I’ve been busy; so busy that I’ve hardly had time for photography. My schedule has kept me from several photography meetup opportunities, but I have taken photos–not many–but enough to practice. This trip to Las Vegas will provide me with some photo opportunities.

I’ve decided to turn this blog into, for a short time, a series on our Family reunion in Las Vegas. It took us two days to arrive in Las Vegas, stopping for the night in Tehachapi, California. I did take some shots of the Tehachapi Historic Depot before the sun set.

The depot was built in 1904 along a Southern Pacific Railroad line, which founded the town of Tehachapi, and was one of the most active rural stations during World War II. Later it was a warehouse and a railroad office. In 2008, the depot burned down, was rebuilt in 2010 and is now museum.

We saw many trains come through. Some with three engines to carry the load they were pulling. These were long trains. They continued moving down the tracks all night.

The California desert is not pretty. I remember thinking that when we began our cross-country trip last summer. Things were bleak until we got into Arizona and New Mexico. The Nevada desert is also bleak, except for the casinos. Just as you cross the border into Nevada, there’s a small town with many casinos and hotels. “Welcome to Nevada,” the sign said.

In this post, you’ll see the train depot and a windmill farm. Tomorrow, I’ll tell you more about the reunion and its preparation.