All aboard!! Off we go again so get a window seat, some snacks, a good book for those evening hours, your neck pillow and a comfy throw. Next stop,Tucson, Arizona where the West was and still is the very heart of cowboy country. We’ve just caught the Texas Eagle and boarded at 10:00 P.M. so we’ll be able to catch some much-needed rest after a full day exploring Downtown Los Angeles. This leg of our southern journey will take us approximately 9 and 1/2 hours. Despite it being nightime many of the towns/cities we’ll pass through as we make our way across California will be visible, given the areas are heavily populated, and the light they throw makes it appear as if we’re going through them in the middle of the day. One of the first cities we come to as we travel East is, no kidding, Ontario, and it is apparently named after our Province. Its name is the only thing it has in common with its namesake. We stopped there for an hour once, and the heat at 12:00 A.M. and the Palm Trees lining the streets make it quite clear that this is not in Canada. Next up, Palm Springs, and it’s a shame that we have to pass through at night because I’d love to get a look at this famous piece of real estate. As it was I didn’t see any stars hanging around the station as we passed it.

At 2:47 A.M., we cross into Arizona, the Grand Canyon State, the Apache State, the Land of the Saguaro, the Land of the Sun. All of these nicknames for this great state are not misleading; this truly has to be the greatest of all the states for rugged, raw, breath-taking, natural beauty. I get a warmth in my bones whenever my road leads me into Arizona. It is one jaw-dropping scene after another, from the Grand Canyon and Colorado Plateau to the North to the wide desert valleys bookended by tall rocky mountains in the mid and southern lands. These flat lands are actually Alluvial Valleys created when sediment washed down from the surrounding mountains. We have been through Northern Arizona on our last trip when we took the Southern Chief and saw the vastness of the Colorado Plateau and many of the geological marvels this area is home to. As we skirt the very southern end of Arizona and pass through the Sonoran Desert, we are for a while in the land of the Saguaro Cactus, those stately cacti that tower some 50-60 feet above the desert floor. One doesn’t require a very imaginative mind to see Apache, Yaqui, Tohono O’odham (Desert People) and Akimel O’odham (River People) behind every hill, mound and cacti. There are several Cliff Dwelling sites in Arizona, such as Montezuma Castle, which is just south of Flagstaff. It is simply amazing how people actually carved and built their homes on the side of a towering cliff. The mind wanders and tries to imagine how they had the ingenuity to create such villages. I have a problem making a one-room house out of my granddaughter’s Lego.

Dawn catches us arriving in Maricopa Az. the station where those going to Phoenix Az. will leave us. We will now get a full view of the Sonoran Desert and it’s stunning scenery complete with the Saguaros I spoke of. I made it a point to ‘‘jump-off’’ at our next stop, Tucson Az. a couple of times and had the pleasure of exploring several of Arizona’s southern sections. First up on my agenda of course was every boy’s dream, a trip to Tombstone Az. It doesn’t get any better than this if you want to follow every dream you ever had while walking home from the Saturday afternoon matinee at the Paramount.

This view will be with until we reach the state of Texas some 10 hours from now but first we get to see the bottom south-west corner of New Mexico