Photo Souvenirs: Past Train Trips.

Today I thought I would dig out and post a few photos I’ve taken on some past trips. Truthfully, I’m usually dissatisfied with the photos I bring back. I don’t know why that surprises me; my approach to photography is about as basic as it gets: I set the camera on automatic and blaze away, hoping that there will be a few decent shots in there somewhere.
IMGP0303

Three years ago, I took VIA Rail up to Churchill, Manitoba, on the shores of Hudson Bay to see the polar bears. The husband of the lady who runs the B&B where I stayed is a famous musher and he treats guests to dog sled rides … except these days, more often than not, there isn’t enough snow and the rides are given in wheeled carts instead.
mares milkMy trans-Siberian rail experience went through Mongolia and included a chance to visit a Mongolian family in their yurt. As a welcoming gesture, we were all treated to a generous serving of the traditional beverage of choice: fermented mares milk. The consensus among the folks in our group was that it will never replace a cold beer.
Cab

The Glacier Express in Switzerland, is certainly one of the more scenic train rides in the world. I had the unique privilege of riding in the cab of the locomotive on my visit to that amazing country two years ago. I asked the engineer if all the kids on his block think he has the best job in the world and got a big grin in response. “It’s true”, he said. “I do!”

Engine into canyon copy
This shot was taken in February: Amtrak’s California Zephyr, westbound, about an hour after leaving Granby, Colorado. Glenwood Springs is about 80 miles up ahead and the train follows the Colorado River through a series of canyons all the way there. My favorite actually Amtrak train is the Coast Starlight—I really love those Pacific Parlour Cars!—but there really is no doubt that the Zephyr is the most scenic of all their long-distance trains.

(Apologies…for unknown reasons these photos blurred somewhat when I copied them into the post. I will contact my webmeister and do my best to understand what would be, for most everyone else, very simple instructions to remedy the problem.)