I woke up around 6 am mountain time and it was still dark out. I looked out at the lights for a while and then made my way to the dining car around 6:45 am for breakfast.
My dining companion was Barry, a really interesting guy who travels by train all the time and is on a first name basis with the OBS crew. He even shows them around town during their off time in San Franciso. Barry worked for many years as an administrative hearing judge for the VA and is now retired. He is a writer and writes the blog "Bronx Tao".
I had the railroad French toast and sausage as we watched the sun rise over the Utah high desert. 
After breakfast I headed back to my room to watch the scenery and relax for a while. There were dry creek beds, rock formations, and snow capped mountains in the distance (lasalle mountains?) We went through little towns, too and past some farms/ranches. The conductor said that we could see Arches national park in the distance. Here is an assortment of pictures from the morning.
Above is the bustling metropolis of Green River Utah. The elevation there is approximately 4000 feet and the conductor said we would be climbing up from here. You can see a little white church with a steeple in the back left of the photo. In the picture below you can see some cattle grazing.
This landscape is just so different from where I live. It looks so dry and scraggly. Most of the creek beds we have gone past have been dry or with just a trickle of water. I had read that they are having a drought out west and I wonder what that means long term for the people out here.
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