The train life is interesting to say the least. People are friendly, sometimes too friendly, but the gentle rhythm of the cars rocking along the track and the quiet conversations of people intermingling has a peace to it. Sometimes a stranger will enter the lounge car that is fitted with comfy booths, outward facing lounge chairs, & unobstructed view of the land speeding by only to find that the car is quite full. I find it interesting that somehow in the station people avoid sitting next to people unknown to them but once on the train the entire dynamic changes and people from stops all across the Midwest are suddenly sitting next to strangers. Some sit silently entertaining themselves on their respective side of the booth and others I over hear connecting. One man and his daughter traveling to Albuquerque sit in the cluster adjacent to me and another man in his 20s sit next to them, they discuss some history about the Kansas farms that pass by and entertain themselves by Google-ing each small town that passes by. One of which was in famous movie. Others couldn't even be found online. This evening I made dinner reservations for the dining car where oddly you sit at a booth for 4 with whoever the server assigns you. It's almost like making new friends at the school lunch tables. I was seated with a man traveling to Taos that knew all about Philmont Scout Ranch, as it seems everyone within a hundred miles from the ranch does. He suggested that I try to make it to a place called Angle Fire to the southwest of the ranch. The other two seats were filled by a couple traveling to see their daughter further along the trains route. The dinner menu was actually similar to many restaurants, I ordered steak cooked medium rare and served with mashed potatoes and mixed vegetables. I didn't expect restaurant quality food though but to my surprise found myself enjoying a perfectly cooked steak while the train traveled down the banks of the Mississippi River.
