Lee County

25 hrs on a double-decker Amtrak train from Chicago to Albuquerque...
Its a hot sunny day as we leave bustling Chicago. Massive Lions Club parade and convention going on so street's are full of costumed international participants. Out through the flat Midwest again, those endless fields of corn and wheat until we hit Fort Madison on the Mississipi river then the country gets hillier and more interesting with lots of forested areas. Still under blue blue skies with puffy white clouds. Where in Iowa now and the landscape returns to cornfields barns and silos but this time with more forests and rivers too.
It's another packed train because of the holidays and also full of noisy boy scouts. The headphones come in handy as I'm also in a carriage with noisy children. Tried to sneak into my sleeper carriage early as it was empty but the conductor caught me and sent me back to coach :-)
I do have it for 17hours though from Kansas City which we arrive at around 10pm. Looking forward to a sleeper cabin all to myself... I might actually get some sleep tonight.
As with the train from NYC there are a lot of Amish or Menonites aboard in thier distinctive older style outfits the women all in long blue dresses and white bonnets, the men with under-the-chin beards, wide brim hats, white shirts and braces. I guess trains are allowed in thier strange olde world no machines existence. I'm amazed at just how many of them there are here in the US among all the blue jeans and t-shirts.
Next stop Des Monies River, a tributary of the Mississipi before we cross the state line into Missouri and head for La Plata. No delays on the Southwest Chief so far, she's running like clockwork.
The sleeper cabin is pretty comfortable a day large enough for me to fit on the bed. Didn't sleep much with the train jumping around and the whistle constantly blowing but well rested non the less. Up at 6am and off to breakfast where I shared my table with 3 boy scouts. They are all off to Philmont for a big scouting Jamboree.
Breakfast pretty good too... Omelette, bacon, fries, salsa and guacamole.
Scenery is a mix of wheat fields and scrubland now as we approach the Kansas/Colorado state line. We also pass what I can only describe as a massive cow farm. Holding pens for stock movement?
Into Colorado now and the scrubland is getting dryer and browner. Some cows wandering around where once great herds of Bison roamed. Just passed the John Martin reservoir, the skeletal drowned bushes looking cool against the blue water. There's a large modern redbrick complex just beyond the lake, then we approach a place called Las Animas. Just outside town there is a large modern prison with hundreds of inmates visible beyond the barbed wire.

We follow the Arkansas River into La Junta where we get a break stop and I get a chance to stretch my legs. South and west of La Junta the landscape starts to change to pinnon clad mesas and gullys and the Rocky Mountains appear through the haze on the horizon. Next stop Trinidad, Colorado.

After Trinidad we climb slowly up through the Raton Pass following the old Santa Fe Trail and down into New Mexico to Raton. Stunning views on both sides of the pass. On the way back I will stay for a day in Raton and hope to get out and explore the Sugarite Canyon State Park.

Ahhh, New Mexico. This is what I came here for. Stunning landscapes that speak to my heart. I have always wanted to visit and now I'm here Yippee!Read more