Happy Birthday, Dad

Today is my Dad's birthday! The photo above is of the two of us standing beside a steam engine that was built in 1944, just a few years after Dad was born! I'm happy to report that both of them are still chugging along! Anyways, I'll give a few more details on the steam engine in a minute. I have learned so much from my Dad about so many things but most of all, I have gained many of the passions in my life from him. My love of my family, trains, cars, lanterns...all of the people and things that I hold dear can be traced back, in large part, to time with my Dad and the things that he taught us to appreciate. I only wish that there was enough time to fully indulge in all of our interests! By the time you finish reading this post, you may get the feeling that it is a post about steam trains as opposed to a birthday post. That's because we love 'em and there is just no way to blog about Dad and not talk about trains. It's one of the things that we share and hold most dear. There may never be enough time to do everything we want to with our interests but we do a pretty good job of enjoying what we can and taking advantage of every opportunity that comes our way. The photo above was taken two years ago during one such opportunity....

The engine and tender combined weigh a little over 907,000 pounds and it is capable of speeds over 100 mph. The day before this picture was taken we had chased this train from a nearby town. It was the first time in many years that we were able to see a steam engine operating anywhere near home and it was an awesome sight. I use the word chased because that's what it was...for a large portion of the trip. We stopped in a small town that it was coming through and it came barreling by us. We then got in the car and raced down the highway to try and catch up with him. We eventually found it and caught up but as he gained speed it wasn't even possible to keep up. At one point, I was driving 80mph and couldn't stay up with him, eventually losing him from the highway. For these two train lovers, it was just an unbelievably awesome feeling to see almost one million pounds of steel (not including the cars it's pulling) barrelling down the rails, huffing and puffing, at such speed. There is nothing in the world like it and it isn't a feeling that can be felt by watching it on tv or reading about it in history books. The sights, sounds, smells, feelings, and throbbing in your body from nearly one million pounds of iron pounding the rails as it speeds by you is an awesome experience that every American should witness. The railroads and the iron horse are what made America what we are today. Thanks, Dad for sharing the passion with us and teaching us to appreciate so many wonderful things! Happy Birthday!! (You can find more info on this steam engine by clicking the Union Pacific link on my blog page)