Roseville to Sparks

I rode to Sparks last weekend a week later than originally planned. I ditched out of work Friday mid-afternoon and got to Roseville about 4:00. Spoke with a carknocker who said there was a grain train down at the Rock Pile tracks in Antelope that was going East, but had no idea of when it was leaving. I decided that making the walk down to Antelope was something I was not too keen on, so I hoofed it on down to the tire shop and waited... and waited.

At about 8:00 I saw the Bull come bouncing through the yard, so I moved out to the street until he had made his rounds. At 10:45 the grain train that I had been waiting for came through and as luck would have it I grabbed the dirtiest hopper in the world, spending the first part of my trip cleaning house.

The ride itself though was great, and even though I was a little tired the scenery even at night is something else. We sat at Norden for what seemed like an eternity and I'm not sure why because we had enough power.

I got into Sparks at about 5:30 early Saturday morning and made quick to the Nugget, where I thought they were going to ban me from the breakfast buffet for eating to much. I got a room at 10:00 and slept for quite a while, woke up, gambled $5 in nickels and headed back to the yard.

At 7:45 I found an empty gondola on a Roseville train and climbed aboard. I do so like the gondola. We pulled out of Sparks at around 8:30 and got into Roseville early Sunday morning. I slept the whole way, in fact I overslept and ended up in Antelope (what a hike). That is the beauty of the gondola, the only people who can see you have to either be in the tower or about 30 feet tall.

Anyhow I got my train fix. My next trip will be to Klamath sometime in April. Actually if I can persuade the powers that be to give me a week off then I was thinking of going to Albina then to Pocatello and back to Roseville.