There was a lot of news coverage being given to the return of the Winter Park Express. The original train service traveled from downtown Denver to Winter Park Resort from 1940 to 2009. Now resurrected, passengers can pay to skip highway traffic and arrive a 100 feet away from a ski lift.

Winter Park is unique because it has an impressive adaptive skiing program called National Sports Center for the Disabled. My aunt is visually impaired and raves about the organization. They provide therapeutic, adaptive sports and recreational programs to 3,000 people of all ages and ability. A lot of the athletes have tremendously inspiring stories of overcoming a tragic accident or condition and also strive to make the Paralympic team.

My plan was to investigate if the new transportation service would benefit some participants in traveling to the mountains. I learned NSCD provides its own shuttle service, so the train wouldn't drastically change anyone's commute. I called the office anyway and discovered a couple NSCD participants were riding the inaugural train, and that's where the story developed.

I pitched the idea to the Denver Post and they were interested. I documented the first train ride, transmitted a gallery, shot video, and wrote an article.

I ended up getting the Tennessee job, but decided to stay in my home state.