Looking Through Amtrak's Sightseer Lounge (Part 3)

Having been on-board Amtrak for a couple of days already, first, from New York City to Chicago and second, from Chicago to San Francisco (via California Zephyr), I have formed indelible impressions of the states that the train has passed through.

This is Part 3 of my Sightseer series. 

After an overdose of green-and-brown-hues courtesy of Illinois and Iowa farmlands as well as the seemingly endless expanse of the Continental Divide in Wyoming, I was hoping that the next state, Nevada, would offer us a different vista. The previous night was spent cruising along the state of Utah with nothing but darkness. Morning caught us in Winnemucca, a little town in Nevada about 5 or 6 hours from Salt Lake City, Utah. There is a change of time here, 1 hour back, from Mountain Time to Pacific Time since we were going westward. I hope I'm correct. This change of time can really be confusing especially for someone like me who is from the other side of the earth. 

The arid, barren and rusty-dusty surroundings I woke up to had me thinking of Mars. Indeed, the Nevada landscape is much different from the states we've passed within the California Zephyr route (Chicago to San Francisco). I would say, and I hope my impressions are correct, that Nevada has a similar topographic pattern as the state of Arizona - an arid low desert, followed by a semi-arid mid-desert and somehow a lush high desert. Nevada reminds me of the Arizona scenery en route to the South Rim of the Grand Canyon where I went to a couple of years ago.

Here are some shots I've snapped.

Part of Winnemucca, Nevada en route to Reno; still in 

low desert with little or no vegetation at all.

Photo below looks like it was taken straight out of Mars.

The water element and a little vegetation break the monotony

of the rusty-dusty feel of the surroundings.

Who likes to live here anyway?

The following photos were taken mostly in Reno, Nevada, some of which were already in the mid-desert before the train started its ascent towards Sierra Nevada.

This little river amidst a barren landscape is like a breath of fresh air.

Don't know what this is - an observatory? a factory?

The house in desertlandia makes me wonder what is it

like living here. 

What's the meaning of life if this is what one sees daily?

   Finally, a decent settlement with flowing water.

More trees in this part of Nevada. This is still part of Reno 

going to Truckee, California.

Where there's water, there's life :-) This place looks much 

more alive with flowing water, houses and some vegetation. 

 

I love those houses on top. I can take a vacation here.

Vegetation gradually changes on the way up to Sierra Nevada.

That hilltop mansion surely has an excellent 360-degree 

view of the surroundings. Pity the small house below :-)

It's a bit foggy at the background. On our way to Sierra Nevada.

This part of the mountain has some jagged edges.

The sight of an interstate freeway makes me think that

civilization is just around the bend.

The landscape of Nevada is obviously more diverse. After Nevada, parts of the state of California would be next, the highlight of which is the view of Lake Tahoe from the top of the Sierra Nevada. 

That would be Part 4 of this series. Thanks.

Looking Through Amtrak's Sightseer Lounge (Part 2)

This is Part 2 of our Amtrak California Zephyr adventure from Chicago to San Francisco, specifically covering the State of Wyoming. We're done with Part 1 which gave us glimpses of the States of Illinois, Iowa, Nebraska and Colorado.

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.

Change of Crew. Being a detour, this requires special handling mainly by way of a change of crew. The train captain may be familiar with navigating the usual route but not necessarily with the detour.

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.