These are not in any particular order, except the order they appear. It is just how my brain is working at the moment now.
1. Stay at the Izaak Walton Inn
The Izaak Walton Inn is a railroad crew camp which has been turned into a hotel. It was built in the 1930's for rail crews working out of Essex, Montana, near Glacier National Park. Essex was an important location on the Great Northern Railway, because that is where helper locomotives were added to eastbound trains headed up the grade to Marias Pass, over the continental divide. Helper locomotives were taken off the westbound trains as they arrived in Essex. Today the hotel is located on the BNSF mainline across Montana, and it is still a helper base. The hotel is located next to the railroad tracks, and visitors can book trackside rooms, with windows that look out to the railroad. In addition to the hotel itself, they also have accommodations built in cabooses and a locomotive. They also have small cabins that visitors can rent. All of these are located right next to the railroad tracks, which sees over 50 trains every day. Some people would warn that it will be a noisy hotel, but I think it sounds great! There is also a restaurant, bar, and gift shop at the Izaak Walton Inn.
What I want to do is make a trip to Essex, just to stay at the inn. I want to make it a proper railfan trip though. I would like to take Amtrak's Empire Builder to the Essex flagstop, which is close to the hotel. They would pick me up in a van and shuttle me from the flagstop to the inn. I would stay at the hotel for a few days, then either continue the trip on the Empire Builder, or get on and return to wherever I came from. While staying at the inn and looking at trains, I would also plan on spending a few days to visit Glacier National Park. One of those days, I would take Amtrak to East Glacier, where the park entrance is, and then take it back to the Izaak Walton Inn that evening.
2. Bike over 100 miles in a day:
There are a few places I have thought about doing this. The first time I had this idea, the plan was to bike around Utah Lake, which is just about 100 miles. The shortest route around the lake is just under 100 miles, but I think it would be a fun trip.
I have also thought about doing this from Anchorage to Seward. That would be a 123 mile trip. I figure I could take the train back though. They run a baggage car to Seward, so I could check the bike and ride the train, and then my bike would also have a way to get home after the trip, since it would be an out-and-back trip instead of a loop. There are thousands of other places I could potentially do a 100 mile bike ride. Those are just a couple of potential places I have thought of.
3. Visit Bailey Yard:
Bailey Yard is in North Platte, Nebraska, and it is a large railroad yard operated by the Union Pacific Railroad. It is the largest classification yard in the world. Every day they service over 300 locomotives and handle over 10,000 freight cars. It is a busy place with hundreds of miles of tracks and thousands of employees. Most long distance trains operated by Union Pacific go to or through Bailey Yard.
4. Break the Sound Barrier:
I had a great plan for this one--fly on the Concorde. The trouble is, that no longer flies. I suppose I need a new plan now. Any ideas?
5. Get a Pilot's License:
I have a plan for this! Tim is going to teach me to fly. I want to get a private pilot's license and an instrument rating, then I can actually go somewhere with my license. I have no interest in flying for a career. I don't like it that much, but I do think it would be fun and useful to have a private pilot's license.
