Beginning in late September 2005, I took a rail trip in which I visited eleven cities and rode transit in all of them. I had bought a North America pass from Amtrak and Via rail. This pass allows virtually unlimited travel by rail in the U.S. and Canada for 30 days.
In this fifth episode about my travels, I take the express bus from Denver to Boulder and spend a day in Boulder.
Boulder is often considered one of the best cities in the U.S. to live in without a car, so I wanted to see what it was like.
I rented a bicycle and went biking with my friend Mike around the bike trails and streets of the city. I was especially impressed with the counter flow bike lanes. Bikes were separated from car traffic with medians that had plantings.
I also spent some time on the Pearl Street mall, a lovely and shady pedestrian mall in the heart of the city.
After returning to Denver I boarded the California Zephyr train that would take me to California. Because of a rockslide, the train did not take its usual route across the Colorado Rockies. Instead, we rode thru southern Wyoming on the historic route of the transcontinental railroad. The next day, we mounted up and over the Sierras, seeing Donner Lake and getting history lessons all the way.
San Francisco seemed so intense in comparison, but I got my bearings back by taking a ride on the cable cars and visiting some of my favorite San Francisco attractions, the sea lions near Fisherman's Wharf and the Musee Mechanique.
Watch a clip from show 24.
Upcoming episodes will continue my trip in the shape of an infinity sign.
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