Central US goecaching trip via Amtrak
 

I'll start my trip report before I start my trip tonight.
I get on the Coast Starlight tonight after 8PM and arrive in Sacramento about 6:15AM tomorrow (sometimes early, rarely late). Late is defined as more than 30 minutes behind the scheduled time in Amtrak speak.
I'm planning on leaving my luggage at the SAC Amtrak station and hiking the 1.2 miles to the Fox & Goose for breakfast. Janisj or any other Fodorite is welcome to join me for a GTG.
I'll be back to the station by 11AM ready to board the California Zephyr. My ticket that I got on Amtrak Guest Rewards points is to Galesburg Il around noontime on Wednesday.
I'll have lunch either on the train or in Galesburg before picking up the rental car about 100 yards from the train station.
I am making a huge loop on my 7 day car rental. I am hoping to find geocaches in about 11 states that I have not already found 1 or more caches.
I am also hoping to log the oldest geocache still in existence in western Kansas.
Next Saturday I will be at a Mega Event near Jackson MO. There will be over 500 geocachers from all over the US and several other countries coming or this event.
Leaving the event I'm heading south into Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina into Tennessee.
From TN I go north through KY and Indiana and catch a couple geocaches in Niles Michigan before turning in the car in Galesburg and waiting for the Southwest Chief to Los Angeles. I spend a couple hours in LA before getting on the northbound Coast Starligjht all the way back to Chemult OR on Saturday 3/28 (morning).
I will try to fill you in on my progress when I have wifi at the end of each day from my hotels.

Got on the Coast Starlight last night 20 minutes late. We arrived in
Sacramento at 5:25 (50 minutes early). I hung around the station until 6:10.
I had a good walk down past the Capitol to the Fox & Goose (10th & R)
I had the "full Monty" breakfast with tea.
I came back by way of the Capitol grounds east of the Capitol building.
I still have about 1.5 hours until I get on the California Zephyr.

For lunch in Galesburg IL, I would walk up Seminary Street from the train station, towards Main Street, and less than one block, and on the same side of the street as the train station, have lunch at CHEZ WILLY's, or cross the street to the LANDMARK CAFE. Both serve a very nice lunch. Menus vary. Landmark has outstanding spinach bisque, quisches, salads, sandwiches. Chez Willy's menu is more unique, changing by the day, with usually a special pizza and sandwich as well as a fish dish. If you look at Chez Willy's web site (of the same name... google search is your friend) the menu is always posted. Outside seating is available at both, but we are going to have COLDER temps starting tomorrow. Today it is 76! Tomorrow and the next week or so, it's back to the 50s during the daytime. Chez Willy's closes after lunch around 1:30-2:00. Landmark is open all afternoon, evening. If the train is running late, as it often is, then Landmark would be your best bet.

Another dining option would be the PACKING HOUSE, which is directly across the street from the car rental place, so also very close (the closest to the train station). The burgers are supposedly very good. The restaurant is in an old packing house, thus the name (and decor inside). I believe they also close after lunch, but not sure at what time.

Your trip sounds interesting.

I will be following along because I want to hear your review of the Southwest Chief, and because I haven't been on any of the train routes you are taking, but would like to someday.

I'll be doing the Southwest Chief and the Texas Eagle next March, hopefully on my guest rewards points!

I admit I had to google geocaching and I still don't have a clue what it is.

Curious to know if you had lunch on the train or along Seminary St in Galesburg.

Got off the CZ with my lunch to go from Amtrak (free)).
We got off at 12:05PM about 24 minutes late.
I found a cache in Dubuque IA before going accross into Wisconsin for a couple of caches. I spent the night in Austin MN where I found a couple.
Today I'm at the Firestone dealer in Lincoln NE for an oil change because Enterprise rented me a car that needed a change.
I', heading west to find Mingo in western Kansas which is the oldest existing geocache.

Most interesting. Following both to catch your train journey and the geocaching. I have a distant coworker/friend who is into geocaching. Do you add items? If so, what?

Fun trip

Please update us on any particularly interesting caches. I'm not hardcore, but have used geocache-ing as a way to add some additional interest to locations that we visit.

My two more interesting caches were in Bruges, where I basically stumbled upon one (not actively looking), and near Great Bend, Kansas, where we looked, but never found, a cache in a park where the only other occupant was a thong-wearing gentleman sunning himself in the back of a truck. (Unbeknownst to us, the park was a place that perhaps George Michael would have visited, had he been traveling through the midwest).

It's been a very busy week for me - mostly geocaching.
After leaving Firestone in Lincoln NE, I went a long way out of my way to find Mingo which is near Colby in western Kansas.
I signed the logbook of the oldest geocache (May 2000) at 10PM. On Friday I found a cache in Miami Oklahoma on the way to Ste. Geneveve MO.
Saturday morning I signed in at the Mega Event in Jackson MO.
I arrived a little late for the individual competition at Trail of Tears State Park. I did have fun taking a walk in an Oak-Hickory forest that was a lot like where I worked in PA.
The event ended with an awards ceremony with over 500 geocachers in attedance.
I headed south to Osceola Arkansas. On Sunday morning I found an Arkansas cache inside possibly the biggest Eastern Cottonwood in AR.
The next stop was in Oak Grove Louisiana for 2 caches. I really liked the one at the historic Fiske theatre.
I found a cache just off I-20 for my MS cache.
Sunday night I spent the night in Tuscaloosa AL.
Monday morning I foundan Alabama cache.
Heading east I found a cache in western Georgia that was in a 5 gallon bucket. I also found one in eastern GA that was a pill bottle with a magnet in the cap. It was stuck to the back of an electrical box.
My South Carolina caches were virtuals which are statues in Greenville. The first was of V. McBee who was a founding father and the other was of Joel Poinsett who was ambassador to Mexico when he mad the Poinsettia popular in the US.
My North Carolina cache was just off the Interstate.
I used the free wifi at McDonalds to search for a nearby cache. The one I came up with was "A cowboy hat, a Seashell and a Bug Yellow M. I was in the big yellow M and next door was an Arby's with a Shell gad station attached.
It took me less than a minute to find that one.
Yesterday I drove without caching across TN, KY a corner of OH and all the way north through Indiana. (all states that I have found caches before).
I'm leaving in a few minutes from Mishawaka IN and finding a cache or 2 in Niles MI.
I turn in the rental car in Galesburg this afternoon. (It needs another oil change).
At 5:30 CT I get on the Southwest Chief to Los Angeles.
I'll try to fill you in from the lounge at Los Angeles Union station on Friday morning. I'll be back home in Oregon on Saturday morning.

Wow--what a trip! I got dizzy just reading everything you did and everywhere you went! Thanks for the update--wave hi as you pass through Kansas City tonight! :)

Did you get to try any of my Galesburg restaurant suggestions on your way through? Hello from Lucerne Switzerland.

Dropped off the car about 1:15 at Enterprise. They wanted to charge me $9.95 for being after 1PM. They dropped that stance after I told them about the 2+ hours I wasted in Lincoln NE geting the oil changed.
I had a cherry tart at Bill's bakery. I used the wifi to get a cache page nearby on Main St. I went and found the cache and logged it. I'm up at the station now. The SW Chief is expected about 3 minutes late today.
The car that I drove 4231 miles in 7 days is going to be sold soon by Enterprise (2015 Chevy Equinox AWD with nice Michelin tires).

Sounds like a successful trip. Have you found a cache in all 50 states?

Thanks for the report.

We arrived in LA on the Southwest Chief 1:05 late 9:15AM PT.
I am now sitting on the Coast Starlight in the Pacific Parlor car which is the only car on the train with wifi (at least to SLO).
After finding a cache in Michigan my state cache find count stands at 42.
Tonight's movie feature downstairs is "Godzilla". I think I'll pass on that one. I'll be getting back to Chemult OR about 9:32AM tomorrow.
I'll give a more complete report once I'm home on my PC.

The Coast Starlight pulled into Klamath Falls 45 minutes early this morning as I sat down in the dining car. For a change I had a nice omlette and a bowl of grits and got to eat it while we were sitting at the K-Falls station. We pulled out exactly on time and arrived at Chemult at 9:29. After I stepped off the sleeper car, the train pulled forward to let off others that were in coach.
The train was out of there at 9:33AM.
I'm happy to answer any questions about train travel or geocaching.

spcfa, how are the plans coming for your Amtrak trip?
I'm happy to answer any of your questions about the Southwest Chief.

What a creative trip idea. I usually don't read trip reports but this one is different. Thanks for sharing the experience.