Livestreamed in Flagstaff

 Up in Flagstaff over the long weekend, we stayed in the Little America motel, which was a splendid property, akin to a resort, with an expansive walking trail in the pines in back of the hotel buildings. We ate most of our meals at the onsite restaurant, venturing out only for one major foray to eat a restaurant in the hip part of town which required reservations. It reminded us of our days dining out in Portland when we lived there.

After dinner, we felt like sitting and people watching, so we walked over to the railroad depot that is along the main route through town (old Route 66). We could have sat there all evening, it was so pleasant. A few trains came roaring through. As everyone who lives in Flagstaff knows, Flagstaff is a "railroad town."

As we walked past the back of the depot, which is a renovated version of the original structure from 1926, we saw a sign indicating that the site was being livestreamed online as part of the "Virtual Railfan" network. Using our smartphones, we called up this feed on Youtube and verified that indeed it showed the platform in front of us. Using the passage of the next train, I calculated that there was a twenty second delay. At one point, to check the angle of the camera, I walked out and stood on the platform in sight of the live feed.

The depot reminds me of the movie "The Harvey Girls" starring Judy Garland, which is about the famous pioneering restaurant chain, which essentially invented the idea of modern chain dining, which we scoff at now, but was a tremendous innovation that allowed people to have dependable meals in a convenient fashion.  It was the real-life invention of Fred Harvey, a great American businessman. He had his waitresses dress alike up and down the train line, with a set menu.

That's the movie that has the song "On the Atchison, Topeka, and the Santa Fe."' The movie doesn't take place in Flagstaff but that's where Judy's character is heading at the end of the movie, presumably to meet her beloved. The descendant of that railroad still operates along the line through Flagstaff.

Other than that one outing, we spent much time lying around in our room with the screen door open, absorbing the cool air and the scent of the pines, which was highly therapeutic. The nights were delightfully cool. Typical for folks from the "Valley" (Phoenix and environs) we had both forgotten t o pack anything warm. Fortunately my long sleeve shirt was enough for our morning walks across the property to restaurant for breakfast. I hate being cold.

We were loathe to come back down off the rim. We like Flagstaff, and we think of relocating. It's basically impossible to buy a house there now. Demand is insane, and it is difficult to build new construction, as the town is essentially a small island surrounded by national forests. Anything that goes on the market gets multiple offers over the asking price and is sold within days. But at least we have both decided that Flagstaff is as far south as we should live.