I woke up in Dodge City where the temperature is -8F. Went for breakfast and got paired with a delightful woman who is riding the rails. I learned a lot from her experiences.

We stopped in La Junta CO to change crews. I got out to stretch in -3F. It really wasn’t that bad. Albuquerque is 5 stops away. It’s supposed to be 57F when we arrive. This is train 3, Southwest Chief.

First casualty of the cold. The trains pipes are frozen, so lunch has been changed to pizza. Too bad, the menu looked very good. I wonder what it is about pizza that you can serve it with frozen pipes?

We stopped in Raton, NM for a stretch break. it’s 24F and flurrying. A heat wave. Pizza in 25 minutes.

The pizza was not good. Looked like a dried out 7-Eleven product. The good news is it’s warming up.

We seem to be on a delay. The train slows down, accelerates a little, then slows again, the net effect is we’re going to reach Albuquerque a couple hours late. No word from the Amtrak people on what is going on. I’m getting hungry and cranky. The country side is really beautiful.

Ok, the train trip from hell finally ended. I got in at 5:00, hungry and tired. The hotel is really nice. I got a burger and Amy going to sleep. I already know my train tomorrow is 3 hours late and I got a 2 hour window when I get into Los Angeles to catch my train north. Do the math, it’s going g to be interesting. I checked with Pam, the attendant on today’s train and I have a plan.