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Truckee Train Trip Day 3
Dec. 16th, 2024 02:15 pmThe hotel I'd picked in Emeryville seemed a short walk on google maps, but there is no easy way to cross the tracks on foot... unless you want to risk walking on an elevated highway and also crossing said highway, going onramp to offramp. To get to the hotel I did the pedestrian overpass with meant 4 staircases, while carrying my heavy rolly bag of train food. So, on my way out of town I got a Lyft to go a whole half mile.
This leg of train travel was going to be the shortest, just a few hours, and I pretty much camped out in the observation car.
The times I had the best lighting and views for a shot from the train, or of the train, I was using my cell phone because I was trying to get a few videos. I am a bit sad I didn't get better pictures, since there was potential for great shots, but I was also there to focus more on the experience so I didn't even have my gear with me the whole time. I did get a few decent videos, but the one I uploaded of Amtrak going through snowy curves is fine on my desktop, but is artifacting terribly in YT uploads. ( Some youtube babbble )
Going through Donner Pass the conductor, who hadn’t pointed out much on the trip, was suddenly pointing out Donner Pass, Donner Lake, Donner Creek, Donner Road, etc. He said it was named for the Donner Party, who had quite the party. I was chatting with a British couple and the husband asked me if it was the Donner family who discovered the area and that’s why everything was named for them. I was like “No, oh no… not even close. Uh…” I checked that they were okay with nearing a somewhat dark story and then told them about the rumored cannibalism.
Shortly after I got off the train, I was talking to a lady who was very insistent that the cannibalism was a myth, but who believes that Bigfoot is part of a race of pan-dimensional beings and then told me about her UFO encounters. Why did I wear my Cryptozoology Tracking Society Shirt? Anyway, yup, welcome to Northern Cali. I am slightly weirded out that my arrivals in both San Fran and Truckee had things happen like that... if I was writing a story and wanted an event to really establish to setting, this is what I might have written.
I then checked into my hotel, which was a Gravity Haus hotel. They are a chain that are meant to be ‘work from home away from home’ type places. The rooms have desks that comfy and set up for work, there is a co-working space and also the lobby doubles as a coffee shop so it’s very inviting to either work or read in there. Being old enough to remember when hotel lobbies were never meant to be actually used, no matter what the website or brochure pictures showed, I really like the trend of lobbies meant for actual use. Having the space double as a coffee shop really makes it clear that it's chill to actually be in front of the tree and the fire.
I did do work in my room, the lobby and the co-working space. I thoroughly used the space as intended. I'd picked the place in case weather had me stuck in the hotel, which might have happened if I'd been there a week earlier. Two solid weeks before my trip they had severe winter storms. Also, housekeeping is by request only, so if you’ve got your work gear in there or documents, no one else will be in your room except you unless you ask, which is a nice touch.
This leg of train travel was going to be the shortest, just a few hours, and I pretty much camped out in the observation car.
The times I had the best lighting and views for a shot from the train, or of the train, I was using my cell phone because I was trying to get a few videos. I am a bit sad I didn't get better pictures, since there was potential for great shots, but I was also there to focus more on the experience so I didn't even have my gear with me the whole time. I did get a few decent videos, but the one I uploaded of Amtrak going through snowy curves is fine on my desktop, but is artifacting terribly in YT uploads. ( Some youtube babbble )
Going through Donner Pass the conductor, who hadn’t pointed out much on the trip, was suddenly pointing out Donner Pass, Donner Lake, Donner Creek, Donner Road, etc. He said it was named for the Donner Party, who had quite the party. I was chatting with a British couple and the husband asked me if it was the Donner family who discovered the area and that’s why everything was named for them. I was like “No, oh no… not even close. Uh…” I checked that they were okay with nearing a somewhat dark story and then told them about the rumored cannibalism.
Shortly after I got off the train, I was talking to a lady who was very insistent that the cannibalism was a myth, but who believes that Bigfoot is part of a race of pan-dimensional beings and then told me about her UFO encounters. Why did I wear my Cryptozoology Tracking Society Shirt? Anyway, yup, welcome to Northern Cali. I am slightly weirded out that my arrivals in both San Fran and Truckee had things happen like that... if I was writing a story and wanted an event to really establish to setting, this is what I might have written.
I then checked into my hotel, which was a Gravity Haus hotel. They are a chain that are meant to be ‘work from home away from home’ type places. The rooms have desks that comfy and set up for work, there is a co-working space and also the lobby doubles as a coffee shop so it’s very inviting to either work or read in there. Being old enough to remember when hotel lobbies were never meant to be actually used, no matter what the website or brochure pictures showed, I really like the trend of lobbies meant for actual use. Having the space double as a coffee shop really makes it clear that it's chill to actually be in front of the tree and the fire.
I did do work in my room, the lobby and the co-working space. I thoroughly used the space as intended. I'd picked the place in case weather had me stuck in the hotel, which might have happened if I'd been there a week earlier. Two solid weeks before my trip they had severe winter storms. Also, housekeeping is by request only, so if you’ve got your work gear in there or documents, no one else will be in your room except you unless you ask, which is a nice touch.
