As a woman with a disability, I don't get many opportunities to meet my fellow travelers on a train. My wheelchair-accessible compartment is on the lower level, while the coach, dining, dome & club cars are on the upper level along with most of the other sleeping compartments. I can't climb the stairs so the sleeping car attendant brings all my meals directly to my compartment.

Two hours out of Chicago, I was fortunate to meet a family whose room was down the hall from mine. We hit it off immediately and Dana, the mother, and her two daughters, Adrienne, almost 11, and Mary, 7, came to visit me that evening. Adrienne and I spent most of the next day together in my compartment, watching the world go by and getting acquainted. We connected deeply.

At 4 PM that afternoon, the Southwest Chief made a scheduled layover in Albuquerque, NM where most passengers got off the train to savor an hour of southwestern sun and fresh air. There was also an opportunity to shop as several Native American artisans set up tables right beside the train. I didn't buy anything but both Adrienne and Mary bought treasures to take home.

Our final morning on the train, Adrienne and Mary came to visit while still in their pajamas. Then, 67 hours after we'd left Chicago, we arrived in Los Angeles, the Southwest Chief's final destination. Once there, the family and I spent another hour together in Union Station and its gardens before going on to our next adventures. But we didn't have to say final goodbyes as I intend to go visit them in their Bed & Breakfast in Indiana next summer. Adrienne and I have already talked by phone several times since we parted.

Although most of my photos are of the family, you will also meet Nina, the superb 19-year veteran sleeping car attendant whom I was fortunate to have both coming and going. You'll also see a little girl and her father whom I didn't get to know by name, but whose family was traveling from Los Angeles to Colorado to start a new life. Everyone has a story.