Car 0531 Room 9 on the California Zephyr | train 2

Car 0531 Room 9 on the California Zephyr.  My first train ride.  1 hour in. The city has already buzzed past our windows, its glass and industrial center followed by its suburban entourage bricked and tidy and now, just an hour into our ride, we’ve reached the Land.  It is white and quiet and wide.  Rows of cropped wheat remain steady across the landscape, writing contours on the snow like a comb through sand.  Farmhouses and their weathered barns sit like postcards, imaginary and beautiful and far, far away.

The dining car attendant has just made an announcement on the public address system.  She will shortly be by to take dinner reservations.  First class passengers have priority, and can choose a time between 5:30 and 9pm.  I suppose I will ask for 6:30 or 7.