Throwback Thursday! Ten years ago over the Independence Day Holiday, Damsel and I flew to Anchorage for an Alaska-by-rail tour. We left LAX, connected through Portland and got to Anchorage mid-afternoon. The day we got there, there was a street fair in town a couple of blocks from the hotel. We hung out there for a while and came back for the buffet at the hotel later.
The next morning we embarked on the first leg of the trip winding up at Denali National Park where we stayed that night. There were plenty of museums, a dog sledding exhibit and other activities to entertain us. On the Fourth of July, they shot off fireworks at nine PM, but they were difficult to see in the sunlight (land of the midnight sun and all that). Our hotel cabin was on the south bank of the Denali River.
The following morning, we waited in the rain while the train pulled into the station at Denali. You can see the rainfall in the photo above. Click on the image to enlarge.
The rain stopped a little way up the tracks and it was clear all the way to Fairbanks. We spent a good evening at the hotel that night, taking a break from the TV entertainment to go outside and truly witness the midnight sun. Wow!
The next day was a flight from Fairbanks to Portland and thence back to LAX where we rescued the truck from the parking lot and headed back home. It’s really hard to realize that was ten years ago.
Ahh, but did you get to see The Mountain?
Mt. McKinley a.k.a. Denali was obscured by clouds this trip. However, on a previous driving excursion up the George Parks Highway from Anchorage to Fairbanks, we saw it in all of its splendor.
Well, at least you got to see it sometime. The biggest mountain in my life is likely to remain Whitney.
It’d be worth the trip to see that big rock. Unlike Whitney, Denali isn’t surrounded by other peaks almost as tall. When you see it, there is no doubt as to which mountain it is.
Went up Pikes Peak last summer.
14,000′ without supplemental Oxygen is a real drag……
I did that once and got altitude sickness. Was OK after barfing a couple of times.
Heh! True enough, Cap’n! Most people confuse Lone Pine Peak for Whitney.
Denali is obviously the big one. The snow-capped ridge to it’s left (image right) is over 3000 feet higher than Whitney.
I believe it, Cap’n. Alaska came in with sixteen mountains, including McKinley, that put Whitney at 17th highest in the U.S.