Back to the tracks

I haven't been getting out to shoot trains a whole lot lately -- just once or twice a month. Here are some highlights from the past few months.

BNSF empty coal at Herman, TX - BNSF Wichita Falls Sub

Gensets on the 110 job - Saginaw, TX - July 2009

Brookville Genset in Roanoke, TX - July 2009

UP westbound at Judd (between Weatherford and Ranger, one of my favorite spots on the UP Baird Sub.) August 2009.

Sunset meet - Judd, TX. August 2009.

The "Pig Dance": KCS and BNSF trains exchange UPS trailers. Metro, TX. August 2009.

Out after dark: Ferromex 4662 at 17th Street in Fort Worth.

Behind the power... still flickin' freights. SP auto parts boxcar in Fort Worth.

Benching the storage tracks in Roanoke... M flicks a Whistle Blower.

That's all for now... stay tuned for photos from Anime Fest in Dallas.

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np: Baboon - "You and I"

Goin' wild in the Arbuckles

After a good night's sleep, we headed to Arbuckle Wilderness on Monday morning. Located near Davis, Arbuckle Wilderness is an exotic animal theme park, the highlight of which is a 7-mile drive-thru portion where visitors can see some of the animals up close and actually feed them from their vehicles.

This giraffe had to bend WAAAY down to reach the food in M's hand...

Most of the animals were gentle and tame, but the camels were very aggressive (and dirty!) and so were the ostriches. They would actually snatch your food cup away if you let them.

Not something I see everyday in my truck... L keeps her distance from the hungry ostrich.

Awwww... that's better.

Not a sable... not a gazelle... what the heck WAS this thing?

More animals...

We really enjoyed the drive-thru portion of our visit... it was cool to interact with so many animals. But wait! There's more...

Mandatory "photo op" at the visitors' center

MV and L take a spin on the go-karts...

We headed back to Davis for lunch and then returned to Turner Falls. The Monday crowd was much smaller than Sunday's, and we had an enjoyable time. If your schedule is flexible, I'd highly recommend visiting on a weekday instead of the weekend.

It's a long way down... should I do it?

The girls put on a tandem jumping demonstration

In all, it was a really nice weekend getaway. The drive was shorter than going to New Braunfels. We liked it enough that we'd probably return in a year or two.

Coming next... back to the tracks... and check back in a week or so for photos from Anime Fest.

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np: Slaid Cleaves - "Below"

beating the August heat

What's the best way to cool off from a Texas heat wave? Sometimes you gotta leave the state...

In early August, the kids and I took a weekend trip to Turner Falls, Oklahoma. We had hoped to make another trip down to New Braunfels for some tubing on the Comal River, but that part of the state had been suffering a bad drought, and we were afraid the water levels would be too low. So what was our "Plan B"? How about Turner Falls Park, located less than two hours north on I-35 (about 2 hours closer than New Braunfels) in Oklahoma's Arbuckle Mountains? Spring-fed Honey Creek cascades down 77 feet of rocky cliffs into a large natural swimming pool. A second pool, located half a mile downstream, features a diving board and slide. The cool, clear water was a perfect place to escape from the "dog days" temperatures of north Texas.

L's friend MV joined us for the trip... we left Fort Worth around noon, stopped for lunch in Gainesville, and were enjoying T-Falls by mid afternoon. The Sunday crowd was quite large and it took us a while to even find a place to park. The girls went off on their own, so M and I explored the various pools and hiking trails. We'd catch up with the girls again later.

MV and L enjoying Turner Falls

M cruises down the Turner Falls slide

I had been to Turner Falls once before, about 16 years ago, with K. I remembered the hiking trail and caves more than anything else. It's always cool to return someplace I last visited years ago --this time with the kids-- to share the experience with them.

Caving with the M, L, and MV... fun times!

M comes from the water

The next morning, we visited the Arbuckle Wilderness (a drive-thru wildlife park) and returned to Turner Falls in the afternoon. Stay tuned for more...

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np: NFL Prime Time (week 1 re-cap) on ESPN

Summer re-cap (lightning round)

Following my Chicago trip with M, my summer was pretty low-key. M and L each took separate trips with Mom (M to Palo Duro Canyon and L to Japan), but I didn't do much traveling. That didn't stop me from falling behind on the blog, though... so here's a "lightning round" re-cap of the past few months...

Hangin' with Sprocket (Mom's dog) on Father's Day

L at the Ft. Worth Cats game - July 5

Railroading with M

(belated) Fourth of July fireworks at Miss C's

Cycling along the Trinity River

M is really getting this bicycling thing down...

Miss C joined me for a Gourds show at the Longhorn in the Fort Worth Stockyards. It was just a few days after Michael Jackson died; the band paid its respects by throwing down a rippin' version of "Don't Stop Til You Get Enough" (with Kevin singing in Michael Jackson falsetto). Classic Gourds... always a good time.

Kev and the boys get rowdy at the Longhorn

The Gourds - Max, Kev, Jimmy - at the Longhorn (FW Stockyards).

My cousin Marc's wife gave birth to their son a few months ago. We attended his baptism in July. It's good to see that they're raising him proper... (see below)

Promoting the work of Johnny Cash at age 0... way to go, kid.

In early August, the kids joined me for a quick weekend trip to Turner Falls, Oklahoma. Stay tuned for photos... coming soon.

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np: Elvis Costello - "Radio, radio"

Chicago Finis

More from June 14: after the Cubs game, we shot a few photos of the Amtrak servicing facility on the south side of downtown, and then stopped for dinner in Berwyn on our way back to Matt's.

Amtrak locomotives - Chicago - June 14

Dad, can we bring this home?

Sunday evening Metra - Berwyn

Monday, June 15: What's a trip to Chicago without a visit to the Sears Tower? (OK, so it's called Willis Tower now... whatever.) Unfortunately, M had gotten sick during the night... we suspected it was a case of food poisoning from the hot dog he'd eaten at Wrigley Field the day before. So he wasn't feeling well, but we made our Sears pilgrimage nonetheless. We caught a Metra train at the Route 59 station near Matt's apartment and rode downtown.

Cheers to the Sears Tower, jeers to Wrigley Field hot dogs...

I remember visiting the Sears on a summer day in 1999 when all we could see was haze. We were more fortunate this time. It was a clear day -- and not too warm or too humid -- so we had a great view.

Looking northeast

Looking northwest

M discovers that the Sears Tower observation deck isn't the best place to sleep off a Wrigley hangover...



Back on the ground, we grabbed some lunch -- Chicago style pizza -- at a nearby pizzeria. M felt better after having some saltines and some cucumber slices. Next, it was back to Chicago Union Station so Matt could head to work, and so M and I could catch a train back to Matt's apartment to get our rental car and drive to the airport.

Chicago River barge

Matt at work (well, almost... his Amtrak train was waiting somewhere outside)

That's about it... we made it to the airport about two hours before our flight's scheduled departure (and about 3 and a half hours before it ACTUALLY left...) It was an enjoyable trip, with generally good weather, we saw two ball games, traveled through parts of four states, saw lots of cool scenery, visited with family and friends, and saw and photographed a BUNCH of trains (and even rode a few). Hopefully we'll return to Chi-town sooner rather than later...

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np: Waylon Jennings - "Honky tonk heroes"

Sunday afternoon in Wrigleyville

Sunday, June 14. We had tickets for the Cubs-Twins game on Sunday afternoon. This would be my first visit to the "Friendly Confines" since 1991. Sure, Wrigley may be a bit run-down and a challenge to get to, but it's still a great place to see a game.

Home of the Cubs, bay-beeeeee!

We decided to park in a pay parking lot downtown and ride a CTA train out to the game... probably a wise choice considering the horror stories I've read about trying to park within a 5-mile radius of Wrigley during a ball game. Before the game, we met up with Matt's friend Erik at Harry Caray's sports bar. I'm not sure it was even noon yet (and on a Sunday, no less!) but the beer was flowing freely.

Matt, Erik, Whiskey.

M was ready for some baseball.

We could feel the energy just being part of the crowd on Addison Street. This season may end up being a disappointment like all the rest, but there was optimism and excitement in the air. "The Cubs are going to win TODAY"...

Addison St Cubs crowd

first pitch: full stands and full rooftops. Oh, did I mention it was sunny and in the 70s... a GREAT day for a ballgame? Too bad our seats were in the shade... oh well, we had a good view, anyway.

Ted Lilly turned in a quality start, allowing just 2 runs in 7 2/3 innings.

Cubs win! Ryan Theriot batted in the winning run with a bases-loaded single in the bottom of the 9th. Final score..... Cubs 3, Twins 2.

Wrigley Field bleachers and scoreboard.

After the game, we waited in a long line to board a CTA train back to downtown. Then we shot some photos of Amtrak and Metra trains, and headed to Berwyn to meet a friend for dinner. Our vacation was almost over...

Riding the CTA after the Cubs game.

Coming next: a few more trains, a sick kid, and a visit to the Sears Tower. Stay tuned...

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np: the Toadies - "Tyler"

Cloudy Indiana, sunny Chicago

Saturday, June 13: We left Kendallville around mid-morning and drove west toward Chicago, making a few stops along the way. We had cloudy skies and scattered light rain, but we expected the weather to improve by the time we reached Chicago.

NS 8933 eastbound on the NS Chicago Line near Wawaka, IN.

BNSF locomotives power an eastbound CSX train at Nappanee.

Nappanee has a significant Amish population. Here, a horse-drawn buggy is seen crossing the former Baltimore & Ohio main line.

Diamonds and tower at Walkerton, IN

After lunch at a Greek restaurant in Valparaiso, we headed to Chicago to meet up with our friends Matt and Brian near the downtown area. The sun came out, and we enjoyed a nice afternoon of photography.

"Engineer Matt" on the Roosevelt Rd overpass, just south of Chicago Union Station

Amtrak train # 3, the Southwest Chief, departs downtown Chicago to begin its long westbound trip to Los Angeles.

Like a scene from The Blues Brothers... we enjoyed a short drive underneath the CTA elevated line through downtown.

Canal Street foam crew: Matt, M, Whiskey

A recently reactivated Metra F40C leads a commuter train departing downtown on the Milwaukee line at Canal Street.

After dinner, we headed to Matt's apartment near Aurora, where we'd be staying for the next two nights.

Coming next: Sunday afternoon at the Cubs game. Stay tuned...

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np: "Bad Radio" from Dallas Cowboys training camp - on KTCK 1310 AM "the Ticket"