坐在装满刚产的葡萄酒列车上，放眼望去，映入眼帘的是新墨西哥州，亚利桑那州和圣达菲州美丽景色，穿越过一道道峡谷。你不仅可以享受到完美的精致，还可以省钱。你可以早早地预订酒店，并同时买张火车票，记住，即使是夏天过去，也要记得带件厚外套。

Southwest USA by train

Gaze out your window at the plaintive desert of New Mexico and Arizona（新墨西哥和亚利桑那州）, stroll downtown Santa Fe（圣达菲） and Flagstaff, bed down in historic hotels, and choo-choo（火车） up to the canyon （峡谷）on a vintage（收获葡萄酒的） train. In an age of rising fuel costs and city sprawl, riding the rails can be easy and economical.

Begin with a few days exploring Santa Fe’s historic landmarks, museums and galleries, most within walking distance of La Fonda hotel. Surround yourself in Southwestern charm here or, for a less expensive option, try the El Rey Inn, a short cab ride from downtown Santa Fe.

The westbound Amtrak（美国全国铁路客运公司） departs Lamy, 20 minutes south of Santa Fe and accessible via a prearranged Amtrak shuttle from your hotel, daily at 2:24pm. One-and-a-half hours later, the train arrives in Albuquerque（阿尔布开克）, where vendors（小贩） sell turquoise jewelry and Navajo-style（那瓦霍人） blankets from the platform and new passengers board. You sit with a glass of wine as the train pulls away from the city’s outskirts, and stare out at the massive red-rock mesas and plateaus of Navajo country, your book lying open and unread in your lap. The train rolls on, through the flat desert plains of western Arizona, and, in about five hours, up into the Ponderosa surrounds of Flagstaff.

Disembarking, you’ll notice as soon as you step onto the platform that it’s colder here; even in summer you’ll need to pull on your fleece（羊毛） before heading to your hotel for the night. The streets of this welcoming college town are busy as you walk to the Weatherford Hotel. The wraparound 2nd floor porch off the bar is a great place to kick back （休息）with a cold beer after the train ride.

Wake up for tofu scrambles and coffee at Macy’s European Coffee House, a popular local hang-out. If you’re feeling ambitious, rent a bike and pick up a bike-trail map at Absolute Bikes. Head west on Route 66 from the shop and follow it for about 3 miles to S Woody Mountain Rd; take a left and ride 4 miles through pines and meadows to the Arboretum at Flagstaff. Here, trails wind around gardens with more than 2300 species of plants; it’s a beautiful spot for a picnic.

Jump on the 8:57pm Amtrak or the 3.45pm Amtrak bus shuttle to Williams, a tiny tourist town 35 miles west of Flagstaff, and sleep at the Lodge, an updated Route 66 classic (or stay in Flagstaff and take a shuttle or cab in the morning). The Grand Canyon Railway departs from Williams. Catch the predeparture Wild West Show at 9:30am, with silly banter, goofy cowboys wearing spurs, and an Old West facade, before boarding the vintage train for the two-and-a-half-hour ride to the canyon.

As the train slowly chugs north out of town（开往西部） and descends into the shrubbery(灌木) of the desert, the mountains softly arch in the distance, nothing but shaded silhouettes（轮廓）, and the coolness of morning fades. The train lulls you along, passing a landscape devoid of cars and buildings, and with few other hints of the 21st century. Cowboy singers pass through the train, plucking Johnny Cash, and someone walks down the aisle with bottles of soda and water. Folks exchange stories and talk politics until the train pulls into the station at Grand Canyon National Park, a short walk from the canyon rim.

Some people resist the train, thinking they need the flexibility of a car, and perhaps feeling anchorless without it. But this trip is easy, with no middle-of-the-night departures. True, you don’t have the same freedom you have in your own car, but this kind of travel offers a different kind of freedom. You don’t have any choice but to slow down and enjoy the ride.

This is an abridged version of ‘Southwest by train’ in the Iconic Trips chapter from the Arizona, New Mexico & Grand Canyon book in our Trips series.

博外话：

美国西南部 （Southwestern United States、American Southwest或 The Southwest），是美国西部的一个区域，比北部温暖，但比东部干燥。西南地区的人口分布比邻近区域较为稀疏（以至于其城市也比其他城市的人口密度低），并且有较多的西裔美国人，墨西哥美国人和美洲印第安人，所以西南部比其它地区更加种族多元化。

西南部在地理上包括“西南沙漠区”，主要为亚利桑那州和新墨西哥州。部分内华达州和犹他州、得克萨斯州西部和俄克拉何马州、加利福尼亚州南部及科罗拉多州西南部也被认为是美国西南部的一部分。