Amtrak does not stop in Phoenix anymore. If you want to ride the train, one must catch Amtrak at Maricopa, AZ, which is about thirty miles from Tempe or at Flagstaff, which is about 160 miles away. Since Bob and I are headed for Texas, we catch the Sunset Limited line in Maricopa.Harrah's, a casino in Maricopa, will allow you to leave your car on their parking lot for nothing, but for five dollars each day, the valets will watch it. We opted for the five dollar deal.
I swore I would never ride the Sunset Limited again. The line is usually late because Union Pacific, the owner of the tracks, disregards their lease with Amtrak. By the time the train reaches Maricopa, it is running about 3 ½ hours late.
Bob and I rented a roomette, which is a small room with two seats that convert into a bed. Another bed folds down from the ceiling. Bob slept in the upper bunk the first night. He had a hard time sleeping because of his claustrophobia. I tried to sleep in the top bunk the second night but had difficulty sleeping too. We decided to undo the bottom bunk and sleep in the seats. It was uncomfortable We don’t think we will get a roomette again since neither of us care to sleep in the top bunk. The coach fare is less expensive. 
The main reason for getting a roomette is that meals are included. But we feel obligated to eat. Dessert comes with lunch and dinner. It is difficult to decline dessert when it comes with the meal. I usually gain weight when I eat three full meals each day.The fun thing about eating the meals is that you share a table with other people. We met a 78 year old lady who is an evangelist. She knew many of the famous ministers that my Dad knew.
Riding the train, allows you to see the beautiful scenery that you may not be able to see from an airplane or driving a car. Much of the terrain between Maricopa and East Texas is desert. But some of the spectacular sights are crossing over the Rio Grande and Pecos rivers. Near the rivers is a dam called, Amistad Reservoir, It is a reservoir on the Rio Grande at its confluence with the Devils River 12 miles (19 km) northwest of Del Rio, Texas, USA. Unfortunately, the time of day we crossed these sights was not conducive to picture-taking.
Other sights to behold are the sunsets and sunrises.By the time we reach Houston, the train was running about six hours late. I called National Car Rental to notify them of our late arrival. The reason Bob and I decided to come to Houston was that I had not seen Houston in many years and Bob had never seen it.
Houston is the largest city in the state of Texas and the fourth-largest in the United States. As of the 2005 U.S. Census estimate, it had a population of more than 2 million. The city covers more than 600 square miles. Houston is the county seat of Harris County and part of the Houston–Sugar Land–Baytown metropolitan area, the sixth-largest metropolitan area in the U.S. with a population of more than 5.5 million.
