A little info about the routes

In 48 hours ,we will be well on our way.  I thought I would take this opportunity to talk a little bit about the routes we will travel and some of the areas we will travel through.

One of the best things about traveling by train is that you really get to see slices of american life.  You travel through America's back yards, both rural and urban.  Some folks stop and wave at the train, others continue on with their business.  You also get to actually "see" this beautiful country from the wetlands to the deserts, from the mountains to the coasts.

Our first and last train is the Cardinal.  The Cardinal will takes us across the Allegheny mountains and along the white waters of West Virginia through the New River Gorge.  We will see areas of wilderness only accessible by train or kayak.  We will also glide along the banks of the Ohio river and through the major cities of Cincinnati and Indiannapolis before reaching Chicago.

Our second train, the Southwest Chief, takes us through America's heartland across the Mississippi river and heads toward the great ranches, missions and pueblos.  We will traverse both mountains and desert and travel through the cities of Albuquerque and Kansas City before reaching Los Angeles.

Our third train will be the Coast Starlight and runs along the Pacific coast between Los Angeles and Oakland and travels along the beaches of the Pacific as well as through the fertile valleys of central California.

Our train from San Francisco to Chicago is the California Zephyr and is consisted one of the most scenic trains in the world.  This train will take us through the Sierra Nevada and across Donner Pass into the deserts of Nevada and Utah before traveling through the gorgeous canyons of Utah and Colorado.  After crossing the beautiful Rocky mountains and across the Continental divide, we will glide into the city of Denver and continue east through the heartland passing cities such as as Omaha.