sunset ltd train

Well, here we are again on an Amtrak train, but this time it's the Sunset Ltd from Los Angeles to New Orleans.

I will refrain from describing the train as its virtually identical to the Southwest Chief I was on last week! 

However, while the last big journey went through some vast wide open  spaces, they were nothing compared to the views across the southernmost states. Most of my day, I spent in the lounge car to see the best views out of the wide windows. 

I bumped into Wyatt Earp in Tucson

              As well as an historic engine 

On our way through Arizona, we passed 12ft high cacti, which apparently only grow in this area.

The part I was really intrigued by was the Mexican border at El Paso.  In the image elbow, the car is in the usa & the bus is in Mexico, separated by a huge fence

I was

told that while the population of El Paso is 300,000 - the population on the Mexican side of the border town is 3million

 Overnight, we reached San Antonio, where I saw the tower of the Americas while dawn was breaking.