I walked along the once mighty Colorado River that flows past our hometown in the far southwest corner of our state and noticed changes there that I’ve photographed here.

Between the trestles you can see all that’s left of the guard tower beside all that’s left of the once dreaded Yuma Territorial Prison outside Yuma, Arizona.

A little over a hundred years ago, armed guards manned the tower with sharpshooter rifles to kill any prisoner foolish enough to try and escape into the harsh and unforgiving desert. A guard’s bullet would likely be a more merciful death than the scorching sun would deliver.

Of course, there’s another way out of prison and certain death that’s depicted in my photograph . . . the comfort of a train ride to what would be heaven in comparison to the hell of the old prison and surrounding desert.

Call it the “Jesus Train.”