37 thoughts had on a 15 hour train journey from Denver to Salt LakeCity.

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1. 15 hours isn’t so long, really. Not when you’ve got snacks, music and TV shows to watch (oh, and plenty of work to get through). We’ll be heading through the mountains soon and my camera’s at the ready. We’ve totally got this. 

2. This is some of the nicest scenery I’ve ever seen in my life. Our snaking Amtrak train is carving a route through what feels like the heart of the mountains themselves – from time to time ancient boulders rear up on both sides, forming a tunnel that we slowly, quietly pass through. The sun has just risen over layers and layers of rocky mountains, spilling a lazy golden glow over everything in sight. Ambling past our windows are fiery red crags are frosted with snow, and dramatic valleys which make it feel as though the mountains are suddenly gasping for air. It might have sounded a bit crazy when we booked it, but I am so glad we took the train instead of flying. 

3. I am… Sasha Fierce is by far Beyonce’s best album. Just sayin. 

4. I’ve been writing blogposts, fuelled by not enough sleep and a strong, early coffee. Reading back over what I’ve written , I’m not sure whether I’ve completely forgotten how to write or I’m going a tiny bit mental. I’m sure I can find some time for editing in the next…thirteen hours. Dear god.

6. I have no idea what’s in salt lake city. It’s another one of those times when we’re just going to go there and find out. Personally, I’m hoping for a comfy bed and wifi.

7. I could do with a cup of tea. 

8. And a biscuit.

9. I love it when the track curves and we get a glimpse of the front of the train, snaking ahead. 

10. Why are chocolate MnM's different colours when they all taste the same?

11. Fortitude is a strange TV show. Very, very strange.

12. When I finish my book (We are Called to Rise by Laura McBride), I'm going to have to leave it on this train. I don't really have a choice - I can't fit it in my backpack anymore. Adjusting to this way of thinking is difficult - especially for someone who loves and treasures books - but I'm getting there.

13. Did I just see a moose?

14. Nope. I'm pretty sure it was just a cow.

15. Every now and again, in the middle of a landscape so remote and wild and epic, I see a tiny hut or house. What do they do there? How do they live? I can't even see a car.

16. Pit stop in Grand Junction. This station looks transplanted straight from last century - it's got an empty, timeless feel. 

17. OK, so I was just greeted with a woman naked from the waist down in the Grand Junction public toilet. She looked a bit harassed, but not as much as the girl standing next to her who proceeded to exclaim "mom! this isn't Mexico anymore!" before slamming the cubicle door shut on her half-dressed mother and apologising to me. 

18. All of the Amtrak trains have viewing carriages, which mean the walls are pure windows which extend onto the roof. The views are amazing out here. I could sit and watch this all day.

19. This chocolate peppermint brittle cost us 75 cence in a King Souper last night. It's damn good. 

20. I wonder what US travellers coming to the UK think. Compared to this vast, barren wilderness, their countless metropolises, our little island must seem tiny. I wonder if it feels crowded to them.

21. Bon Iver would be the perfect soundtrack to watch this wilderness by. 

22. Crap. No wifi. No Bon Iver. I'll settle for Springsteen.

23. I'm so happy I stopped caring about whether what I write is search optimised, on-brand or remotely interesting to other people. I mean, of course I want it to be all of those things, but ultimately I now write what I want. I wonder who reads my blog. Who are you, reading it right now? Do you like it?

24. Ok, so maybe 15 hours is quite a long time. My liquid eyeliner is starting to fade off, and that's when you know.

25. The stops on this train are super duper quick. They say you can get off for four minutes - and they really do mean four minutes. We scramble back on the double-decker train as fast as we can to avoid getting stuck in places with names like Green River - i.e., the absolute  middle of nowhere. 

26. We're going through a place called Ruby Canyon, and it's insanely beautiful. All flaming red rock and craggy inlets and vast plains. 

27. The sun is just starting to set, meaning everything has this gorgeous orange glow. Even the faces of the people on the train next to me are alight, illumnated by it. It's one of the most peaceful things I've ever seen. 

28. I think there just comes a time when you need to put down the camera. I've been pressed against the glass for a while, constantly snapping and shooting and videoing, but sometimes you just need to sit back and enjoy the view itself. I instantly feel calmer, but also overwhelmed by the sheer beauty of what I'm seeing. I almost feel bad for the others who are hopping from one side of the carriage to the other, not even looking out of the window, viewing the scene purely from a camera or phone screen. I want to tell them to sit down. Look outside. Life's too short. 

29. When you're faced with views like this, you can't help but feel reflective. I'm 25. I'm very aware that I'm in my mid-twenties, yet I haven't done any of the things I want to do yet. Yes, I'm travelling. Yes, I'm a writer. But I want to write something great; a novel that people find beautiful or that changes someone's life, or just their day, just slightly. I want to work with animals and I want to help people and I want to become really, really good at something. I hate thinking that I'm running out of time.

30. I'd kill for a blanket right now.

31. It's completely dark now and and Phil are snuggled up watching Fortitude. It just gets weirder and weirder.

32. Cavalier King Charles Spaniels are the cutest dogs ever. I really want one.

33. Thirteen hours in. We've only crossed one state. The US is really bloody big.

34. I still can't believe Alan Rickman died. What an actor. 

35. I really should be working, not sitting here eating chocolate peppermint brittle and watching a very, very weird TV show. I'll blame it on the wifi.

36. The train is almost empty. I can't really believe it's been 15 hours. My bum definitely feels a bit softer than it did before.

37. The fifteenth hour. We have to be almost there. There's city lights in the distance - I'm guessing that's Salt Lake. I have no idea what's there, but I have a feeling I'm about to find out.