DAY TWELVE - TRAVELOGUES NORTH TO ALASKA - DENALI TO ANCHORAGE

TRAVELOGUES – DAY TWELVE – JULY 11th – DENALI TO ANCHORAGE
HOLLAND AMERICA MS VOLENDAM
13 DAY CRUISE/TOUR
“NORTH TO ALASKA”

We woke early this morning to the pitter patter of water dripping from the roof. It was raining. This was the last day of our trip. After we gathered up everything, Jim and I headed over to the Denali Park Visitors Center to look at the exhibits. I found a nice cozy corner near a massive stone fireplace where I was able to catch up on a couple of my Travelogues and look through some of my pictures. Our group began to gather around 11:30 in the lobby of the Visitors Center, and then we all walked over to the Alaska Railroad Depot where we caught our southbound train at 12:00 noon.

It continued to rain outside, which made going out on the platform behind our rail car to take pictures not a real pleasant experience. As we pulled away from Denali, the car got quiet for awhile as we all realized this was the end of a great adventure with Holland America. By the time we reach Anchorage, we will have traveled over 5,250 miles together through some of the most beautiful and scenic wilderness on earth. We passed Summit Lake at 2,368 feet which is the highest point on the Alaska Railroad. From here, the rivers will flow south towards Anchorage.

The ground up above 2,500 feet is known as Tundra; and below 2,500 ft. it becomes Tiaga (pronounced Tiga). The trees are beginning to get thicker and bushier and the ground cover is also thicker. The railroad parallels the highway with flat marsh lands with countless pools of water dotting the vast landscape.

There is a deep deep gulch that the railroad passes over that is known as Hurricane Gulch because of the hurricane force winds that have been known to pass through there. The trestle bridge is quite impressive as it spans the gulch. From here we traveled south into “bush” country. Those Alaskans who have chosen to live in remote locations in the “bush” only can access it by plane or train. The Alaska Railroad is the only railroad that will actually stop to pick up and drop off passengers along the tracks.

Our ground cover has now changed from the thick brush bushes to Fiddle head ferns that are completely edible and cow parsnip that looks much like Queen Anne’s lace and is very toxic. There are meadows of the ferns and cow parsnip, so thick you cannot see any dirt on the ground. About 3:00 p.m. the rain stopped and the clouds began to break up to give way to the sunshine.

The train moved at a slow pace of about 15-20 mph while passing through certain areas; but most of the time, it moved along at about 30 mph. Several in our group took short cat naps while the rest of us were still constantly looking out the windows of our domed cards not wanting to miss anything.

The reflections of the trees in the mirrored ponds looked like mirrors because they were so calm. As we passed by the Indian River which is crystal clear, we could actually see the red spawning salmon as they swam upstream. The next river we crossed was the Susitna River. “Na” is an Athabascan work meaning running water. Today we actually will cross five rivers: 1) Nenana 2) Chiquitna 3) Chulitna (4) Susitna 5) Talkeetna. The Susitna River is quite wide with many islands in the middle of the running waters. The Susitna River is a glacial fed river and is cloudy and grey from the glacial soot. The river was moving at a good pace. You could see the currents swirling around on the top of the river; but there were no rapids.

The banks of the rivers have rocky shores with numerous very large boulders that have traveled downstream thousands of years ago on icebergs as the glaciers melted. The calm, waters of the ponds dotting the meadows were home to several Trumpeter Swans. They are solid white with dramatic long necks. Their babies are called cygnets.

The “bush” area comes to an end in Talkeetna. We arrived here around 4:45 p.m. Talkeetna has a population of 840 and was the backdrop for the TV show “Northern Exposure”. Our young guide on the train was Jason. He told us the story of the Alaska state flag and its meaning. It was designed by Benny Benson in the 1920’s. The stars are in the shape of the Big Dipper because you can see it so clearly in Alaska. The North Star symbolizes the northern most state of the United States.

Wasilla, the next city on our itinerary, really came to be known as the home of Sarah Palin. South of Wasilla we entered the low lands of the Knik Arm and the Cook Inlet near Anchorage. After eight hours on the Alaska Railroad today, our journey was coming to an end. Anchorage is the largest city in Alaska with a population of 275,000 permanent residents. To the west was a large mountain range known as “The Sleeping Lady”. As you look at the mountains, you can see a woman lying on her back with her head facing south and her legs pointing north. To the east is the Chugach Mountain range with its snow capped mountain peaks. Just before we entered into Anchorage we spotted a moose, but it quickly disappeared into the trees before we could get any pictures.

As we pulled into the Anchorage Rail Depot, our tour guide, Gabe stood up and thanked us all for coming along on this cruise tour. Unfortunately, our group dispersed all too fast once they disembarked the train, and Jim and I were not able to tell many of them good bye. We will leave early tomorrow morning before the final group gathering at breakfast with the Alaska Visitors Bureau.

We did enjoy a final get together with new friends Sam and Melinda from Palmdale and Denise and Erik from Texas at The Brewhouse. The Brewhouse is a microbrewery directly across the street from The Westmark Hotel where we stayed our last night. At 9:00 p.m. in a Sunday evening, the wait was 45 minutes! It is a very large restaurant and bar that could easily seat over 200 people. Luckily as we were about to leave and go somewhere else when the hostess told us they had a cancellation and within ten minutes we were seated at a table for six. We enjoyed one last toast to a great adventure and new friends.

And, so it ended – fourteen days – cruising from Vancouver up the Inside Passage to Skagway; traveling into the Yukon Territory and learning about the gold rush and then enjoying the “interior” and Denali. It is truly a “great” land. I think perhaps one of my favorite parts was talking to some of the permanent residents when we visited their cities. The Alaskans love sharing their state. They are proud of its heritage and history. One thing that is obvious to me is how much they enjoy living in the wilderness. They are a very friendly people and willing to help you in any way they can.

Thank you to Holland America, Joanie, Kyle and Gabe for being terrific hosts and guides all along the way. To all those in our group that we weren’t able to say good bye to – it was a pleasure getting to know you. And, thank you Alaska. We enjoyed getting to know you and hearing your stories. We’ll be back!