Friday, April 22, 2016

Spring Break Redux: Empire Builder Itinerary

In truth, while I did spend two nights on the train, I only spent one full day which covered most of North Dakota to just outside of Glacier National Park in Montana.

Notes from my trip:

#5 - What happens when you forget you haven't changed your travel alarm? You end up the sole inhabitant of the lounge car's observation deck while whizzing through Lakota, North Dakota in the pitch black of pre-dawn! Time to write some postcards.


#6 - Last stop in North Dakota is Williston. Amazing that Verizon has worked all across the state- -and there was very little service in western Pennsylvania, western Maryland or the panhandle of West Virginia.


#7 - Mary tells me that the Empire Builder used to be full of oil workers fracking in the hills of North Dakota, but now there are hardly any around.  She points out a set of 30 prefab homes in a little berg as we fly past and says, "I'll bet they're all empty."

#8 - Roomettes are a perfect choice if you want comfort and privacy and a picture window sized view of the world.
#9 - The food is pretty good.  It's all inclusive for me with the price of my roomette.  A typical breakfast.


#10 - Just like on planes, some people drink too much, but they are around you a lot longer.  I don't understand why people drink like this in public.  They don't annoy me, I just feel sorry for them.



#11 - Don't forget to bring lots of loose cash for gratuities.  You will want to tip your server in the dining car and definitely the car attendants.  I found all of mine so helpful overall that I thanked them with between $10 and $30 dollars to a total of $115.00 plus another easy $35 @ meals.  I am not a wealthy man, but I'm also not going to take anything I have with me when I'm gone--better to distribute it now, right?



To that end I did get off the train in White Fish, Montana to visit an ATM, and was also greeted by this sad little taxidermies Big Horn Sheep.

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