From tourist hotspots to quirky small towns, there's plenty to see on an Amtrak rail journey through America, writes Julia Hammond.
Sitting in the crowded waiting room at Chicago's Union Station, I'm reminded of an essay by Robert Louis Stevenson. He was a fan of rail travel, writing:
"The train disturbs so little the scenes through which it takes us, that our heart becomes full of the placidity and stillness of the country."
Stevenson's words still ring true more than 140 years later. As we crawl through urban Illinois at a snail's pace, three skittish deer dart out of an abandoned industrial complex into a stand of trees, a sight so fleeting and incongruous I wonder whether my eyes are playing tricks on me.
In America, travelling by rail is the preserve of people who have the luxury of time. Those who dash through its airports would remind you that Amtrak's passengers play second fiddle to the freight companies who own the tracks and believe they should have priority. Long-distance trains often run hours late as a result. But embrace such delays as a bonus, more time to appreciate the ever-changing scenery beyond the tracks.
To ride the Southwest Chief non-stop to Los Angeles would take 43 hours, but I intend to break my journey along the way. I board the Texas Eagle and detour to St Louis, on the Missouri River. Believe me when I tell you it's worth the trip just to taste Gooey Butter Cake, a deliciously sticky confection allegedly invented here by mistake.
However, the city's top attraction is Gateway Arch, built to commemorate the country's westward expansion in the 19th century. Now, it's the gleaming stainless steel centrepiece of the USA's smallest national park. I squeeze into a tiny tram car, designed to rotate so that each funky capsule remains upright as it travels around the curve of the arch. At the top, almost 200m above the ground, the views over the city are extraordinary.
The following day, two trains carry me nearly 1000km west to Dodge City in Kansas. The Boot Hill Museum tells its fascinating history. By the time the railroad arrived here in 1872, buffalo hides were already piled high, waiting to be shipped to distant tanneries. By 1883, the huge herds had been wiped out and attention switched to cattle. When Texan ranchers drove their longhorns to Kansas to take advantage of cheaper transportation costs, Dodge became the "queen of the cowtowns".
With booming trade came saloons, gambling dens and brothels. The combination of free booze and bullets made it a dangerous place, but often the lines were blurred. The infamous Wyatt Earp, for instance, jumped bail in Arkansas after being arrested for stealing horses. Yet when he fetched up in Dodge, he held down a job in law enforcement, married a prostitute and earned notoriety as a gunfighter.
Back at the station at an unsociably early hour, the train is running late. Stevenson's famous quote, "It is better to travel hopefully than to arrive", echoes in my head as I track its progress online. Eventually, we pull into Lamy, New Mexico, where an Amtrak-approved shuttle bus is waiting to take us to the state capital, Santa Fe.
I admire the paintings of Georgia O'Keefe and learn how to make tamales at the local cookery school. Taking advantage of the spring sunshine, I rent a car for a couple of days, hugging the Rio Grande en route to historic Taos with a quick pitstop to check out the vintage petrol pumps at Embudo's Classical Gas Museum. The following day in Bandelier National Monument, I climb wooden ladders to reach the rock-hewn alcoves once inhabited by Ancestral Puebloans. Reckoning I've earned some spa time, I soak my aching muscles in Ojo Santa Fe's outdoor hot tubs as the sun sets.
The temperature drops 20 degrees overnight and I find myself in a snowstorm as I hop on the RailRunner commuter train to Albuquerque. The sun's back out by the time I stroll through Old Town. A cloudless, ultramarine sky accentuates the soft terracotta tones of San Felipe de Neri church, built in 1793, and century-old adobe buildings that now house boutiques, galleries and cafes. I decide I quite like Albuquerque.
It's time to complete my journey, and I'm excited to be California-bound, spending the next 16 hours in an Amtrak roomette for the final leg across to Los Angeles. More cupboard than compartment, this bijou bedroom is nevertheless big enough for me and my bag to travel in comfort. As I doze in fits and starts through Arizona, it occurs to me that the Grand Canyon is somewhere out there in the inky blackness. My goal, though, is much more modest: I intend to dip my toes into the Pacific Ocean just as soon as I've finished breakfast.
Checklist: Amtrak rail trips
Air New Zealand flies direct from Auckland to Los Angeles and San Francisco. Onward connections to Chicago are available with its Star Alliance partner United Airlines. Its direct Auckland to Chicago service is due to resume in October. airnz.co.nz
The Amtrak website has a route map and journey descriptions to help you plan your journey. Online booking with print-at-home tickets is possible. amtrak.com