In Benson, AZ. Sorry for long silence - was recharging cell phone. Will write more later.

Woke up just after noon. We must have been delayed again while I was sleeping, because we’re halfway between Maricopa and Phoenix; I would have expected to be well past Tuscon by now. Eek! Looks like we’re running about 4 1/2 hours late now. In other news, they’ve started serving lunch in the dining car. Also, I’ve made some friends on the train - we bonded when we all woke up from the crash and gathered in the lounge car to try and figure out what happened.

Just entered Arizona… now at Yuma station, about 3 hours behind schedule after this morning’s incident. I’m going to try and sleep some more now, since my less than 2 hours of sleep were halted this morning by the crash…

We’re moving again!!! Just passed the red Toyota pickup truck that we hit… it was pretty banged up. I’ll post a picture when I get to New Orleans.

Just got electricity back

California Highway Patrol confirms that we hit an “abandoned truck.” (I called them on my cell phone.)

I’m saying this was a deliberate act of sabotage, not by terrorists but by “inconvenience-ists” … out not to terrorize, but merely to inconvenience, ordinary Americans. :) Meanwhile, we are going to see the sunrise over the Salton Sea.

Still not moving… Overheard an Amtrak guy saying on his walkie-talkie something about a “wrecking crew” coming in, but he wouldn’t tell me anything except “we’ve had a small accident.” A closer look at my GPS shows we backed up 4.4 miles after the crash. BULLETIN: Amtrak guy says we hit a truck *with no one in it*. They apparently parked it on the track!!! Hmmm… stupid terrorists?

Rumor has it we hit a truck. I went 5 or 6 cars forward to try and get a better view, but couldn’t get too far.

A firetruck just left… a good sign, maybe? We’re along Route 111, at an altitude of 180 feet below sea level. (Thank you GPS.) The moon is rising on the eastern horizon, and looks beautiful. Another police car and an ambulance just drove by. Most of the passengers on the train are asleep, and so are missing this drama. (Many are snoring loudly.) I guess my journalistic instincts woke me up. :) Another police car!

Just woke up to discover we are stopped dead on the tracks, near the north bank of the Salton Sea. Don’t know why. There’s a police car and two firetrucks on the road parallel to the track, maybe a half-mile ahead. Power just went out on the train. Did we hit a car at a crossing, I wonder? Two more police cars…

One last thing… I just want to point out how cool Becky is. She helped me enormously with my packing and getting ready to go, including agreeing to ship my last 3 boxes tomorrow because we didn’t have time today. I love you, Becky!

Well, I’m going to sleep now. At our current pace, we should reach Palm Springs around 2:00 and cross into Arizona around 4:00. Much of the day tomorrow, the train will be in lightly populated areas where I may not be able to get a cell phone signal. But I’ll post updates whenever I can, like when we’re going through cities.

At Ontario. Running about an hour behind schedule.

Just made our first stop, at Pomona. Now en route to Ontario. I’m chilling in the lounge car, recharging my cell phone’s batteries so I can keep updating y’all on what’s happening!