I took the train home. It was nice, but felt a little longer than the way out because I just wanted to be home. I read, listened, and watched. (I didn't take as many pictures this time, though.) I was completely disconnected for 48 hours.
My trip to the good life went well, but it's always nice to get home. The golden state is pretty much the same as I left it: rolling hills and rolling blackouts.
I spent the day with my folks wandering around Lincoln. We stopped by the capitol building, the state historical society museum, and the sheldon art gallery on the UNL campus. There are snapshots!
Speaking of military aircraft...
Mobile phones may foil stealth bombers: "It's remarkable that a stealth system that cost
U2 spy plane
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Today I went to the Strategic Air Command Museum in Ashland, Nebraska. I took a few pictures naturally. It's amazing that some of those huge planes could fly.
Craig already posted quite a few pictures of his new puppy Madison on his site, but I figure one more can't hurt.
She's going to be a big dog.
People wave at trains. No matter where the train was, if someone was in site they waved. The exception was Reno, Nevada, as the train passed casinos and hotels through downtown. And some rafters on the Colorado River dropped thier pants and showed their best side. Drivers in their cars at train crossings usually scowled. But people outside, railside workers, horse riders, lawn sitters, bike riders, roustabouts, baseball fans at the new Colorado Rockies park, hikers, readers; all waving.
When I was a kid I used to wave at planes when they passed overhead.
too. many. jokes. can't pick one. hehe. (be sure to check out all of the customer reviews. I especially like Succinctity is the sole of brevitousness.)
reflecting in a tunnel
riding the rails
Train routes have names. I took the California Zephyr, one of the longest routes. It has an interesting history, and one of the books I read on the train was Zephyr: Tracking a Dream Across America by Henry Kisor. It is an amazingly relaxing way to travel.
Most of the pictures I took were out the window. Many of them have reflections and scratches and other window badness going on. I took my digital, so I didn't have a polarizing filter to help out with that. boo.
I sometimes forget that America is a big, big country. Across this vast expanse of geography are fences. I'm not sure who maintains these fences; but they are maintained. And maintained in the most remote and rugged landscapes you can imagine. There must be enough barbed wire to circle the earth. twice. The American West is a triumph of fencing.
I'll be traveling for a while, so I put together this collection of traveling music:
- Tom Waits, Mule Variations
- Badly Drawn Boy, The Hour of Bewilderbeast
- Leonard Cohen, Best of
- Nick Drake, Way to Blue
- Kruder & Dorfmeister, DJ-Kicks
- Joni Mitchell, Blue
- Ani Difranco, Revelling: Reckoning