Milwaukee Road 261 Fall Colors: Saturday
Saturday morning we were up pretty early. We wanted to get over to the railyard by 7:30 to pick up our Chaser Passes. We got directed where to park and then our English and Maine friends pulled up right next to us. Nice. We waited a bit but finally got our passes which included information on where the train would be heading and which passes would be good for catching it. We sat and studied it as people lined up to get on the train. Yes, you COULD ride the train, but tickets went anywhere from $70 or so, up to $2,000! We were happier chasing it.
We watched her back up to switch onto a different track to head west. She was running on tracks that hadn’t seen passenger service since the 60’s. We watched her take off and then headed to the next stop. She’d already been through---we could see our friends leaving so we followed them, heading to the next stop. Our friend from Maine could be a racecar driver. We hurtled through Minneapolis neighborhoods as if on a rally until we both realized we were lost. We quickly pulled out our phones to figure out directions and managed to get to the next stop before she came through. We parked the car and I heard the whistle blow and I kid you not….I RAN. Yes, me. I was shocked myself. We just barely managed to see her fly by and get some pictures. We raced back to the car and headed to the next stop, and then the next, and the next and so on. We finally got a chance to stop and get gas and go to the bathroom while the train stopped for boxed lunches and to attach the diesel that would pull it back to Minneapolis, as there was no way for it to turn around.
Forgive my shakiness on the video below...but I love the grain elevators.
It was a little more leisurely on the way back. She looked a bit sad being pulled by the diesel. We stopped periodically though and Leo got both video and stills of it all. We went back to the railyard and waited for her return so Leo could get some more footage. At that point we were starving and tired. It was somewhere after 6:30 I think.
I chose a spot to get a Jucy Lucy (or Juice Lucy…there seems to be a question) which seems to be a Minneapolis thing…it’s a cheese stuffed burger. I went with Tin Cup’s because the sign looked good and it was a hell of a lot closer than the two places that claim to have invented it. I read the description to the guys as we went, explaining that it said it used to be a dive bar but had been revitalized or something like that. It was attached to a liquor store and Ernie and Leo seemed a bit questioning about the crowded parking lot. We went in and Ernie leaned over to Leo and said, “Remember, it USED be a dive bar,” and smirked. I told him to be quiet. We forged ahead and I found it quite delightful. Leo liked the fries and I liked my bunless Lucy. The wine was cheap but plentiful and cold and we laughed and talked about the day. After dinner I made them drive me to Candyland as it had been recommended and had cheese popcorn and I figured we could get a treat for Owen. We couldn’t find a place to park so Ernie circled while Leo and I went in. The scent of sugary candy was somewhat overwhelming and I gotta say, the cheese popcorn was fine, but no match for Garrett’s. We got a treat to take back to Owen though and then trundled back to our room and collapsed. We were tired but incredibly happy.
THAT was a good day.