Portland, Maine

journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step," wrote the Chinese philosopher Lao-tzu. My own journey of more than 7,000 miles began on Amtrak's Downeaster in Portland. It was the first leg of a trip that would fulfill a longtime wish to see the United States by train from coast to coast.

City of Chicago (ENLARGE)

Chicago is one terminus of the Southwest Chief, as well as one end point of the California Zephyr, which travels all the way from the Midwest to San Francisco.

Nathaniel Hammond (ENLARGE)

Three days after leaving Maine, the author communes with an Elvis impersonator in Hollywood. Above: The Calle Olvera Mexican market in Los Angeles.

Photos: All aboard IF YOU GO About train travel Coach fare from New York to Los Angeles aboard Amtrak can begin as low as $184 per adult, each way; ages 2-15 travel for half fare. Overnight accommodations include roomettes, bedrooms, family bedrooms and accessible accommodations. Roomette fares range from $656 to $1,314 for one adult; bedroom fares range from $1,144 to $2,380. Additional adult or a child in room pays the appropriate coach fare only. From Atlanta, you can catch Amtrak to New York to begin your journey west, or opt for a southern route on the Crescent through New Orleans. Roomette sizes are about 3 feet 6 inches by 6 feet 6 inches and include an in-room toilet. Bedrooms are about 6 feet 8 inches by 7 feet and include a toilet, shower and sink. (Exact sizes vary by train.) Inquire about details of larger family rooms and accessible accommodations. All sleeper fares include meals and nonalcoholic beverages in the dining car. Lower rates may be available in off-peak times including mid-September through October and mid-January through February on most (but not all) routes. For the lowest fares, reserve as far in advance as possible or check the "Hot Deals" section of the Amtrak Web site, www.amtrak.com, or call 1-800-872-7245. Amtrak representatives can also assist with hotel reservations. If you plan extended train travel, Amtrak's USA Rail Pass could be a good deal. It allows unlimited travel for 15 or 30 days in a coach seat (upgrades allowed to business-class seats or sleeping car accommodations when available). A 15-day pass is $499, or $389 for off-peak travel; a 30-day pass is $599, or $499 for off-peak travel. Rail passes for regional travel are less. Information: On www.amtrak.com, click Reservations, then USA Rail Passes. Dining experience Traditional railroad French toast was the breakfast star, along with eggs, omelets, oatmeal and other cereals, and a daily special. At lunch and dinner, meals run to chicken, burgers, salads, a vegetarian dish and an occasional special such as a turkey or pork dinner. Passengers sit together at tables of four; within five minutes, most are comparing tales of previous train trips and other travels. Stopover stays We opted to make our own hotel reservations. In Los Angeles we stayed at the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, about a $40 cab ride from the beautiful mission-style train station. Doubles from $377. Beverly Hilton Hotel, 9876 Wilshire Blvd. 310-274-7777, www.beverlyhilton.com. At our next stopover, the Fairmont San Francisco, perched on Nob Hill and close to cable car stops and Chinatown, proved to be one of the most beautiful hotels we've ever stayed in. Many suites and rooms overlook the city, the bay and Alcatraz in the distance. Allow some time to enjoy the luxurious lobby. Doubles from $319. Fairmont San Francisco, 859 Mason St. 415-772-5000, www.fairmont.com/sanfrancisco. In the Hotel Monaco Denver, an easy walk from the train station, we shared a large, attractive room with a lively goldfish. Pets welcome; a Shih Tzu named Hercules acts as canine greeter. Doubles from $233, including a companion goldfish and complimentary wine and canapés every evening in the lobby. Hotel Monaco Denver, 1717 Champa St. 303-296-1717, www.monaco-denver.com. CONTEST! Share travel horror stories, win grand prize U.S. Travel stories One city, three price points: A weekend in Minneapolis  Campgrounds, RV parks spend green to go 'green'  Traverse City, Mich., up-and-coming foodie haven  Lobster-rich Maine won't cost a tail and a claw  Must-see fireworks: Vegas to Rushmore to Cape Cod  Photos: Travel / U.S. Galleries Latest deals! Back to: Travel | U.S. and international destinations

"Cross-country by train? You'll be looking at America's backyards," a friend said dismissively.

Exactly — off the superhighways and out of the stress-filled airports to experience the country from a different, more leisurely perspective.

My husband and I stopped first in Boston, and then it was on to Albany, N.Y., on Amtrak's Lake Shore Limited. In Albany, we had to be bused around a freight train derailment and into Buffalo to catch another Lake Shore Limited headed for Chicago. We would arrive too late for dinner on the train, but Amtrak personnel on the bus handed out bottled water, crackers and cheese, and other snacks.

Because of the distance we were traveling over the next two weeks, we booked Amtrak's best accommodations on the Lake Shore Limited and other trains on which we'd be spending the night — a bedroom with lower and upper bunks, a toilet and shower, and a sink. With two suitcases, an oversize handbag and a 6-foot-3 husband, space was tight, but as we left Buffalo on our first night, I fell gratefully into my comfortable bunk and quickly to sleep, lulled by the rhythmic clackety-clack of the wheels and the mournful sound of train whistles as we sped through the night.

Early the next morning we eagerly inhaled coffee made by our room steward and made our way to the dining car for breakfast. Meals are included for passengers in sleeping accommodations; travelers in coach can purchase meals in the dining car or from a lounge or cafe car.

Besides the included meals, sleeping accommodations come with another perk: In major train stations travelers can take advantage of special lounges (Acela Lounge in Boston; Metropolitan Lounge in Chicago, for example), quiet sanctuaries in the otherwise bustling stations. Lounges offer complimentary drinks and snacks and newspapers, Internet access, and a surprising air of bonhomie. When a woman waiting out our six-hour layover to board the Southwest Chief in Chicago misplaced her cellphone, we all pitched in to scour the lounge and help her find it.

Chicago to Los Angeles: The Southwest Chief

After Chicago, the train rolled through Iowa, Missouri and Kansas — who knew Kansas had so many oil wells? — and through a corner of Colorado. In the distance, the snowcapped peaks of the Sangre de Cristo mountain range were dappled in pale spring sunlight.

By New Mexico, trees were leafed out and flowers were in bloom. We caught glimpses of Navajo pueblos and bake ovens. Several Native American artisans selling handmade silver and turquoise jewelry awaited us in Albuquerque, where we had a 20-minute rest stop.

Then it was back on board, past arroyos and part of the Rio Grande that looked anything but grand with the area desperately needing rain. Finally, we chugged past a long wall of graffiti outside Fullerton, Calif., the last stop before Los Angeles, where we had planned to take a break in our travels. Three days after leaving Maine in a predawn snowstorm, we had arrived on the sunny, but still cool, West Coast.

The Coast Starlight: Los Angeles to San Francisco

The spectacular scenery on the 11-hour trip from Los Angeles to Oakland aboard the Coast Starlight (which travels between L.A. and Seattle) lived up to its billing.

Train tracks wound beside the ocean and past kite-surfers taking advantage of a windy day. Fields on the other side of the train blazed with wildflowers in shades of red and yellow, blue and lavender, while herds of Black Angus cows lolled on the rolling hills and valleys.

As we neared San Luis Obispo, hawks soared above the villages and farms nestled in the foothills. Some fields were ripe with hardy crops like cabbage and kohlrabi, others were dark with rich soil ready for planting, still others glowed red with fat strawberries.

The hours passed quickly, and soon we were in San Francisco, the second of our three planned stopovers, making our way on a connecting Amtrak bus from Oakland to our hotel.

California Zephyr

Leaving San Francisco a few days later, we started our journey home on a different route, this time on the California Zephyr.

Within a couple of hours, we were in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. En route, fields were alight with orange California poppies, the state flower, punctuated by swaying purple lupines. The scenery, especially the views of the American River far below, was spectacular.

We roared through tunnel after tunnel, sometimes entering from bright sunlight and emerging into a heavy snowstorm. Just beyond the Mount Judah tunnel lay remote Donner Lake, where the infamous Donner party was stranded during the winter of 1846-47, with some members ultimately resorting to cannibalism. The train soon made a sweeping horseshoe curve and we joined other passengers at the windows to watch ourselves coming and going.

The longest tunnel on this route, taking about 10 minutes to traverse, is the more than six-mile-long Moffat Tunnel at the Continental Divide northwest of Denver at an elevation of about 9,094 feet.

Just when it seemed that we'd be teetering on the edge of cliffs forever, the train began its rapid descent into Denver, the last stopover on our journey. After hours of travel over and through mountains, we enjoyed roaming the Mile High City and being able to look up at snowcapped peaks.

Three days later we reboarded the California Zephyr to continue to Chicago. From there we retraced our route to Albany, and ultimately back to Maine, where trees were barely budding and only a few hardy flowers had started poking through the ground.

The people you meet

Who travels by train these days? An amazing number of people who said that they do not fly, ever. Passengers on business trips, or on vacation, or starting new lives. We talked with a woman leaving her New York life behind to help raise an infant grandson; a Navajo couple on their honeymoon; a lawyer who had resigned from a demanding partnership and was off to visit his college-age son. It was school vacation week in many states, and several families were on board, the kids happily absorbing painless lessons in U.S. geography.

As for those backyards that so worried my friend? I saw them, of course, filled with the expected junked cars, old refrigerators, children's play sets and family dogs.

But the backyards held unusual sights and unexpected beauty, too — potential stories to ponder as we clattered across the country. Why were two elderly men stoically sitting in short sleeves in an Albany backyard in 30-degree weather? Why was a dog in Iowa, with a vast open field to run in, trying desperately to leap a fence into the empty backyard of an abandoned house? Throughout the country, we admired manicured lawns and countless yards transformed with carefully tended gardens.

But perhaps my best memory of the trip is of the children of all shapes, sizes and hues we saw as we whizzed past houses, apartment buildings and Native American reservations across the country. In parkas and boots in New Hampshire, jeans and flannel shirts in the Midwest, shorts and flip-flops in California, they ran to the far reaches of their backyards, waving excitedly until we were out of sight, as if the breeze from their hands would help speed us on our way.

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BEFORE 'ALL ABOARD!' AND AFTER

1. Avoid scheduling tight connections unless Amtrak-guaranteed. Like airlines, trains are sometimes unavoidably late.

2. Consider any physical limitations when booking. It takes reasonable flexibility to climb the ladder into the upper bunks of bedrooms and roomettes. Some couples get around this by booking side-by-side roomettes, giving each person a lower bunk.

3. Dress comfortably. Shoes are required at all times except within the sleepers; rubber soles are practical for walking in the moving train. Travel light or plan to check luggage through to your destination.

4. Take advantage of so-called "smoking stops" (there is no smoking aboard any Amtrak train), even if you don't smoke. It's a good time to get out and walk. But stay close by: Conductors mean it when they call "All Aboard."

5. Allow time for stopovers. We made the Maine to California jaunt in three straight days, but the leisurely return trip was more enjoyable. Stopovers allow time for practical issues like exercise and laundry, as well as a chance to explore new destinations.

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Hammond is an award-winning writer who lives on the coast of Maine.