Sunset Over Lake Michigan

As has been the custom on this trip, I will part with a sunset(ish) shot. This time it is as the sun starts to set on the Michigan City lighthouse.


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Location:Michigan City, IN

Leaving Chicago

I am actually posting this one as I sit on the Wolverine heading back to Ann Arbor. As much as I have enjoyed the journey, I am glad to be headed home.


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Location:Chicago

Coming Back to Chicago

We were returning to Chicago as my journey on the Southwest Chief was nearly complete. This shot was from the train as we approached from the west.


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Location:Chicago

Crossing the Missouri

I believe this is a picture of the Missouri River.


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Sunrise Over Kansas City

So this morning found me awaking to Kansas City. It was a longer stop so I had a chance to get out and walk a bit. Unfortunately, there were some buildings between the skyline and myself. However, I did like the way the light was hitting the bridge, so here is my shot.


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Location:Kansas

Sunset Over Colorado

So another day on the Southwest Chief ends. This day finds us just outside of La Junta, Colorado. Here is a shot of the sunset over the plains.


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Location:Colorado

Sunrise Over Arizona

Once again, I managed to be awake for sunrise. I think this was somewhere between Flagstaff and Winslow. Anyways, enjoy.


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Location:Arizona

Sunset Over San Bernadino

I thought the station at San Bernadino was pretty neat. The sun was setting but there were clouds in the sky. So here it is.


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Location:California

Leaving Los Angeles

Well, I am about to embark on the almost final leg of my journey. In a little while I will be on the Southwest Chief to head to Chicago. Then a short jaunt on the Wolverine and I am home.


This is the view as you enter Union Station in Los Angeles. It is actually a pretty impressive station that harkens back to railroad days.

As always, more pics when I get home.

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Location:Los Angeles

Some From the Coast Starlight

So I caught the Coast Starlight from Emeryville to head down to LA. It is actually a continuation of part of the route I took last year. Now, I see why it is called the Coast Starlight as it followed the Pacific Coast for quite a while.
Looking out at the Pacific Ocean.
Sunset on the Coast Starlight.

As always, this is but a sampling. More to follow later.

Leaving Emeryville

I am now on my way to Los Angeles for the next part of my trip.


This is a shot of the train that will take me there. This particular route is called the Coast Starlight which goes from Seattle to Los Angeles. I am taking the part of the route I did not take last year. This means I will be seeing new things and it should be fun.

I will post more pictures when I get home.

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Location:California

A Couple More From Today

So today began with me waking up to a sunrise in Nevada. I will admit, I didn't take that many pictures as western Nevada isn't all that intersting. Then we got into the Sierra Nevadas.
This is Donner Lake, named after the famed Donner Party. Of which I will post more about when I get home. I didn't take that many pictures of the Sierra Nevadas as it was mostly lunctime and I didn't take my camera with me to the diner car.

I also managed to snag a little time down in San Francisco today. But not that much as it was late and I was tired and just wanted to get back to the hotel.

Anyways, I will post more pictures when I get home.

Sunrise Over Nevada

I managed to be awake at sunrise this morning. This is from somewhere in Nevada.


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Location:Nevada

Sunset Over Utah

The sun is setting over Utah. Here are some pictures of that.


This a little earlier in the evening.


I caught it a little later.


A little later.



I kind of like this one.



I think I like this one a little more.


I like the sunset part of this one.


I think this one looks better bigger.


I might try this one this one in black and white.


This is another one I might try in black and white.

I hope you all like these.

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Location:Somewhere in Utah

Denver at Night and Leaving Denver

So I am now on my way to Emeryville which is near San Francisco. I am on the cool part of the California Zephyr. Denver was very nice and I enjoyed meeting friends that I haven't seen in a while. I didn't get to the Rockies game which means I need to come back this way.


This is a picture from the hotel from last night. The lighting was just about perfect for me. The Denver skyline.


Never thought I could get a history lesson from the engines. This was in the train yard at Denver. We passed through a BNSF yard and then a Union Pacific yard. It was pretty cool.


As we were some ways out of Denver, I saw this.

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Location:Western Colorado

The Denver Zoo

So today I went to the Denver Zoo. It is a pretty nice zoo except that it rained today. Fortunately, there are many indoor exhibits so it was too bad.
One of the wandering peacocks. I think these are prerequisite for any zoo. It seems that every zoo I visit has these.

One of the lions. The Denver Zoo has a pretty nice lion enclosure. There is a glass wall so that the animals can get pretty close.

A cheetah. They don't have these at the Detroit Zoo, so I thought it was pretty cool to see.

As always, more will be posted when I get home.

Anne Elk or Rather An Elk

As we were going through the mountains, we saw a few elk. I was surprised he stuck around.



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The Mountains

I was taken up into the mountains today.



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Colorado State Capital Building

My hotel is only a few blocks from the Capital Building here, so I decided to go for a brief walk.


As always, more pics when I get home.

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A Bighorn Sheep

We saw a herd of these.


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Boulder Falls

A friend of mine took me around the area. One of the places I went to was Boulder Falls.



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Good Morning From Colorado

So I woke up to Colorado which is cool.


I am not sure where this picture was taken, but I like the light in it.

As I look to the west I can see the Rockies.

Location:East of Denver

Chicago and Leaving Chicago

I didn't have much of stop in Chicago, so I won't have that many pictures.



The Sears Tower is only a block from Union Station, so I had to get a picture of that.


This is the not so good shot as the train pulled out of Union Station.

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Location:West of Chicago

Michigan Exposures Hits the Rails.......Again

So I am on the rails again. Should be a fun time. I will have a very brief stop in Chicago, then I will continue to Denver and stay there a couple days. Then it is off to San Francisco for an overnight stay. After that, I head down to Los Angeles for another overnight stay. Then it's back to Chicago and subsequently home. Should be exciting, I hope.


The Wolverine as it approaches the Ann Arbor Station. In Chicago, I will be boarding the California Zephyr to Denver. From Denver, I continue on the Zephyr heading to Frisco. In Frisco, I get on the Coast Starlight to Los Angeles. From Los Angeles, it is the Southwest Chief to Chicago and then back on the Wolverine to home.



The lake next to the Barton Dam. I tried to get a picture of the dam, but the sun was right behind it. Oh well.



The Conductor taking tickets. This is one of the reasons why I like train travel. It is like a trip back in time. Plus it is way more comfortable than air travel.

I will try to post daily to keep you on my travels and I will do more detailed posts when I am back in Ypsi.

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Location:Somewhere West Of Ann Arbor

More Shots of the Detroit Skyline from Belle Isle

I honestly don't think I can get tired of taking pictures of the Detroit Skyline from Belle Isle. As I have said repeatedly, I think it is one of the best angles for Detroit. It shows it off in its full glory I think.
For this shot, I wanted to focus on the flowered tree in the front, so the skyline is a little blurry.

Same with this one. I wanted more of the trees in front.

This was shot in manual mode because I wanted the proper settings for the sky so that I could get the shafts of light in the shot. I really like how it turned out.

Same with this one. I wish the river were just a little calmer so I could have gotten the reflection of the city in the shot.

And I think this one is my favorite of the bunch.

A Lilac Bush

I think this is a lilac bush but I'm not sure. Whatever it is, I like the flowers so here it is.

A Robin

I seriously don't think I can take enough robin pictures. They are very nice looking birds.

Some Random Boats

These are a couple boats I took pictures of while I was waiting for the ships.
One of many pleasure craft that ply the waters of Michigan. I wouldn't be at all surprised if I saw a stat somewhere that said Michigan had the largest number of pleasure craft. When I was first taking a picture of this boat, I thought it was going to say "White Flight".

A Coast Guard boat in pursuit of someone.

Or maybe donuts. Just kidding, the Coast Guard performs a valuable service and oftentimes a thankless service.