The Great(ish) Amtrak Journey: Part 2

I've returned! My trip to Colorado went very well, but before posting about all of that, I figured I'd finish up my Amtrak story.

The rest of my trip to Colorado was pretty uneventful. After the sun set, there weren't many things to look at, so I watched more TV on my iPad Mini and slept off and on. We did go by a herd of elk at one point, though, and that was pretty cool. I attempted to get a picture, but the lack of sunlight made it a little difficult.

On the way back, I was planning on leaving from Glenwood Springs since I'd be coming from Aspen (Glenwood Springs is where the state highway leading to Aspen connects to I-70), but that ended up changing when I was offered the chance to go to a Denver Nuggets game with my friend Margaux! More on that in my post to come about the non-train portions of the trip.

Anyways, I ended up leaving from Denver. Their station is a bit bigger than Salt Lake's, but in need of some updating. There's construction all around the area, so it looks like that may be happening. I managed to snag yet another bulkhead seat (upon reading about train seating, apparently bulkheads aren't as highly valued as I thought, but they do indeed have more legroom and you always have a full window!) and promptly set it up as my home for the next fifteen hours.

Again, I got two seats to myself for the full duration of the trip. This trip made me very grateful for my height, as I was able to perfectly curl up into a ball on the two seats with the leg rests propped out. I wish I had remembered a pillow, though, although having two blankets made that a little better.

The highlight of this train trip was going through the canyons of western Colorado during sunset. The red rocks looked absolutely stunning in light! So, me being me, I snapped about half a million photos.

All of Colorado was very beautiful. There wasn't much snow, which was a bit surprising for this time of year, but it was still great to see. I highly recommend a trip on the California Zephyr if you're interested in the scenic route between Salt Lake and Denver! And now, I leave you with some Instagram photos...

Lone truck in western Colorado

Glenwood Springs

Colorado River in the mountains

The Great(ish) Amtrak Journey: Part 1

Greetings from Grand Junction, Colorado!

So far, the Amtrak journey from Salt Lake City to Denver is going well. It started this morning very early (or last night very late depending on how you look at it). I got to the station at 2:30am, mainly because it said online that you had to check bags more than 45 minutes prior to departure (departure time was listed at 3:30am) and I didn't want to lug my massive suitcase around. But, when I went to check in, they said the train would be arriving in ten minutes! 

The train did indeed arrive about ten minutes later, but it took 15-20 minutes for them to unload all of the passengers who were completing their journey at Salt Lake. The train still stayed at the station until about 3:30am, but I was glad to be there earlier so I could get a good seat. And I definitely did! I am in the bulkhead, so I have a TON of room. If you think bulkheads have a lot of legroom on airplanes, just wait til you see it on a train. I have a good foot and a half of space between my feet and the wall and I'm all sprawled out! I read that some people aren't fans of the bulkhead because the doors between train cars can be noisy, but I just popped in my in-ear headphones and played some Mumford and Sons and barely noticed the noise at all. I also had an eye mask (thanks, Gap Outlet clearance sale), so that blocked out any light.

I managed to sleep until about 8am. I didn't have anyone in the seat next to me, so I put both the leg rests all the way up and turned it into a little bed. Fortunately, since I am vertically challenged, that worked out well for me. I slept wonderfully, much to my surprise.

When I woke up, they were serving breakfast in the dining car, but I opted against that and watched some TV on my new iPad Mini. I think I'll go to the dining car for lunch, but right now, I am nice and cozy in my seat.

The desert scenery has been pretty cool...check out some of my Instagram pics below!

Colorado River

Utah desert

Shantytown in the desert

More desert

So that's part one. We'll call it the desert portion. Next up are the mountains...I'm definitely looking forward to the scenery for that part!!

30 Questions: The Greatest

What is the thing you most wish you were great at?

MUSIC!! I've always loved music! If you've ever been in a car with me, you've heard me singing (although I cannot guarantee the quality of that singing). I've never stuck with any instruments, though, and I wish I had the ability to play them. I can knock out a few chords on the guitar or play a rudimentary piece on the piano, but I've never been able to do either well. I can read music and have even taken the time to sound out tunes on the piano so that I can write them down...but a quick little melody line doesn't sound all that exciting without harmonies to go with it!

Some of you have also read the song lyrics I have written. I wish I had the talent to put them to music. I always have a tune in my head when I write the words (hence why I call them songs and not poems), but I lack much in terms of ability to write the actual music down.

So, there you have it. I'd love to be a musician!

Bonus picture of me being Lady Gaga back in grad school

Not Your Average Thanksgiving

This year, my Thanksgiving is not going to be like it usually is.

Typically, I have a pretty normal Thanksgiving. I brave the ridiculous airport crowds to fly back to Indianapolis, where I have three Thanksgivings (usually) with about 100ish family members (probably an exaggeration, but oh well). I usually talk my sister or mom into going Black Friday shopping with me (although that was slightly delayed last year by a hangover), even though neither of them really want to.

My Thanksgiving this year starts tonight (technically tomorrow) at 2:30am, when I get to the Amtrak station in Salt Lake City. I'll be taking the California Zephyr train through the mountains to Denver, where I'll be spending two days with my former roommate and dear friend Karen. After two days in Denver, we're driving up to the mountains for the Nature Valley Aspen Winternational, a women's alpine skiing World Cup. After two days there, it's back on the train and back to Utah!

It'll be interesting. I'll definitely miss my normal, chaotic holiday that I love despite its craziness. I'll miss my family and our traditions, both old and new.

But stay tuned for an update on my 15-hour train trip and the ensuing Colorado adventure!

Chocolate Oatmeal Cake and Following Recipes

Last night's adventure...baking chocolate oatmeal cake.

I got the photo off of Tastespotting (it was Pinterest before Pinterest existed), which led to the recipe here.

I had to get a little creative due to a lack of ingredients for the icing they suggested (namely, marshmallows and milk), but it appears to have worked out! Who knew that French vanilla coconut milk creamer could make such tasty (albeit not so smooth) ganache? The one critique I have about the cake itself is that this definitely turned out more like a brownie than a cake, so I'm referring to this recipe as "Chocolate Oatmeal Brownie Things." This isn't a bad thing to me, as I much prefer brownies to cake, but I can see where it'd be annoying if someone were going to try it for a special occasion.

This is why you should always, always use your go-to recipes for special occasions, friends!

Granted, I'm not one for following my own advice. Typically, I use holidays as excuses to bake up whatever random thing I find online. One Easter, I actually invented my own recipe for cookie dough layer cake (while it turned out well, I do not recommend going rogue on cookbooks for a big occasion!). Last Thanksgiving, I made pecan pie for the first time and decided to make a second with chocolate in it (again, diverging from recipes).

Cookie Dough Cake...or, more accurately, brown sugar cake with chocolate chip cookie dough filling, cookie dough icing and chocolate chip cookie crumbs

Alright, now that I've got that out of my system...back to the chocolate oatmeal cake. I am baking at high altitude here in Park City, so the texture could've been a problem with my altitude adjustments. I don't typically see that much of a difference, though.

The final verdict? This stuff is tasty and I liked it. Work people liked it. I'll probably make it again!

30 Questions: Greatest Accomplishments

What are your 5 greatest accomplishments?

1.) Sticking to my dream of working in the Olympic movement and making it happen!

2.) Getting my Masters degree

3.) Maintaining close relationships with family and friends despite distance

4.) Going from never using a DSLR camera to being an official World Cup photographer in less than two years

5.) Accepting myself for who I am and appreciating my quirks

Yeah, I know they're a little less than concrete, but give me a break...my life has only just started and I intend to accomplish a lot more with it! :)

Winter is Coming...

I didn't have ANY idea how anxious I'd be for winter simply by virtue of working and living in a ski town. Those of you who have known me for awhile know that, although I love winter sports, I'm not too keen on the winter/snow/cold part.

Park City had its first snow storm a little over a week ago.

Now, with the snow covering the ski runs...I CANNOT WAIT TO GO SKIING!!

BRING ON WINTER!!