FROM CALIFORNIA TO ILLINOIS 24-26 JANUARY 2009

January 24 to 26 I spent on the California Zephyr. Ah, the luxury of train travel: nice wide seats, plenty of space to move around in, time to meet people (or not - it's your choice) and best of all . . . they don't make you take your shoes off before you get on the train. Two days of the most amazing scenery. I took oodles of pics which I think only really mean something to me - triggering memories of the ride - but here's a sample of some specials: Sun setting over a lonely house as we head into Utah I didn't get any pics of Salt Lake City, as we were there around 3 in the morning, but I did see the Mormon Tabernacle all decked out in lights. Cloud-shrouded mountains Mesa landscape in the Rockies Moon-like scape near Grand Junction Everyone assured me that after Denver the trip would be boring because Nebraska & Iowa were flat . . . well, not to me they weren't. Pleasant rolling soft hills were what I saw. Now Illinois . . . that was flat. What I wasn't prepared for was how wide the Mississippi was when we crossed it: Ice on the Mississsippi We finally rolled into Chicago, where Libby Karier met me at Union Station. I didn't get a pic but what a fabulous, majestic building. All the railway stations I've seen so far in the US have been remarkable (or once remarkable) buildings - what a treasure trove. Most I saw have been restored or are being restored in some way.

CONTINUE IN CHI-TOWN WITH LIZZIE HERE