When I saw that
Jackal had announced another Alaska DO I tried to see if I could fit it in to my schedule. At first this was a no go and I was disappointed not to be able to take part. Especially as this year it would involve the train trip from Anchorage to Fairbanks.
As it turned out schedule changes with work meant that I was able to re-jig my RTW ticket and include this DO in my agenda for the year.
The next few reports will be mostly pictorial but I will add some words to describe our activities where I can.
After a night (if you can call it that at this time of the year in these parts) at the Sheraton Anchorage I had a quick breakfast in the lounge and packed my backpack for the trip. I had arranged to meet two other FTers in the lobby and we caught a cab down to the art deco railway station.
Inside there was a bit of reunion as I was greeted by a few FTers I have become friends with over the years through numerous DOs.
I had booked my ticket for the Denali Star several months earlier on the interweb. I went to the window and provided my passport and was handed a ticket for the trip and a small star badge that indicated that I was in Gold Star class.
The train has two classes of passenger. Gold Star passengers get slightly more spacious seats and a private bar tender in each coach with free tea, coffee and soft drinks. However the main difference from normal passengers is that the Gold Star coaches have glass ceilings and offer panoramic views from the train.
We waited around until boarding was announced and I was shocked to find that there was no priority boarding for Gold Star passengers. We had to mingle with the scrum attempting to get to the train!
There were two Gold Star carriages and three normal carriages along with a further five private carriages operated by Holland America and Pacific Cruise Lines.
My ticket was checked and I was welcomed on board and went upstairs to the seating in the Gold Star car. The lower decks of the Gold Star cars were the sit down waiter service dining areas. There was also a buffet car where any passenger could purchase a variety of sandwiches, salads, snacks etc. along with drinks and alcoholic beverages.
After I and my seat mate had settled in one of the staff asked if we would mind being re-seated as a couple were getting on at Wasilla and they didn’t have a pair of seats to sit them in. We agreed to this and I was moved back 10 rows and given a $5 dining credit for my trouble.
I still had a window seat so I wasn’t too fussed about the change.
The train pulled out late and slowly made its way out of Anchorage. Not far out of town the train passes by the Elmendorf Air Force Base where we saw several F22-Raptors take off in quick succession.
We trundled on up the tracks until we reached Wasilla where we made a brief stop and everyone was asked to stay on board.
It wasn’t long before the elusive lady Mt McKinley showed herself. All the crew on the train were staring out the window as much as we were. There were guides on-board how were pointing out interesting sites and providing commentary along the way. They said they hadn’t seen this much of the mountain for quite some time.
We next stopped at Talkeetna, which is the gateway to Denali, and many climbers use this as their starting point.
We were able to get off the train for a few minutes here and I was able to take a look at the monsters doing all the hard work on this ride.
I also spotted some interesting mods had been done to a pick-up truck that now sported aircraft tyres.
Further along we spotted a bear cub crossing the river and apart from birds and a moose later in the trek this was the only wildlife we saw on the entire 12 hour journey.
I decided I was hungry and made my way down to the dining car where I was able to grab a window seat on the mountain side of the train. I went for a lovely pot roast with beans and mash and an Alaskan White wheat beer. It was all very lovely and with views of McKinley out my window I was in heaven.
After lunch I went back upstairs and stared out the window some more. The next stop was Denali NP. At this point more than half the train emptied out and made their way off to the various lodges and hotels in the area.
After leaving Denali NP station the train made several sweeping turns making for some great shots of the train. At the rear of the Gold Star carriages there was an open section where you could lean out to take some photos.
The terrain gradually changed from mountains to fairly flat and the scenery became less enthralling to watch. I went down the back to coach to seek out the majority of the FTers on the train and meet up with the legend that is Seat 2A. We had a good old chinwag until we all felt the need for food. We filed back up to the dining car to grab a snack/dinner. This time I decided to go with a burger.
After the meal I made my way back upstairs and had the bartender mix me up his special Bloody Mary. Delicious.
Eventually signs of civilisation started to appear and we approached Fairbanks Railway Station and it was all over.
It was a great trip and we had fantastic weather for it. We really lucked out being able to get such a spectacular viewing of the tallest mountain in North America from several vantage points along the route.
Sorry there are so many photos in this set I just didn’t know which ones to ditch. I did cull around 100 of them!
Many many many more photos