My daughter Lisa, called me in June and said that she and her husband
were going to a wedding in Sitka, Alaska over the Labor Day weekend,
and that they were flying to Anchorage the week before the wedding and
going camping in Denali. She suggested that I meet them in
Anchorage and travel to Denali with them.
Using frequent flyer miles, I was able to book an evening flight from
LAX to Anchorage on Aug. 19, and a red-eye return on Aug. 28. My
plan was to fly to Anchorage, travel to Seward and cruise Kenai Fjords,
then return to Anchorage to join up with my daughter and
son-in-law. The next day we would take the Alaska Railroad to
Denali Park.
Tuesday, Aug. 19, 2014
My flight was not scheduled to depart until 7:05 PM, but I was packed
and ready to go by noon, so my daughter Julie picked me up and brought
me to the Fullerton train station. From there, I took Amtrak to
LA Union Station, where I caught the Fly-Away Bus to LAX. After
killing several hours at LAX, the flight boarded and took off on time,
but due to headwinds, our arrival in Anchorage was not until about
Midnight, rather than the scheduled 11:22 PM. I did not have any
checked bags to collect, so upon exiting the plane, I took out my cell
phone to call the hotel for pickup. I then realized that I had
forgotten to turn off my cell phone for the flight, and the phone had
spent the five hours of flight time searching for a cell signal, so the
battery was now dead. So it took me another ten minutes to find a
land line phone to call the hotel. I finally arrived at the hotel
(Anchorage Ramada) at about 1:30 AM.
Wednesday, Aug. 20
Today I travel to Seward. I would have preferred to take the
Alaska Railroad rather than a bus, but the train to Seward leaves
Anchorage around 6:00 AM, and given my late arrival last night, I
didn’t think that an early departure would work. So I had a
reservation on the bus, which leaves from the Anchorage Museum at 3:00
PM. This gave me some time to explore Anchorage.
The Morning Train for Denali
Alaska Railroad Anchorage Depot
Alaska Museum
The bus travels along the Turnagain Arm on the Seward Highway, passing
beside the Cook Inlet and progressing to the Kenai Peninsula. The
trip is 127 miles and takes a little under three hours.
The following four photos are of the Cook Inlet and the Kenai Peninsula, taken from the bus.
The bus delivered me to my hotel, the Seward Windsong Lodge, located a
few miles out of downtown Seward. The Resurrection River flows in
front of the hotel, on the other side of the highway.
Resurrection River near Seward Windsong Lodge
Resurrection River near Seward Windsong Lodge
Thursday, Aug. 21
This morning, I took the hotel shuttle to the small boat harbor, from
where the Kenai Fjords cruise departs. I checked in for my
cruise, which was to depart at 11:30 AM, and lasts approximately six
hours.
Our Cruise Ship: Glacier Express
Seward Small Boat Harbor
The following pictures were taken from the Glacier Express cruise.
Bear Glacier
Humpback whale having just broached
Holgate Glacier
Holgate Glacier
Surprise Glacier
Holgate Glacier
Selfie of Fred at Holgate Glacier
The cruise included an all-you-can-eat buffet consisting of prime rib
and locally caught salmon. When we returned to port, I caught the
shuttle back to my hotel, arriving at about 7:00 PM.. Still full
from lunch, I skipped dinner.
Friday, Aug. 22
Today I am going on a tour to the Exit Glacier, which is about an 8
mile van ride from my hotel. Exit Glacier is the only glacier in
the park accessible by road. It, like the other Kenai Fjord
glaciers, originates in the Harding Icefield. The Exit Glacier is
rapidly retreating at a rate of over 40 ft/year, and last year, with an
unusually mild winter and warm summer, it retreated over 100
feet. If you want to see it, don’t wait too long. The
following pictures are of Exit Glacier, its river and its moraine.
After the Exit Glacier tour, I checked out of the hotel and took the
shuttle to downtown Seward, where I had a late lunch before proceeding
to the train station for the 6:00 PM train back to Anchorage. I
found the scenery from the train to be significantly more spectacular
than that viewed from the bus, in fact the route from Seward to
Anchorage is considered by many to be the most scenic on the Alaska
Railroad. After departing Seward, the train climbs into the Kenai
Mountains and passes Kenai Lake. It continues on to Grandview
Pass, Bartlett Glacier and Spencer Glacer. The train then decends
and travels along the Turnagain Arm and the Anchorage Coastal Wildlife
Refuge On our trip back to Anchorage, a Moose was spotted in a
meadow, and the engineer stopped the train so that all the passengers
could get a look and take pictures.
Our Train at the Seward Station
Leaving the Seward Station
The following photos were taken from the train on the trip back to Anchorage.
Train Stopped to View Moose
The train arrived in Anchorage shortly after 10:00 PM, and I proceeded
to my hotel, which was a short walk uphill from the train
station. As I checked into my hotel, I got a call from my
daughter, Lisa and son-in-law, Jon, who had just checked into their
hotel across the street. They came over and we visited for a
while, making plans for the next two days.
Saturday, Aug. 23
This morning, we walked to Snow City Cafe, a restaurant recommended in
Lisa’s guidebook, for breakfast. We had a 45 minute wait.
The food was good, but who waits 45 minutes for breakfast; eggs are
eggs.
After breakfast we walked to the train station, and then along Ship Creek where salmon can be seen.
Steam Locomotive in front of Depot
Salmon in Ship Creek.
Lisa and Jon had to drive to the
airport to pick up some friends who were going camping with them in
Denali. While they were gone, I visited the Anchorage Saturday
Market and Festival, which was close to my hotel.
Anchorage Saturday Market & Festival
Anchorage Saturday Market & Festival
Lisa and Jon returned from the airport with friends Elizabeth and
Brian, and we spent the rest of the day exploring Anchorage and having
dinner.
Lisa, Jon, Brian and Elizabeth at the Snow Goose
Sunday, Aug. 24
Today we take the train from Anchorage to Denali, which leaves
Anchorage at 8:15 AM. We are all booked in Goldstar Class, which
features large picture windows and a unique upper level outside viewing
platform.
Jon and Lisa in the Outside Viewing Platform
One of the most spectacular sights on the trip is the Hurricane Gulch
trestle. The train slows to 10 mph to cross the trestle.
The creek is 296 feet below and the bridge span is 914 feet. The
Riley Creek bridge, located just before the train enters Denali Park,
is the second highest and third longest on the railroad.
The following photos were taken from the train on the trip from Anchorage to Denali.
Lisa, Jon and I Having Lunch in the Diner
Scenery at Lunch
Looking Toward the Rear of the Train
And Toward the Front
Crossing Hurricane Gulch Trestle
Hurricane Gulch
Passing the Anchorage Bound Train
Lisa on the Outside Viewing Platform
Crossing Riley Creek Bridge
We arrived at the depot a little before 4:00 PM, and found the shuttle
to our hotel, The Denali Bluffs, waiting in the depot parking
lot. We checked into the hotel, and later went out to
dinner. Since we would be going our separate ways tomorrow, we
said our good-byes before retiring.
Monday, Aug. 25
My Denali Park bus tour was scheduled to depart from my hotel at 6:20
AM, so I requested a wake-up call for 5:00 AM. I never got the
call, thanks to a broken phone in my room, but luckily, I woke up by
5:30 AM and was able to catch the bus. I didn’t have time to get
breakfast, but I had a piece of leftover pizza from last night that I
consumed on my way to the bus.
I thought that I had seen the last of Lisa and Jon for the trip, but
their bus to the Wonder Lake Campground, was right behind my tour bus,
and we kept stopping at the same rest stops, so we saw each other
several times during the morning. Our bus traveled 62 miles into
the park, and we saw a variety of wildlife and scenery. The
following photos were taken from the bus tour in Denali.
Moose
Moose
Dall Sheep
Grizzly Bear
Grizzly Bear
Grizzly Bear
Grizzly Bear
Caribou
Grizzly with Cubs
Caribou
Caribou
I got back to the hotel around 3:00 PM, had dinner, and explored the small town of Denali outside the Park.
The Small Town of Denali
I should note that, due to the constant cloud cover, I never did see
Mt. McKinley, either on the train to Denali or on the Denali Park bus
tour. I did, however, see it from Anchorage, but at that
distance, it was not too impressive.
Tuesday, Aug. 26.
Today I take the train back to Anchorage. Since the train does
not leave until 12:30 PM, I have a few hours to explore the Park
Visitor Center, which is right across the street from the train
station. The Visitor Center has some very interesting and
informative exhibits, and is well worth a visit.
Denali Park Visitor Center
Denali Train Station
Our train to Anchorage, which originated in Fairbanks, arrived at Denali Depot a little after 12:00 noon.
I boarded Car A and went to my assigned seat in the Goldstar Class Car,
which has panoramic windows and an outside viewing platform. The
train consisted of 2 engines, baggage car, 2 Goldstar Class Cars, Snack
Car, Explorer Class (Coach) Car, Explorer Class Car with dome, Explorer
Class Car, and 2 Private Cars carrying cruise ship passengers. We
could not go into the private cars, and the private car passengers were
confined to their own cars.
My Train Arrives
GoldStar Class Cars
The following photos show details of the train’s interior, as well as scenery from the train on the trip back to Anchorage.
Goldstar Car Outside Viewing Area
GoldStar Car Upstairs Seating
Riley Creek Bridge
Crossing Riley Creek Bridge
Crossing Riley Creek Bridge
Looking Toward the Rear of our Train
Snack Car
Snack Car
Explorer Class Seating
Summit (2363 ft.)
Passing the Fairbanks Bound Train
Passing the Fairbanks Bound Train
Conductor Throwing the Switch on the Siding
Hurricane Gulch Trestle
Crossing Hurricane Gulch
One glaring difference between the Alaska Railroad and Amtrak is that
the Alaska Railroad lets you stick your head out the window. The
Goldstar Class car has the outside viewing area, and the Explorer Class
cars have open vestibule widows. If you touch a vestibule widow
on an Amtrak train, they have a fit and threaten to throw you off the
train.
It can be seen from the photos that the Explorer Class cars were
virtually empty on this particular trip, which is surprising since
Goldstar Class, which was probably 75 percent full, is significantly
more expensive than Explorer Class.
Open Vestibule Window on Explorer Class Car
Dome in Explorer Class Car
Lower Level of Dome Car
The Rear of Our Train Rounding a Curve
Dining Area in Lower Level of Goldstar Car
Talkeetna Depot
We arrived back at the Anchorage Depot around 8:00 PM. I again made
the uphill trudge to my hotel, checked in, and later went out for a
light dinner.
Wednesday, Aug. 27
Today is the day that I have been dreading. I have to check out
of my hotel by 11:00 AM, but my flight home doesn’t leave until 12:50
AM tomorrow morning. I am too old for red-eye flights.
When I got up, it was raining outside, so I went down to the
hotel work-out room and used the treadmill for about an hour. By
the time I finished, the rain had stopped. I went up to my room
and showered and packed, and checked out at 11:00 AM, leaving my bags
with the hotel for pickup later. I then went to the Snow Goose
for an early lunch, and then took a walk on the Coastal Trail. I
walked the Coastal Trail for about three hours and then went back to
the hotel for my bags and a ride to the airport.
Crow and BF Bird Along Coastal Trail
Eisenhower Statehood Memorial
When I got to the airport, I still had nine hours to kill before my
flight, so I decided to buy a one-day pass to the Alaska Airlines
Club. The one day pass usually costs $45, but for some reason
they had a limited time special rate of $35. I didn’t
complain. The club had light food such as salad, soup and snacks
such as crackers and cheese, chips and dip, etc. In addition to
the food, drinks were complementary (limited to three complementary
alcoholic drinks). Plus, this gave me a place to safely store my
bags if I wanted to walk around the airport.
The flight left on time, and I arrived at LAX at about 7:00 AM on Aug.
28. I took the Fly-Away bus to Union Station and Amtrak back to
Fullerton, arriving about 10:25 AM. Julie was there to pick me up
and take me home.
