Around the World II

Day 26 - Mon 26 Apr 2004

Train

Up by 7am for a shower and to put my clock forward by one hour! Breakfast was French Toast - the scenery is now back to rocky outcrops and winding rivers. I've just seen a perfect ox-bow lake! We should be at Grand Junction by 11:30

We're going through some desert now, and although there is greenery it's low and clumpy - even Ray Mears would have trouble out here! The train moves ever onward and we're now in the Colorado river valley, a wide river that has cut its way through the red sandstone exposing the different levels in the rock.

Two engines needed

There are more mountains in front of us that we have to climb - the Rockies. Just done a stop at Grand Junction and had an early lunch - Sat with the Norwegian woman, and her daughter, and the South African golfer! I may try for a early supper so I can get off at Denver.

We're in the Rockies now, tree lined big hills following a river valley down and down. There's no snow anymore. Just going through the Moffat tunnel - 6.2 miles long. This side of the tunnel all water now flows to the Atlantic, not the Pacific.

I've just seen Denver way in the distance on a flat plain below us. I guess that's the end of the scenery! The train is running about an hour late.

At Denver station we had a bit of gossip, it seems that a man had been pestering a 15 year old girl traveling on her own. He was to be handed over to the police, but he jumped off the train as it was pulling into the station, and jumped the fence. I now have some people in the same carriage as me - two old couples and a bald bloke, who does not speak.

"Foreign places yield more to one who is worth meeting"