Three (3) things ought to be said about this particular segment:
1. It is only a detour, not the usual route of California Zephyr;
2. It requires a change of crew, the train captain most especially; and
3. It cuts through what is called the Continental Divide.
Detour. The regular California Zephyr route takes passengers up and down the Rockies, definitely a scenic trip and undoubtedly one of the journey's highlights. Unfortunately for us, Rockies was not the way to go given the recent flooding in Colorado which destroyed a good stretch of the railroad. A detour to Wyoming was necessary, by-passing most stops in Colorado, ending up in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Above: Bisons or buffaloes greeted us as we approached the
State of Wyoming; below: a swath of grassland ideal
for grazing. There are no trees in sight.
A well/pump.
We were met by a train which parked on a
parallel track for the required change of crew
to handle the Wyoming leg of the trip.
Continental Divide. The moment the train started rolling down the tracks of Wyoming, the train captain announced that we were right smack in the middle of what he calls Continental Divide. Frankly, I didn't exactly know what it was. I just made inferences from the term. But being there gave me the feeling that I was in the middle of a huge basin surrounded by mountain ranges in the distance.
A check with Google revealed interesting definitions of Continental Divide which, when taken together with some photos here, are very relevant. Here are some:
From experts123: "A Continental Divide is a physical land formation that parts the main waterways of a continent." x x x It is "an imaginary line that demarcates whether water in the area will flow towards a given body of water (usually an ocean) or another." x x x "In the US, the Divide follows the Rocky Mountains through Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, Colorado and New Mexico." x x x It is "always a series of relatively high mountains that effectively divide the drainage of the continent." x x x "The most famous Continental Divide is the north-south Continental Divide of the Americas, sometimes known as the Great Divide. This mostly demarcates whether water flows into Pacific or Atlantic Ocean. x x x In the US, the Continental Divide does not clear down the middle of the country but follows the peak of the Rocky Mountains. x x x"
From austingeobee.blogspot.com: "A Continental Divide is a topographic feature separating streams that flow towards opposite sides of a continent." x x x It is a "line of terrain, often elevated, which forms a border between 2 watersheds such that water falling down on one side of the line eventually travels to one ocean or body of water, and water on the other side travels to another, generally on the opposite side of the continent."
These definitions together with the photos plus some imagination, lead to a better understanding of what a Continental Divide is.
The sight of a lagoon or pond in Wyoming is a welcome change
from the vast farmlands we had earlier seen while passing
through the States of Illinois and Iowa.
The train captain said that this is a snow barricade. Apparently,
this place, being at high altitude, gets a generous supply of
snow in winter which sometimes encroaches on the tracks.
The snow barricade helps prevent such an encroachment.
I wonder how it feels living here. Would it be
peace/tranquility or depression?
Gives me the impression that this place is so pristine in its
desolation. One can probably put up his own kingdom here.
A solitary freight truck casts a vivid image through an
interstate highway running parallel to the railroad track.
Probably I would not mind staying here, in a place as
big as this one and with all the techno provisions I need.
What could this be? Looks like an impounding area for cars
up for destruction . . .
This is just one of the so many wind farms that punctuate
the Wyoming landscape from time to time.
If my memory serves me right, this is the area wherein
the train captain said that we were in the middle of the
Continental Divide.
Curious about this gully that dented the mountain.
Could this be a fault line or something?
Being a part of Continental Divide lends Wyoming some
features different from the States of Illinois and Iowa.
A very long freight train snaking through the Continental Divide.
FedEx delivers. Giving FedEx a free ad space on my blog. lol
A place in Wyoming called Point of Rocks.
Love those houses on top. I remember a tour guide in
Hongkong saying that the elevated houses are for rich people
and the houses below are for the not-so-rich ones. Could it
be the same here in Wyoming? I wouldn't mind owning one
of those houses above though.
Arriving here in a more populous area of Wyoming, coming
from the middle of nowhere, is a gentle reminder that we
are still very much on earth.
More of the same Wyoming landscape . . .
A stream that flows through this side
of the Continental Divide.
I wonder what they call this monolith. Its special
place here makes it a standout.
A truck and a rock.
Green River, Wyoming. The river, which is a main tributary
to the Colorado River, also meanders its way through the
States of Utah and Colorado.
Well, Wyoming doesn't seem bad at all for a detour. It offered something new somehow.
Up next would be the interesting landscape of Nevada.
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