By Suzanne Carmel

American Orient Express in Arizona. photo: courtesy of AOE

The sounds of animated chatter and clinking flutes of champagne welcome guests to the Grand Salon of the esteemed Grand America Hotel in Salt Lake City, Utah.

As the group mills about, nametags firmly in place, "Golden Railers" who have taken a similar journey before greet the uninitiated and each other. We're about to begin a week-long exploration of the national parks of the West onboard the American Orient Express (AOE), a privately-owned 16-car luxury train. The sense of anticipation is palpable; the setting elegant. We already seem to be stepping back in time to an era when an important part of travel was the journey itself.

Beginning a rail trip out West in Salt Lake City seems a bit ironic, given that the capital of the Beehive State (dubbed beehive for the industrious Mormons who developed this area) is one of the only cities out West that does not owe its development to the railroad. During our half-day tour, one cannot help but marvel at the Temple Square, a symbol of the religious freedom many came here to enjoy. Today, less than 40 percent of Salt Lake City is Mormon, but 70 percent of the state practices this faith. The city is well worth a visit and a convenient point of embarkation for the train.

Utah is home to both Zion National Park and Cedar Breaks Monument, which we'll visit later in the week. Surprisingly, many passengers have not yet been to any of the five stops on our itinerary. In addition to the two stops in Utah, we'll visit three other national parks - Yellowstone, Grand Teton and Grand Canyon. These five natural treasures owe their first influx of tourists, in part, to the railroad.

According to Carlos Schwantes, our guest lecturer for the week and an authority on transportation, few people came out to tour the West before the start of the railroad back in the 1830s. The railroad realized that the national parks would draw people out West and made it possible to get to these attractions. It issued millions of brochures promoting national parks and built many of the park lodges. (CONTINUE...)