Five: Sparks, Nevada June 3, 2017

This one actually has a little drama to it. While I was lucky to get a couple of trains heading over Donner Pass in California. I didn't get anything in Nevada. I was either in the wrong place at the wrong time or just unlucky. I mean it is Nevada, on the Union Pacific? If you can't get a train there you might as well pack it in.

But there I was, Saturday morning, my flight time was closing in and nothing. Go to the yard, go to the yard, I told myself. So I managed to figure out where the yard was and ran into road construction that forced me into a detour. Tick, tick, tick, make sure you take your laptop out of its bag and place it on the conveyor belt.

Now, I don't know about you, but the actual act of flying doesn't bother me. What I fret about is getting caught in a massive line at security and not leaving myself enough time to get my plane. So, I tend to arrive at the airport two hours early. It is a quirk I have, but it has served me well. It added to the self-imposed drama of not getting a train shot too. I mean, who flies all the way to Nevada and then misses the opportunity?

Well, I have done that more times than I care to admit. But I wasn't going to leave empty handed. I turned down a street paralleling the yard to see no clear shots. C'mon, I gasped. Then I turned the corner and there they were. A string of thoroughbreds awaiting their next job.

Not pretty, but another state in the box and another step toward 20 logged in.