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!
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