Winter Wanderings Around America by Plane And Train
On December 27, 2008 a large mass of frigid arctic air descended upon Fairbanks, Alaska. Normal temperatures for this time of year in Fairbanks range from -20° to 10° degrees Fahrenheit. The climate in Alaska’s Interior is quite dry, so the above mentioned temperatures actually feel rather refreshing. To me, at least.
With the arrival of the super chilled arctic air, temperatures quickly plummeted into the -40° to -50°F range and stayed there. Worse yet, there was no end in sight. We’d passed the winter solstice just one week earlier, so this time of year our exposure to direct sunlight was minimal – a little less than four hours per day. At latitude 65°N, the early winter sun doesn’t climb high into the sky. Rather, it stays low on the southeastern horizon providing light but little direct warmth. Seriously cold air masses move very, very slowly and this one could not have picked a worse time to arrive. With the sun traveling at its lowest trajectory of the year, there was very little to warm the cold air and so it would be a good long while before it moved on. The local meteorologists were projecting the cold spell to last a minimum of ten days to two weeks, with temperatures in the low lying valleys reaching -60° or more.
I was booked to leave on January 6th for a three week trip that would combine business, pleasure and a couple of mileage runs. With no real reason to stay in Alaska until then and plenty of incentive to leave, I called the friendly folks at Alaska’s MVP Desk and was able to rebook a New Year’s Day award seat aboard the 11:50am direct flight to Seattle followed by a 6:40pm departure to Denver.
When the taxi arrived to take me to the airport at 10:30am, the thermometer on my cabin read -46°F. On my first full day in Colorado, the temperature in Denver reached 64°. This was an over 100° variance in temperatures and I was forced to run the air conditioner in my rental car for just a little while.
But enough of the preamble. Let’s cut to the chase. Here’s my itinerary from January 1st to present:
JAN 01 Fairbanks – Anchorage - Seattle – Denver Alaska Airlines
JAN 09 Denver – Phoenix Southwest Airlines
JAN 10 Phoenix – Seattle – Miami – Tampa Alaska/American Airlines
JAN 11 Tampa – Cincinnati – Indianapolis Delta Airlines
JAN 13 Lafayette – Chicago – Glenwood Springs Amtrak California Zephyr
JAN 15 Glenwood Springs – San Francisco Amtrak California Zephyr
JAN 17 San Jose – Atlanta – Tampa Delta Airlines
JAN 19 Tampa – Atlanta – Seattle Delta Airlines
JAN 20 Seattle – Detroit – Tampa Northwest Airlines
JAN 22 Tampa – Miami – Dallas – Denver American Airlines
JAN 23 Denver – Minneapolis – Detroit – Jacksonville Northwest Airlines
JAN 24 Jacksonville – Memphis – Minneapolis – Denver Northwest Airlines
JAN 28 Denver – Seattle – Portland Alaska/Horizon Air
JAN 29 Portland – Milwaukee Amtrak Empire Builder
JAN 31 Milwaukee – Denver Frontier Airlines
As trips go it’s more varied than lengthy, but I reckon it’s a pretty good effort for a well to do hobo like myself. As an added bonus, some of the flights are in First Class and of course both of the trains are First Class Sleeper accommodations.
As to a trip report, rather than type out a segment by segment accounting of each day, I think I’ll give short shrift to the Economy Class flights and focus more on the First Class planes and trains. As well, I’ve got a few photos to make up for any literary shortcomings.
So – without further ado, let’s get after it.