Whimsy for the Winsy

We have a swingset in our back yard, a relic from a time when my children actually used such a thing. It's a bit rickety, and it's been generally unused for at least four years. It sits on a nicely leveled raised bed, framed by railroad ties.

One of my pipe dreams, home improvement category, is to remove the swingset and replace it with a tiny house/man shed/retreat. Something like this:

But I saw something yesterday that has me reconsidering the art of the possible.

Minnesotan-by-way-of-Alaska Gabe Emerson also wanted a small place to call his own on his friend's remote property. After first seeking to acquire an old plane fuselage, he went one better.

He bought a monorail.

Seems the Minnesota Zoo decommissioned one and had no idea what to do with it. Once Emerson convinced them he was serious, they sold it to him for a song. Or for $1,000, to be precise. It cost another $5,000 or so to dismantle and move the six-car train to the property, which is a steal, considering.

Emerson built a deck and is in the process of renovating and updating the cars. But he and his friends have already used it as an alternative to tents, and he's likely got the most unique cabin in Minnesota's famously cabin-crazed culture.

Now all I need to do is find a monorail.