Boulder Canyon

So a friend of mine picked me up at the train station. Well, I should say that he picked me up at the temporary train station as they are in the process of renovating the original train station. I am glad that they are renovating the station, but it would have been nice that someone would have let me know so that I could let my friend know as the temporary station is a couple blocks away from the main station. Anyways, he ended up taking me up to the Boulder Canyon which was really cool.

A shot looking up at one of the mountains.

I'm not sure what kind of flower this is but I like the looks of it.

I really like the look of these flowers but again I'm not sure what they are. They have the nicest looking blues.

Again, another flower that I find very nice looking.

A tree on one of the mountains.

Some cacti. This is a plant that I don't get to see in the wild in Michigan.

I'm not sure what river or creek this is.

A nice purple flower. Again, I'm not sure what kind of flower it is.

I really liked the look of this flower. Especially with the bug on it.

I want to say this is a lilac but I also want to say that I am probably wrong.

I forget what I was taking a picture of but I saw a little motion in the grass and it turns out that it was this snake. I'm not sure what kind though.

Another nice flower.

Another part of the stream above.

I really liked this shot of the flowers with the cactus.

It's funny, normally I wouldn't take a shot like this but I saw a couple of artists painting it. After looking at it, I'm glad I did.

Another group of flowers.

I really liked this shot of the mountains.

I also liked this shot.

Since I live in Michigan, I don't get to see mountains that often so it was pretty neat to see them along with the flora that live on them.

On the California Zephyr...Part I

So next I found myself back on the California Zephyr after roughly a year of being on the Zephyr the last time. If you only had the chance to take one train trip in your life, I would seriously recommend taking the Zephyr from Denver to Emeryville (which is roughly outside of San Francisco between Berkley and Oakland).

Last year, I took the California Zephyr heading east from Emeryville straight through to Chicago. This year, I took it heading east with a brief stay in Denver. I think it was nicer this way as I was
going through the plains thinking to myself that the best part is coming up.

A shot of Chicago as we were pulling out of Union Station. The Sears Tower and I'm not sure what the building next to it is but I still like it.

A random barn somewhere in Illinois.

I kind of liked the look of this barn. I also kind of wished the train would stop so that I could get better pictures of it.A shot of a building in Ottumwa, Iowa. The only reason that I am familiar with Ottumwa is because of Radar from MASH.

A shot of the train as we were in a slight stop.

A barn somewhere on the western edge of Iowa. The sun was starting to set.

Some graffitti near the station in Omaha.

A really bad shot of Cornhusker Stadium. It is amazing, all is dark around except for the stadium which shines out like a cathedral or something.

A shot of some cows in Eastern Colorado.

A shot of the mountains off in the distance.

Denver as we approach the train station.

One of the BNSF engines in Denver.

A pair of BNSF engines. I will tell more about the history of this railroad later.

Another shot of Denver.

In Chicago

I didn't have alot of time in Chicago between the train from Chicago to getting on the California Zephyr, so I didn't stray too far from the station. I think this building is the new Boeing Headquarters given that the Boeing logo is on it.
I believe this is the Chicago River looking towards the Boeing Headquarters and the Chicago Sun-Times Building.

I wish I remembered what street this was. But I do like the canyon effect.

Looking up at the Sears Tower. I don't care that it is called the Willis Tower now...it has been the Sears Tower forever.

Another shot of the Sears Tower.

I'm not sure what building this is, but I liked the effect.

Looking down another Chicago Street.

The Chicago Board of Trade.

Like I said, that was about all that I had time for as my train would be leaving shortly.

Between Ann Arbor and Chicago

Normally it takes about 4 hours to get from Ann Arbor to Chicago. It's not through the best looking country but it's not too bad. At least there are some hills and other forms of scenery along the way.

The train station in Jackson. They still use the old train station. One of these days, I would like to see what it looks like on the inside.

This is a shot of the Jackson Airport and the gate guardian they have out in front. I have flown out of this airport a few times in one of my previous jobs.

One of the things I like about taking the train is that I get to pass trains that are waiting along the sidetracks. This happens to be a Union Pacific symbol on the side of a car that is used to transport automobiles.

The Kalamazoo Train Station. This is another one of the old train stations. There is a nice look about these stations. As you can see, the train was pretty busy on this day.

Until I took my trip to this lighthouse last year, I didn't realize that it was right on the rail line. I'm kind of glad that I saw it because now when I take the train I can look out for it. This is the Old Michigan City Lighthouse which was built in the 1800's.

This is the new Michigan City Lighthouse. It sort of reminds me of the St. Joseph light.

A group of Norfolk-Southern engines waiting in the sidetracks.

The Norfolk-Southern was created in 1982 with the merger of the Norfolk and Western and the Southern Railroads. The Southern Railroad has its roots in the South Carolina Canal and Rail Road which was formed in 1827 and ran the first regular passenger service in the United States in 1830. The Southern also has roots in the Richmond and Danville Railroad which was formed in 1847. It became the Southern in 1894 when the two railroads merged.

The Norfolk and Western has its roots in the City Point Railroad which was formed in 1838. This in turn was acquired by the South Side Railroad in 1854. After the Civil War, it became part of the Atlantic, Missippi and Ohio Railroad until that became the Norfolk and Western in 1881. Later the Norfolk and Western would acquire the Wabash, Virginian and Nickel Plate Railroads.

Eventually, the Norfolk-Southern would acquire a good chunk of the Conrail System.

A shot of Chicago as I approach Union Station. I don't know why but I associate Chicago with rails.

Waiting at the Ann Arbor Train Station

So last week, I went on my train trip out west. I did some brief postings as I went along to keep all of you updated on my whereabouts and as I did so I said that I would post more pictures when I got home. Well, I am home and here is the first group of my pictures.

Well, a journey has to start somewhere, so I figured I would start this one where I started my own journey. This was at the Ann Arbor Amtrak Station. It's a shame that they have to use this station and not the Gandydancer as that is a much more trainy looking place. Oh well...any port in the storm.

Just in case you didn't know what town you were in. My only major complaint about the Ann Arbor Amtrak Station is that the long term parking is across the tracks, so you have to cross over a bridge to get to the station. When I am taking a trip to Chicago, that is not bad as I only have a camera bag but when I'm taking a trip across the country, it's a little difficult. Oh well, I hear that they may be either building a new station or upgrading this one. I hope that they put a little more consideration in the parking situation.

This is looking towards the west and at all the people waiting for the Wolverine.

The Wolverine as it approaches the station. I kind of like this shot of the train as it comes out of the mist. But then again, I like pictures of trains.

The Wolverine as it gets closer to the station.

Okay, this isn't quite waiting at the station anymore but it is close enough to the station. This is Barton Pond near Barton Dam. I kind of liked this shot, but I would have liked a shot of the dam more but it was into the sun.

The conductor as he collects tickets. This is one of the aspects of train travel that I kind of like. It harkens back to the old days.