It has been so long since I have created a new travel blog that I had trouble logging in to my website to start creating this travelogue to document our recent trip over New Years 2021.

In 2009 we spent New Years Eve in Yellowstone National Park. It was such a magical trip that when I saw an advertisement for a trip that would spend New Years at the Grand Canyon followed by three days at the Bellagio in Las Vegas, even Yvonne was excited about taking such a trip! The trip was put together by a new company (to me) called Uncommon Journeys (www.uncommonjourneys.com) which specializes in somewhat unique trips that includes trains as part of their itinerary. That made the trip even more appealing because we have said we would like to try some train trips in our travels.

The trip originated in Los Angeles where one would catch an overnight Amtrak train to Winslow, Arizona. An alternative option was taking an Amtrak train from Chicago to the Winslow meeting point. As it turned out one of the couples actually did that. We flew from Seattle to LA where we transferred to the LA Union Station to catch the 6 PM train departure. I had a bit of concern regarding air travel delays but it all worked out without any hassles.

Since travel to Winslow was 12 hours in duration there was no question we would not be sitting up in coach seats for the trip. I opted to pay the (huge) premium for a bedroom that included an ensuite bathroom so we would not have to “go down the hall” to use the facilities. Alas, travel on Amtrak still remains pretty archaic. Once the beds were made up (lower & upper) it was almost impossible to move about. Thankfully by the time we finished dinner (so-so, but it was included along with one drink in our fare) it was time to retire so we managed to squeeze by each other and find our sleeping positions. The train was surprisingly rocky but it did not deter me sleeping through the night.

I was somewhat concerned about getting up in time to get off the train in the dark at 6AM in a small Arizona town with a different time zone,  but a $20 tip to our bedroom attendant earned us a personalized wake up call 1 hour before arrival. She even walked us to the proper door for getting off, but you are on your own for handling luggage.

Note to self:  no more overnight train rides on Amtrak! Cheaper and much more comfortable to simply fly.