By the time you read today’s blog post, I’ll be on my way for the 2024 CPKC Holiday Train chase. I’m planning several stops over the next few days, and I’ve got a TON of thoughts on my mind as I prepare.
So please bear with me on this.
- What to pack. Obviously a couple of changes of clothing – warm clothing, the weather reports for the next few days vacillate between rain and wet snow – and plenty of daily medicines so that, if the Lord allows me, I can do this chase against next year.
- Car maintenance. Lightning’s Girl is full of 93 octane and a full battery charge. I should be fine on that front.
- Cameras. Of course I need may cameras. I’m packing four for this trip – my trusty Nikon Df (the normal one, NOT the infrared-modified shooter), along with three film cameras – my pink-skinned Nikon F2S 35mm shooter (“Nikon Athena”), my Rolleiflex Automat MX 120 shooter, and my Krasnogorsk FT-2 super-ultra-wide panoramic camera (“Raskolnikov”). Four should be enough for this trip.
- Blog maintenance. Due to circumstances beyond my control (my laptop died some time ago), I’m penning tomorrow’s “What’s Up in the Neighborhood” blog post a day early, to post automatically on Saturday. Any posts that I might have missed that post on Friday will certainly be recapped on the November 30th edition of that feature, so nobody misses anything.
- Lodgings. Yep, got that panned out as well. I tried to get motels and efficiency lodgings that were within a short distance of each of my travel points, to minimize a tired Chuck going from one place to the next.
- Financials. Gotta make sure to stop at an ATM when I cross the border into Canada. Then, on the way back, gotta stop at the duty-free, purchase some snacks, and convert all the Canadian money into American sovereigns. Oh yeah, and I have to make sure I’m converting Canadian money and not Canadian Tire money, although I have it on good authority that CTM money is a more stable currency. 😉
- Mental focus. This is the toughest part of the trip. Last year, my chase was limited by a foot injury and rehabilitation; I could only do one short day trip to capture the Holiday Train. And any trips in 2020 or 2021 were curtailed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Thankfully, this year I’m fully vaccinated against COVID-19, influenza, RSV, cooties, the creeping cruds, the heartbreak of psoriasis, and ring around the collar. And my feet are doing well. All 8 1/2 toes of them.
- Again … I just need to maintain focus. I can’t take any slights or errors or problems personally. Just know that this truly marks my holiday tradition. That, and picking up a handmade wreath for my girlfriend’s front door. That’s just as important. I just have to remember NOT to get it in Canada, because there’s rules against bringing plants across the border. As in – don’t bring plants across the border. Don’t bring Kinder Surprise eggs across the border, either. Those are banned by the U.S. Government. I’m not kidding.
- Oh yeah … one more important thing. Breathe. Don’t get overwhelmed. Everything will work out. And in the end … I’ll get some incredible photos. Both on film and on digital.
CPKC Holiday Train 2024 … let’s do this.
Chuck The Writer 
And I can only presume that you had the good sense to – per Mom’s standard pre-trip instructions to the six of us – “Use the bathroom before you get in the car!”
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Camera is #1′ that’s the point of the trip! Other things can be improvised. Well, when we were young you could. Wait ’til you see how rich you are after buying our 71 cent dollars! And how poor you are when you try to buy something with them (and our 300% inflation).
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Wow! Such an adventure would be an absolute dream for me! I hope you have a fantastic time, and please share your pictures with all of us who follow your blog! 🙂
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