Last Train From Clarkdale

Quote of the day:
"I have a terrible need of — shall I say the word — religion. Then I go out and paint the stars."
--Vincent Van Gogh

Merrie and I are aboard the train between Clarksdale and Perkinsville in central Arizona. Clarksdale is a thriving small village and one of many former copper-mining towns in the state. Perkinsville’s population is about five.

This is a purely sightseeing train trip, and it’s through some classic, unpopulated, unspoiled western landscape. Rivers, trees, mountains, sheer cliffs and desert. That’s after you pass the huge Clarksdale slag heaps at the start of the trip.

A highlight was seeing a bald eagle’s nest on a cliffside with two chicks in it. We also saw the mother or father flying above the river.

Merrie alerted me to this by running into the train car flapping her arms. It was a very clear and emphatic communication, and several other passengers appreciated it.