Alaska by Land
The end of May, turns out, is a very good time to visit Alaska. It is a little less costly and a lot less crowded. We decided to take a cruisetour with Princess Cruises. This tour package included seven days inland and seven days on the cruise ship. Although I do not usually enjoy tour packages this seemed like a good way to see a great deal in a relatively short time. We had a very long leg cramping flight from New Orleans to Fairbanks. If there is any criticism I can make about this trip it would certainly be the four flight connections that was arranged by Princess to get us to Fairbanks. When I attempted to change this to a reduced number of flight connections I was told they could not do it . The cost to me to make the changes was very expensive and of course if our flight did not make it to Fairbanks on time, Princess would not be responsible for any delays or missed connections with our tour. So we excepted the inevitable and took aspirin, wore support hose, had frequent leg massages and hoped we didn't get blood clots while we sat with numb legs and blurry eyes.
FAIRBANKS
Fairbanks, home to more Moose than people during winter months, was a big disappointment. I am certain Fairbanks is a lovely city. I just did not see it. It is drab, flat land with much of it having permafrost. You can tell the areas of permafrost by the size of the trees. Even 50 year old trees in the permafrost areas don't grow more than 3-4 feet in height.
Riverboat Discove
ry was our first excursion in Fairbanks. As the sternwheeler Discovery II navigated the narrow muddy Chena River we were surprised by the many riches which we saw. Along the way we were entertained by a pontooned plane that landed in the river just to east side of the boat and then took off, after the bush pilot explained the roll small planes and bush pilots played in the development of the Alaska wilderness and how they are still important today. A small Native American village ( Athabascan) was on the banks of the river and we were introduced to their culture by native Athabascans (www.accessgeneology.com/native/alaska). We departed the riverboat and had a guided tour of the village. This was a very interesting worthwhile part of the trip. Thatch roofed log cabins with animal hides dotted the landscape. One small hut was built on stilts to store food supplies that would be out of reach of most animals.
Further down the river was Susan Butcher's Iditarod sled dog team. From the river's bank a team member explained the process of training the dogs and what the Iditarod dog sled race is all about.
Any tour with the word "GOLD" don't bother. Unless you have kids this tour is not worth the money. At the "gold mine" you are given a demonstration of how to pan for gold. Amazingly the mine owner pulls out gold nuggets the size of my fist ( slight exaggeration). After you pan for gold , you can keep what you find. You are then escorted though the gift shop where you are enticed to enclose your panned gold, which they weight for free, in a see through locket for $49.95. About $2.00 worth of gold, I don't think so. Skip the tour and instead "pan" for loose change in the hotel's lobby sofa.
OFF TO DANALI
Leaving Fairbanks by train is when the real excitement of the trip begins. The train ride from Fairbanks to Denali National Park was approximately five hours. It isn't long after saying good bye to Fairbanks' last moose that the glass doomed train's 360 degree view allows for never ending mountain scenery ( www.greatlandofalaska.com/reference/ranges.html). With great luck we saw moose, caribou,and beaver l
odges. The last car of the train is an open flat bed with hand rails . As I ventured onto it, I sensed the Alaskan wilderness with the cold air rushing over me and the sway of the tracks. Taking photos was a challenge. The rugged mountains led way to open meadows of wildflowers and stunted trees growing over permafrost. We made new friends on the train and sampled the food and a few adult beverages. Cooking on a train must be difficult. I have yet to have a decent meal on any train, anywhere in the world. Is it the swaying side to side? The cook can't quite get the ingredients in the pot? Don't know, but I would recommend you sneak on some snacks, skip the meal and drink allot. Finally to the train station at Danali where we are whisked off in the comfort of Princess buses to the very nice accommodations at Denali Princess Wilderness Lodge. The room is very nice but rather small. Will there try the pizza at the Denali pizza. Not bad and a very cozy atmosphere. The first afternoon I hiked up towards the entrance of Denali National Park. Taking photos along the way. River rafts were being plucked from the very steep overlook to my right as helicopters flew in to their base camp hidden between the mountains.
Travel into Danali is not very glamorous. Old school buses are the only means you are allowed to venture into the National Park. Fortunately the weather was mild since there is no AC/ or heat. Caribou dotted the landscape. Not in the large numbers I was expecting but it is still always exciting to see wildlife in their natural habitat. There were occasional Grouse and Dall Sheep. This side of the National Park is very rugged terrain and you can certainly appreciate how tough the first inhabitants of this area must have been. As we were standing at the end of the gravel road a native Athabaskan described life here for his ancestors. The clouds broke free of the mountain and Danali stood out as a white tower above the Alaskan Mountain Range. We felt so fortunate to see this since only a small number of visitors ever witness such clear days.
Talkeetna and McKinley Wilderness Lodge.
Back on the train. Don't forget you snacks because this is another 5 hour train ride. Once again you are mesmerized by the continued beauty of mountains with rugged peaks, mixed with snow capped peaks and then a line of coal ore pops from the side of a hill. We were still able to pick out Danali mountain. An amazing sight. I could not stop taking photos. It is a good thing it was a digital camera or the cost of film developing would have been more than the the cost of travel. Be certain to bring an extra memory card for the camera. Most people took 500-1000 photos during the trip. I also took along my lap top so I could down load photos and video each night. Then I deleted the redundant and or just down right bad photos. By the end of this train ride we were all getting a little tired of rail travel. Talkeetna is a small town that is the jump off point for those brave enough to climb Mount McKinley. Next was a quick 1 1/2 hour bus ride to the Mt. McKinley Wilderness Lodge. I slept the whole way so I can tell you much. But before we started on our way a group of train mates flagged down a bus that was going to the Glacier Landing Tour. Although this is a very expensive one hour flight everyone involved said it was the most exciting thing they had ever done. A small plane lands on top of the glacier at Mt. McKinley. You are able to get out of the plane, walk on the Glacier and even drink the melting ice if you dare. An unscheduled stop at the base camp for the climbers supplies made this particular flight even more exciting.
Mt. McKinley Wilderness Lodge gets 4 stars from me. The rooms have great decor and there were great views from most rooms. With a little rubbernecking we could see the major peaks of the Alaskan Range. Mt. McKinley was a bit mysterious the first night. Twenty-four hours a day the front desk will give you a call when McKinley peaks from behind the clouds. Sign up for this service. Only 10% of visitors ever see Mt McKinley without cloud cover. Getting up at 2:00 AM is worth it. With crud in my eyes and my shirt on backwards I took my trusted Z790 Kodak camera with 12x zoom, stepped out of the side door of the hotel and was jolted to full consciousness as the p
eak of McKinley was breaking through the clouds. I rushed to the wooden observation deck at the rear of the hotel. About 100 photos later I was back in my bed. Little did I no that as the sun came up later that morning that the skies would clear even more. When we awoke there was not a cloud in the sky. The views that entire next day were unbelievable. Even the workers at the hotel were surprised. Some days are just blessed. Mt.McKinley, pure white ,towers well above the rest of the Alaskan Range peaks. I was able to get some very exceptional close up photos which really showed the ruggedness of these mountains. Sorry Rockies, sorry Alps you are no longer the best that I have seen.
The end of May, turns out, is a very good time to visit Alaska. It is a little less costly and a lot less crowded. We decided to take a cruisetour with Princess Cruises. This tour package included seven days inland and seven days on the cruise ship. Although I do not usually enjoy tour packages this seemed like a good way to see a great deal in a relatively short time. We had a very long leg cramping flight from New Orleans to Fairbanks. If there is any criticism I can make about this trip it would certainly be the four flight connections that was arranged by Princess to get us to Fairbanks. When I attempted to change this to a reduced number of flight connections I was told they could not do it . The cost to me to make the changes was very expensive and of course if our flight did not make it to Fairbanks on time, Princess would not be responsible for any delays or missed connections with our tour. So we excepted the inevitable and took aspirin, wore support hose, had frequent leg massages and hoped we didn't get blood clots while we sat with numb legs and blurry eyes.
FAIRBANKS
Fairbanks, home to more Moose than people during winter months, was a big disappointment. I am certain Fairbanks is a lovely city. I just did not see it. It is drab, flat land with much of it having permafrost. You can tell the areas of permafrost by the size of the trees. Even 50 year old trees in the permafrost areas don't grow more than 3-4 feet in height.
Riverboat Discove
ry was our first excursion in Fairbanks. As the sternwheeler Discovery II navigated the narrow muddy Chena River we were surprised by the many riches which we saw. Along the way we were entertained by a pontooned plane that landed in the river just to east side of the boat and then took off, after the bush pilot explained the roll small planes and bush pilots played in the development of the Alaska wilderness and how they are still important today. A small Native American village ( Athabascan) was on the banks of the river and we were introduced to their culture by native Athabascans (www.accessgeneology.com/native/alaska). We departed the riverboat and had a guided tour of the village. This was a very interesting worthwhile part of the trip. Thatch roofed log cabins with animal hides dotted the landscape. One small hut was built on stilts to store food supplies that would be out of reach of most animals.Further down the river was Susan Butcher's Iditarod sled dog team. From the river's bank a team member explained the process of training the dogs and what the Iditarod dog sled race is all about.
Any tour with the word "GOLD" don't bother. Unless you have kids this tour is not worth the money. At the "gold mine" you are given a demonstration of how to pan for gold. Amazingly the mine owner pulls out gold nuggets the size of my fist ( slight exaggeration). After you pan for gold , you can keep what you find. You are then escorted though the gift shop where you are enticed to enclose your panned gold, which they weight for free, in a see through locket for $49.95. About $2.00 worth of gold, I don't think so. Skip the tour and instead "pan" for loose change in the hotel's lobby sofa.
OFF TO DANALI
Leaving Fairbanks by train is when the real excitement of the trip begins. The train ride from Fairbanks to Denali National Park was approximately five hours. It isn't long after saying good bye to Fairbanks' last moose that the glass doomed train's 360 degree view allows for never ending mountain scenery ( www.greatlandofalaska.com/reference/ranges.html). With great luck we saw moose, caribou,and beaver l
odges. The last car of the train is an open flat bed with hand rails . As I ventured onto it, I sensed the Alaskan wilderness with the cold air rushing over me and the sway of the tracks. Taking photos was a challenge. The rugged mountains led way to open meadows of wildflowers and stunted trees growing over permafrost. We made new friends on the train and sampled the food and a few adult beverages. Cooking on a train must be difficult. I have yet to have a decent meal on any train, anywhere in the world. Is it the swaying side to side? The cook can't quite get the ingredients in the pot? Don't know, but I would recommend you sneak on some snacks, skip the meal and drink allot. Finally to the train station at Danali where we are whisked off in the comfort of Princess buses to the very nice accommodations at Denali Princess Wilderness Lodge. The room is very nice but rather small. Will there try the pizza at the Denali pizza. Not bad and a very cozy atmosphere. The first afternoon I hiked up towards the entrance of Denali National Park. Taking photos along the way. River rafts were being plucked from the very steep overlook to my right as helicopters flew in to their base camp hidden between the mountains.Travel into Danali is not very glamorous. Old school buses are the only means you are allowed to venture into the National Park. Fortunately the weather was mild since there is no AC/ or heat. Caribou dotted the landscape. Not in the large numbers I was expecting but it is still always exciting to see wildlife in their natural habitat. There were occasional Grouse and Dall Sheep. This side of the National Park is very rugged terrain and you can certainly appreciate how tough the first inhabitants of this area must have been. As we were standing at the end of the gravel road a native Athabaskan described life here for his ancestors. The clouds broke free of the mountain and Danali stood out as a white tower above the Alaskan Mountain Range. We felt so fortunate to see this since only a small number of visitors ever witness such clear days.
Talkeetna and McKinley Wilderness Lodge.
Back on the train. Don't forget you snacks because this is another 5 hour train ride. Once again you are mesmerized by the continued beauty of mountains with rugged peaks, mixed with snow capped peaks and then a line of coal ore pops from the side of a hill. We were still able to pick out Danali mountain. An amazing sight. I could not stop taking photos. It is a good thing it was a digital camera or the cost of film developing would have been more than the the cost of travel. Be certain to bring an extra memory card for the camera. Most people took 500-1000 photos during the trip. I also took along my lap top so I could down load photos and video each night. Then I deleted the redundant and or just down right bad photos. By the end of this train ride we were all getting a little tired of rail travel. Talkeetna is a small town that is the jump off point for those brave enough to climb Mount McKinley. Next was a quick 1 1/2 hour bus ride to the Mt. McKinley Wilderness Lodge. I slept the whole way so I can tell you much. But before we started on our way a group of train mates flagged down a bus that was going to the Glacier Landing Tour. Although this is a very expensive one hour flight everyone involved said it was the most exciting thing they had ever done. A small plane lands on top of the glacier at Mt. McKinley. You are able to get out of the plane, walk on the Glacier and even drink the melting ice if you dare. An unscheduled stop at the base camp for the climbers supplies made this particular flight even more exciting.
Mt. McKinley Wilderness Lodge gets 4 stars from me. The rooms have great decor and there were great views from most rooms. With a little rubbernecking we could see the major peaks of the Alaskan Range. Mt. McKinley was a bit mysterious the first night. Twenty-four hours a day the front desk will give you a call when McKinley peaks from behind the clouds. Sign up for this service. Only 10% of visitors ever see Mt McKinley without cloud cover. Getting up at 2:00 AM is worth it. With crud in my eyes and my shirt on backwards I took my trusted Z790 Kodak camera with 12x zoom, stepped out of the side door of the hotel and was jolted to full consciousness as the p
eak of McKinley was breaking through the clouds. I rushed to the wooden observation deck at the rear of the hotel. About 100 photos later I was back in my bed. Little did I no that as the sun came up later that morning that the skies would clear even more. When we awoke there was not a cloud in the sky. The views that entire next day were unbelievable. Even the workers at the hotel were surprised. Some days are just blessed. Mt.McKinley, pure white ,towers well above the rest of the Alaskan Range peaks. I was able to get some very exceptional close up photos which really showed the ruggedness of these mountains. Sorry Rockies, sorry Alps you are no longer the best that I have seen. Back To Talkeetna
Another bus ride. It went by fast. However, the train we were to board at Talkeetna was late. Already we were not to arrive in Anchorage until 8:15 PM. Now were would have even less time in Anchorage. I was a bit disappointed. Fortunately the long day lite hours make Alaska open for business 24 hours a day this time of year. We arrived around 10:00 PM. Shops and restaurants were still going full throttle. While I held a table in the restaurant Susie finished making a purchase of art in the gallery next door. One painting for us and one for each of our kids. When we got home the kids didn't quite get the art work. But that's O.K. we had fun picking it out.
The next morning, after a quick stop at the Alaska Native Heritage Center, we were en route to Whittier. It was a misty day, there was still snow and ice on the ground and the small town of Whittier popped out of the mist as the quintessential Alaskan fishing village. White tents were our entrance way to the Sapphire Princess Ship.
SEE PART TWO..." Alaska By Sea"
No comments:
Post a Comment