21 January 2008

I tried to drop off to sleep with only minimal success. Occasionally I went into the observation car to look out. By about two I was fully awake and so were the others who should have been off into Tucson (well before now). They were Larelea, Ron and LaVonne and a student studying at the University in Tucson. We talked and bemoaned the fact that the train was late. With my GPS, it showed that the train was travelling at speeds up to 80 miles per hour, so they were trying to make time up. I also spoke with a software engineer working in hospital systems. We discussed health systems and pros and cons of different systems. Eventually we all tired of this and I was back to my seat by 3. We arrived in Tucson about 4 and I went out for a walk in the cool fresh air. I chatted with a conductor who worked on an “on-call” basis and his father and grandfather were both railway men (his father still was). Another (head) conductor was Spanish. Tucson station was impressive in size and appearance, but looked little utilised. Larelea was still inside, as her family were not there. She had to ring them (not surprising, as the train was now two hours late).
Back on the train I tried to drop off to sleep again, but couldn’t. Even looking at the scenery (much sparse vegetation with white patches, presumably sand, between) didn’t help. As we approached the Mexican border, many lights appeared. At some points we were less than a mile away. Vehicles and headlights appeared intermittently, bringing thoughts of illegal border crossings. Eventually I got up and had breakfast – it is served from 6:30. The first difference was being asked if I wanted coffee (tea is an afterthought, and you are asked if you want it hot?). I ordered scrambled eggs and biscuit, then found out that a biscuit is what we call a scone – in a slightly savoury form. The scrambled eggs came with a form of shredded potato and was okay. Another person came in for breakfast and sat opposite. He was originally from Trinidad & Tobago, now lives in California and had retired from being a corrections officer. He had a go at being a substitute teacher and had a degree in statistics, but was looking to go back to work as a corrections officer. His daughter was very good at calculus, so we discussed that, education and religion. When we finished, I was speaking to another pair opposite. The man was from California but had spent a lot of time in Washington. He had also travelled extensively by train and related tales of being gassed and robbed on trains in Europe, having trouble with officials on the TransSiberian and of safety in the US. The woman was from New York and extolled the virtues of visiting New York. Both rated Chicago highly. The other significant point was to take the Californian Zephyr.
Then it was back to watching the scenery. At points we passed very close to the Mexican border and there were many poor, usually temporary-looking settlements. The best reminded me of communities in central Australia – the worst were plies of pallets covered over with tarpaulins. We arrived at El Paso about 10:20. I looked out and saw a fairly modern city, whereas I was expecting Marty Robbins to be riding over the hills pursued by a posse. I did see an advertisement asking for plasma donors on the side of a local bus. After El Paso, the land varied between irrigated cultivated land (for produce – market gardens?), orchards (but no-one could tell me what grew) and desert land. For the rest of the day the land was desert, with the occasional town – very poor – and the occasional home. The topography varied from flat, to undulating, to hilly, with coverage of vegetation from complete to sparse, but never non-existent.
I had the opportunity to chat to a German tourist – travelling the US mainly by train. Most of the time was spent talking with a “carny”, who was travelling into Texas to pick up his daughter. He was interested in Australia, wanting to travel there one day, and also was interested in the country were went through. The conversation covered many diverse topics, including 9/11, modifying cars, driving, fuel prices, education, George Bush (who seems to have polarised Americans so much that they are vehement either in support or opposition to anyone who will listen), “the ugly American” tourist abroad, expressions, jokes and food. A young lady from Louisiana joined in, and between her deep southern drawl and his tighter west coast accent, it was sometimes hard to understand all the words and expressions used. During the afternoon I had a late lunch. I had decided that travelling, a good breakfast and a medium late lunch would be sufficient food, as I’m not doing much. Lunch has and will consist of a sub ham and cheese sandwich. I see no need of an evening meal at the moment.
As it got dark, we wound up our conversations and went our different ways. Overnight the train was to split, with the back half going to form the Texas Eagle and ultimately going though to Chicago. The other half went on as the Sunset Limited to New Orleans. The divorce happened at San Antonio TX, and was scheduled for the early morning. We went straight on, but the Texas Eagle waited until 7 to leave. My temporary friends were due for a smooth sleeping night. I, on the other hand, decided that a little aid would not go astray and, after settling in as comfortably as one can in a coach-class seat, took a little something to help me. At 6 p.m. I saw the scenery go, and that was it for the night. The curtain fell on my second day in the US and my third day of travel.