National Park train tours let drivers park, ride
Jim Miculka has been an explorer, historian, park ranger, natural resource manager, interpreter, international scholar and professor.
He has dived with Jacques Cousteau, learned Japanese from Guam nationals, managed a pub in Edinburgh and suffered through negative 20-degree winters on the wind-broomed steppes of a Dakota prairie.
So how did he become known as “the train guy” at the National Park Service?
“It was just an accident,” Miculka said in his oft-understated manner of speaking.
Miculka leveraged a happenstance meeting with an Amtrak marketing manager into a creative way of combining people, parks and fun. For nearly 20 years his team has been remaking signature Amtrak routes into adventures of natural and American history.
Known as Trails and Rails, the program uses National Park Service volunteers as guides and interpreters. They explain the geology, flora, fauna and history of passing terrain.
“It’s a whole different view of the countryside,” Miculka said. “Some of these places are only accessible by train. You feel far removed from the 21st Century.”
Traveling by rail offers drivers a convenient way to explore remote countryside without the dangers and distractions of winter driving—tire chains, snow tires, four- wheel drive and unplowed country roads.
Trails and Rails programs are available in every corner of the United States. For Miculka, traveling in the dead of winter gives special meaning to the landscape.
“Snow enhances the desolation of the wilderness and makes you wonder how Native Americans and pioneers survived,” Miculka said. “You can see a variety of different animals this time of year.
“Going though snow-covered tunnels make you appreciate the engineering that went into them—looking out over the cliffs and canyons. The train goes pretty slowly as it weaves its way through the canyons.
“Every so often a train’s whistle echoes off canyon walls, and snow is falling lightly around the train while you are watching from a cozy cabin.”
One of Miculka’s favorite routes is the California Zephyr from Denver to Oakland.
“There’s a whole lot of history along that route,” Miculka said. “Mountains, canyons, the pioneers’ westward push, Donner Pass—it’s a good summary of the natural and cultural history of the western United States.”
Another one of Miculka’s favorite rides passes along the Hudson River Valley from New York City to Montreal.
“That’s a beautiful and remote route any time of year,” Miculka said. “It makes you wonder how General Washington’s soldiers survived winter months along the Hudson River. That would have been a very tough duty station.”
The gracious hand of Fate guided Miculka’s 35-year tenure at the National Park Service, and his instinctive habit of saying “yes” to far-flung assignments catapulted him around the globe.
Miculka was never a train buff. He grew up in San Antonio, Texas and attended Sul Ross State University in West Texas. He was a history and natural sciences buff who had a knack for facts and figures. A college professor suggested he participate in a National Park Service internship program.
“I told him ‘I don’t know anything about trees and birds,’” Miculka remembered saying.
The insistent professor knocked on Miculka’s apartment door early one Saturday morning, told him to get ready for an interview with the National Park Service and drove the sleepy student to his appointment.
“At that time my hair was very long and I asked if I had to get it cut. When he said ‘yes,’ I told him ‘forget it.’ ”
Miculka chopped his locks and accepted an internship at Fort Davis National Historic Site, a frontier outpost for coaches and wagon trains traveling through southwest Texas in the mid-1800s.
After graduating college in the mid-1970s, Miculka took a position at Fort Union Trading Post National Historic Site in North Dakota, one of the most remote locations within the National Park Service.
Winter weather at Fort Union Trading Post National Historic Site is euphemistically described as “harsh.” This is buffalo country, and snow falls sideways and collects in rippling drifts.
“I had never seen snow before,” Miculka recalled.
Three years later the young park ranger was asked to help establish a park in Guam. His boss mentioned the average temperature ranged from the high 70s to low 90s.
“I told them, ‘Gee, I didn’t know we had a park in South America,’” Miculka laughed. “That’s how bad I was at geography. “
Miculka moved to Guam in 1980 where he learned Japanese and became an expert scuba diver. He logged exactly 1776 dives. He knows; he logged each one.
His expertise in underwater archeology came in handy when the tiny island was visited by Jacques Cousteau. The crew invited him aboard Calypso and he became their personal guide to local reefs and underwater sites.
Miculka left the balmy tropics for the University of Edinburgh, where he completed a master’s degree in park management. He met his wife Nancy when he volunteered to manage a local pub.
Miculka returned to the United States in the early 1990s and was stationed at Jean LaFitte National Historic Park and Preserve in New Orleans.
One day in 1994 he took the four-hour train ride from New Orleans to San Antonio. Along the way he found himself explaining sites and history to tourists in the observation car. An Amtrak employee overheard the conversation and suggested they work together to create guided tours.
The Trails and Rails program officially launched in 2000. Miculka and his team have established 12 tour destinations with additional routes planned for 2013.
Each of the following routes offers a completely different perspective on American cultural and scenic history:
Adirondack
This route offers two Trails and Rails programs. The Croton-Harmon to Albany, New York begins at the Vanderbilt Mansion National Historic Site. A separate program based out of the Franklin D. Roosevelt National Historic Site travels from Saratoga Springs to Westport, New York.
California Zephyr
Operating between Denver, Colo. to Grand Junction, Colo, the route passes canyons and remote, unpopulated terrain inaccessible to vehicles.
City of New Orleans
Traveling between New Orleans, La., and Greenwood, Miss., this route is based out of the New Orleans Jazz National Historical Park.
Coast Starlight
This train route along the West Coast offers two programs. The Juan Bautista De Anza National Historical Trail goes between Santa Barbara and Oakland during the summer. The Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park operates a program between Seattle, Wash. and Portland, Or.
Crescent
The program travels between Atlanta, Ga., and New Orleans, La. Based out of Martin Luther King National Historical Park, travelers learn about Civil War and civil rights landmarks.
Empire Builder
This series of routes offers five distinct programs. The beginning leg goes from Seattle, Wash. to Shelby, Mt., and it is staffed by volunteers of Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park.
A second leg travels from Havre, Mont. to Minot, N.D., and is based out of Nez Perce National Historical Park and Bear Paw Battlefield. Its third leg travels between Williston, N.D. to Shelby, Mont. It is hosted by the Fort Union Trading Post National Historic Site.
The fourth leg operates between Minot, N.D. and Shelby, Mont., extending to Malta, Mont. at certain times of year. It is based out of Knife River Indian Villages National Historic Site.
A final leg goes from Minneapolis, Minn. to Columbus, Wis. and is hosted by the Mississippi National River and Recreation Area.
Heartland Flyer
The Heartland Flyer travels between Norman, Okla. and Forth Worth, Texas. It is based out of the Chickasaw National Recreation Area.
Maple Leaf
Operating between Albany, N.Y. and Syracuse, N.Y., the progrm is based out of Erie Canalway National Heritage Corridor and Fort Stanwix National Monument.
Missouri River Runner
This route connects St. Louis, Miss. to Kansas City, Miss. and is hosted by the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial.
Southwest Chief
Based out of Bent's Old Fort National Historic Site., the route travels between La Junta, Colo. and Albuquerque, N.M.
Sunset Limited
Hosted by the New Orleans Jazz National Historical Park, the program route travels between New Orleans, L.A. and Beaumont, Texas.
Texas Eagle
This route features two programs: One operating between San Antonio, Texas to Ft. Worth, Texas. It is based out of San Antonio Missions National Historical Park. A second program is hosted by the Lincoln Home National Historic Site and runs between Chicago and Springfield, Ill.