first, and I just jumped in from the sliding back doors and we moved the car to pick up the rest of the crew.  It's time for the chase.

So here we are, flying down the dirt road back towards the highway.  Of course there is traffic and we have to wait.  Now normally back on the road we would floor it and get around the traffic.  But lucky us there's a state patrol behind us.  The train pulls ahead, can't we catch a break? We were supposed to beat it back to the outskirts of Fort Garland, but because of traffic and the threat of a ticket, we're out of luck.  We did beat it back to the "station" at Fort Garland and were able to snap a few photos before it came to a stop.  However, there were several people who were getting on at Fort Garland and decided it would be a good idea to stand close to the tracks and then cross in front of it while taking pictures.  Don't panic, no one was injured, the train had plenty of room to stop, but it made it increasingly hard to take photos of it without some lunatic in front of the train.  We hop back in the car and head for Forbes Park.  We weren't planning to stop before then, but we find a side road and decide to try it.  So we take the van on a washed out road with ruts.  Josh is driving slow and trying to ease us down the road but we still manage to scrape the bottom and the bushes next to the road, which made a screeching noise against the glass.  We still beat the train and managed to get a few shots.  Josh took the high road and I'm not really sure where Ed went, because he came out from the bushes as we scrambled back into the car.

By now the passengers are aware of us taking photos of the train and them, so they scream out and wave at each crossing.  We stopped at a few more crossings before the train went back into the mountains and left us.  There was a road that ran below the tracks back into the mountains, but we had to go back across La Veta Pass.  This wasn't really an issue, but the van doesn't stop too well so we had a lovely smell coming from the brakes as we made our way down the pass.  We managed to find the road and bumped along the mountain.  We were getting into really good territory now as we passed all the NO TRESPASSING signs that, ironically enough, had bullet holes throughout.  The one sign that sticks out the most was this one:

Doesn't this make you feel all fuzzy inside?

The road was pretty bumpy and we only had a few opportunities to shoot.  We tried to get back to La Veta before the train so that we could get some lunch without hitting the crowds from the train.  Since there was so many of us, we had to eat on the patio of the La Veta Inn.  There is nothing like walking through a restaurant past the tables and hearing the whispers about you "those are the people from the minivan!"  Yup that's right folks, we were famous!  Apparently we left our mark on the passengers that day.  It is here that a massive storm cell starts to move in.  The lightning was bright and the thunder was loud; we ate pretty fast.  The clouds were crazy and I swore they were swirling.  

We got back in the car and headed towards the end of town where we could catch the train as she left La Veta.  It started to sprinkle so most of the crew climbed back in the car.  Reesa and I were the only two that were hanging outside.  My back was starting to get drenched, but nothing prepared me for what happened next.  I forgot my gear to put over my camera to protect it from rain, so I used a grocery bag to house my very expensive camera.  (Not sure what I was thinking.)  The train blew it's whistle and Reesa, my dad and I all scrambled out of the van.  Then, as if the whistle triggered an avalanche, the skies opened up.  See for yourself:

  

My mom was yelling at us from the van to get our butts back there.  Reesa was wearing Josh's coat so she wasn't too drenched.  My father and I were dripping wet like we had just climbed out of the shower.  We weren't prepared for the rain and did not bring any type of jacket.  We try to fly down the road to catch up with the train, but the road has turned into a river.  Rocks, tree branches/stumps are floating in the middle of the road.  We don't stop and keep charging forward.  We missed a turn and back track towards the direction we need when a noise brings screams from everyone.  The windshield wipers have stopped in mid stroke.  Josh backs up out of another river and Ed asks him if he turned them off on purpose: "No."  This is when all hell breaks loose.  Josh starts ranting and raving at the windshield wipers and at mother nature.  It was so funny we all started to laugh.  But we faced a problem, the rain was still pouring and we couldn't see anything out of the front windshield.  

An idea occurred and I asked if we had any rope: "No."  So I had my big red neck moment.  I grabbed one of my shoe laces and we tied it to the windshield wiper.  It wasn't long enough so I used the other one.  Since Josh was driving, the person sitting behind him would be in charge of the blades.  This responsibility fell to my father.  Here we go down the road, my dad pulling the strings to make the blades slide across the windshield.  He looked like he was rowing a boat, which was fitting at the time.  The road had turned into a river and we weren't sure what we were driving on or if we would hit anything.  Yup, that's right, we're rednecks and we didn't let the rain stop us...that is for a few miles.  Then the wiper motor stopped completely.  It  made a horrible screeching sound and they refused to go down.  That was it.  We couldn't do anything else.  I got my shoelaces back and began putting myself back together.  The rain was relentless and we knew there was no way we were gonna make it back on this road.  We had to turn around.  Josh was pressed up against the steering wheel trying to see out and not hit any boulders.  (Ok so they weren't boulders, but they were big enough they could do some damage.) Ed was craning around trying to guide him if he got to close to the edge and we were all tense.  This was not how we planned the day to go.  We slowly made our way back when Josh hit the brakes.

"Oh my god! Is that an elk?" Josh hits the brakes and we come to a stop.  We all try and look out the window, but we can't see anything.  We have fogged up the windows and just our luck the defroster makes a shrill sound when you turn it on.  So it was best if we left it off.  So we're trying to figure out what Josh is seeing when he says, "Oh, it's a post."  Hence now we have Elk Posts.  We make it back to La Veta, although I don't know how we managed it.  At the gas station we try to get rain-x, but of course they don't have any.  It's decision time: head back to Pueblo or go to Alamosa.  When reviewing the radar, the storm that just hit La Veta was headed to Walsenburg and Pueblo; there was nothing storm wise towards Alamosa.  So we made the decision to go and catch the train one last time.  The storm was gone and La Veta Pass was just wet.  It seemed our troubles were over: that was until we got off the pass and deeper into the valley.  The clouds opened up again, we're on the highway and we can't see two feet in front of us.  Josh starts to scream and Ed guides him by saying left now right.  We turn the defroster on because we didn't have any other choice.  Luckily the rain doesn't last long and we're back to semi-blue skies.  We figured we had beat the train out of the mountains so we stopped at Forbes Park and tried to examine the problem with the windshield wipers.  Josh had on pink mechanic gloves, which I wish I would've gotten a picture of.  We weren't able to fix the wipers.  It was going to be an interesting night getting home.

(We were worried about what would happen if we didn't have any wipers for the rest of the night.  Ed said that if push came to shove, he would hang out the window and manually move them.  All I could think of was seeing this man with coke bottle goggles, and a trash bag over his head as he hung out the window.  Then I pictured all of us in the car sitting in the car with the goggles and trash bags to keep us from getting wet as we drove down the road.  Hey it was funny, and you can't put anything past us.)

The train was over an hour and a half late.  But we waited and were able to snap a few shots.  We were back on the chase and hoping we wouldn't run into anymore rain.  There were only a few more opportunities left for photos and Josh wanted to pace the train.  Reesa sat in the front and rolled down the window as we flew down the dirt road (slowing down for stop signs).  I wanted pictures but didn't have a window to roll down so I just opened the door.  Yup, you heard me right.  You might be a red neck if you use shoe laces as rope AND you hang out the side of a moving van while chasing a train.  The train is moving west and this lady is facing east.  We're coming up on the front of the engine and this lady is just staring out into the open plains.  I decide to wave and she gave me the funniest look.  Apparently, she had never seen a turquoise minivan with frogs pacing a train while a girl hung out to take photos.  I'm sure I'm famous in her inner circle of friends.           

We ended the day on a bridge just outside of the Alamosa station.  It was a beautiful bridge, but we had to cross it to get the front of the engine.  So once again Reesa, Milissa, my dad and I make our way across this really long bridge.  Reesa is afraid of heights, my dad can't swim, and here we are crossing this wooden bridge over the river.  The walkway on the side of the bridge was rotted and depending on the board you stepped on, your foot sunk.  Oh and I forgot to mention that the train is making it's way towards the bridge so we didn't have a lot of time to loligag.  Don't worry, no one was hurt and then we managed to get several photos before she slipped into the station.

I bet you're wondering when this day is ever gonna end.  Well soon my friends, soon.  We went to Walmart and purchased rope (why we chose camaflouge rope, I'll never know), rain-x, a knife and socks for me.  If you remember from a previous post, my feet got soaked from a trip before.  I now carry an extra pair of socks in my camera bag.  We also have decided to create more of a survival kit for the car (can't imagine why?)  We head back to Pueblo after dinner and all I can think about is how it would be just our luck that the headlights would go out.  I kept my mouth shut, I wasn't going to jinx us.  Luckily it didn't rain except for when we got back to Pueblo.  However, Ed used the rope to rig a system to move the wipers.  We are exhausted and dirty from a day of hell and Ed is manually using the rope to move the wipers as we drive down Pueblo Boulevard.  Yup, that's how we roll.

This event will go down in the history books for our crew.  Never in my life have I seen so many things go wrong at once.  Like I said before: you can't make this shit up.  You would think that we would have given up train chasing after that.  But heck, what's the fun in that? In fact, two weeks later we went up to Denver to chase another train, but that's a story you'll just have to wait for.