Cries of "Manifest Destiny" seem to echo in my head whenever I climb aboard a train, and sadly, I don't often have the chance to travel by rail...woe is me. Hah! Growing up in the midwest in the rugged times before cell phones, internet, toll free calls and cheap airfares, the train was the roaring symbol of a nation connected, or at least it was in my mind. Huge trains used to ply the tracks of the Great Plains; once in a while we'd come to a complete stop on a country road, waiting for what seemed like forever for all of the freight cars to pass. We had bridges, too, but quite frankly, not that many. In the eastern half of the state, we had two rivers, the Missouri River and the James River and in places, you could wade across the James. Back in the 50s, you could sometimes even "walk on water" because of the solid waste piled up in the river. Fortunately, the river is clean now and folks in my home town are even expanding the recreational areas next to the river...probably in expectation of the next flood, smile. Someday, someday, someday...I will take a train across the U.S. Someday.

This is a shot I took from a train window a few years ago on a dark, rainy, Winnie-The-Pooh-kind-of-day. The image takes me back, a time machine ride to the 1800s perhaps.

Manhattan Railroad BridgeManhattan Railroad Bridge