Smoke from the Butte County fire is just visible above the hills.

I love traveling by train because I get a peek at so many sights I would never see driving down the highway in a car or bus. Many of those glimpses are so brief they’re impossible to capture with my camera, like the variety of waterfowl paddling or wading in the wetlands of Suisun Marsh — blue herons, snowy egrets, coots, mallards. Or the single Texas longhorn I’ve spotted on multiple trips as it grazed near the fence. Shooting through a dirty train window isn’t optimal, especially with interior lights and the reflection of the morning sun, but I’m learning a few tricks (keep the lens flat against the window, shield the back of the camera with dark fabric). If there’s daylight out there and countryside to gaze at, I never get bored!