Top of the world, sort of...

Hi, It's me. blogging from Elko Nevada. My son Rob and I are driving to North Dakota.

This picture was taken this morning in a spot of some historical interest. It's at Donner Summit, in the Sierra Nevada Mountains, near where the famous Donner Party came to grief.

And the horizontal line you see in the background consists of snow sheds that protect a train line from snow and avalanches. You may recall the history of the Transcontinental Railroad, and how the Central Pacific, with its gangs of Chinese laborers, worked so heroically to drive their part of the line through the Sierras, hardly stopping even in winter. You are looking at their work...