Family Trackings

About the Book

“Are we really going to do this?” My daughter, Rebecca, questioned our dream trip to California on the AMTRAK train to see Jeremy, our oldest son, in the Air Force.

It was to be a family time for my wife, Molly, and our two youngest children of four, Eben (16), and Rebecca (14), to experience America.

Trains once dominated our lands carrying more than mail and freight. We see the old movies bring home soldiers, college students, and visiting family members.

In the annual Christmas movie, “It´s A Wonderful Life,” George Bailey, played by actor Jimmy Stewart, said the most exciting sounds were “...anchor chains, plane motors, and train whistles.”

The summer of 96, my family followed one of those noises, a trip across America. It was more than a noise for me, it was a lifelong dream fulfilling a passion to travel and see America by train.

Our journey begun at Prince, West Virginia. We were high on energy as we headed north-west to Chicago absorbing every aspect of the train, captivated by the scenes on West Virginia’s New River and attentive to passengers´ conversations. Flag-stops, historic small towns, rivers and mountains charged our emotions as the discovery deepen.

On the train you see all the “backyards of America.” A big wide country of neighbor-hoods and businesses. I begin to understand more about our country and its geography passing Milwaukee, giving way to lakes, farm lands and Wisconsin’s dairy communities. I could not comprehend riding through this country on wagon or a stagecoach. I appreciated the pioneer and fur trappers even more with the adventurous spirit of going west, crossing rivers where there were no bridges, and enduring all kinds of weather and unknowns.

America is a big place full of history, places, and people. Towns, villages, and cities huddle up to its tracks and something of life is told in each place. The train is like a moving television, a moving rocking chair reliving these moments of America’s past as we chug through. You learn Roger Maris was born here, Cather wrote books there, or Chief Joseph was captured on that mountain. You get to follow and cross famous rivers, go through eye-catching canyons, and follow the old west wagon trail. You see small town America and big city skyscrapers. We spent time in Chicago, Portland, San Francisco, and Denver.

Conversations with each person became a discovery within itself with different personalities and backgrounds. Barbara and Carol from Memphis talked about working with cancer patients. The elderly lady that moved from Chicago to Montana shared her life’s history about moving to live on a ranch. Larry dominated our morning into California as we discussed everything from the four spiritual laws, Jesse Helms, abortion, his wife killed by a drunk driver, the Korean War, Hollywood, and his work with the Clinton Administration.

We spotted elk in Montana’s Glacier National Park, visited the seals in San Francisco bay, and studied frogs in a Chicago’s museum. We discovered an overall view of young America and more about ourselves. The Colorado River, Utah’s flat land, Chicago’s business canyons, the Sears Tower and San Francisco’s Alcatraz all were points that lured us to want to return for more.

“Family Trackings” is about one family. It is about America. It is a 6,600 transcontinental miles, across eighteen states train experience.

About the Author

Rudy g. Hoggard is a family man of four grown children, and husband since 1969. His writings reflect his family and Christian values, marriage principles, and interest in travel. Molly, his devoted wife, is also a polished dabbler writing devotionals and short pieces, tags along with Rudy on his journeys. The four grown children and three grandchildren keep life engaging as they establish themselves in civilization. For an AMTRAK journey call 1-800-USA-RAIL.