We leave Denver on the California Zephyr, May 20, 2006
(Click on the pictures below to obtain larger images, which take longer to download.) Photographs © George P. Landow may be copied without written permission for any noncommercial use — for hobbies, education, and so on. If you have any additional information on the locomotives or rolling stock in these pictures, please feel free to send it along to me at george@landow.com; pictures are welcome, too. GPL)
The observation deck on the California Zephyr: this two-level train carries passengers on the top and puts its lavatories and snack bars down below.
Left: The view of Denver from our room in the Comfort Inn, which lived up to its name, even giving us a full breakfast a half hour before continental breakfast was supposed to be available. Right: A view of the observation car where George spent most of the trip.
Climbing toward the Rockies
One of many enormous coal trains, probably from Wyoming, that passed us going toward Denver, snaking its way through the landscape and the curved route we took as we spiraled up to gain altitude in the Rockies.
Left: The landscape changed several times during our 10-hour trip. This is what it looked like not far fron Denver. Right: Another photo of an enormous coal trains.
Left: Snow-capped mountains peep out above the hills at one point. Middle: One of the main rough rock faces we passed before entering each of the 28 tunnels on the way to Grand Junction. Right: Although much of the land is sparsely populated, here's a picture taken about an hour or so out of Denver just to show some human habitations.
Right three: Ruth and George on the train (Ruth took the last one Noah-style holding the camera in her hand.
More of the beautiful country through which we rode. This picture showins the many evergreens that dominated the tree world here.
Left: Right and left: Left middle: Looking back at the Colorado River, whose course we followed the whole trip. Right middle: another rock face, which became atypical after a while, since most of the rock seemed very friable, and at times one couldn't tell whether one was looking at red sandstone or red clay. Right: another little town.
