We had some travel difficulties throughout the entire trip. My parents drove to KY from VA on July 12th, 2008, and within a couple of miles of the exit, got caught up in traffic. The interstate had been closed (yeah, how often does that happen?!?) due to an accident involving hazardous materials. So, a 4-hour drive became about 6 hours. Sunday the 13th began with an uneventful trip to the Nashville airport (BNA). But, our flight out of Nashville was delayed for storms. There was a military escort on board the plane... meaning that we were carrying the body of a service member to Atlanta (ATL). We sat on the plane until the casket was unloaded, and while I was on the wrong side of the plane to see it, everyone was quiet and patient and respectful. Our flight from ATL to Anchorage (ANC) was delayed for over 3 hours (the plane had mechanical issues, so they were cleaning another plane for us to use), which put us at ANC at 10:30p instead of 6:30p local time. At any rate, we were glad to be there. It was a little strange to arrive so late and see this:
Such daylight at 10:30 PM! By the way, 10:30p Alaska time is 2:30a Eastern and 1:30a Central time. We had a little trouble adjusting, but we really didn't have much time to adjust! We saw two moose along the side of the road between the airport and the hotel... the first of lots of wildlife! Didn't get a picture of these two, though. The next morning we had to be up by 5a for our train ride up to Denali. Oh, yeah - that went well, too. We woke up on time, but there was no hot water in the hotel. I do believe that this was our first introduction to glacial run-off. We didn't need no coffee to wake up that morning! So, we get to the train station...
...only to find that our train departure had been delayed for about an hour due to mechanical issues! By this point, we were able to laugh, but we certainly hoped that our entire trip wouldn't be like this! At any rate, we decided to upgrade to Gold Star status, which meant that we would have seats on the upper deck of the train with huge glass windows. We also had access to a outside sight-seeing deck that was great for taking pictures. We figured that we'd only be here once, so we might as well make the most of it. It was well worth the extra cost... I spent most of my time outside on the deck! I would stay out until I needed to warm up, then I'd go sit for a little while... but not usually for long. There was always something beautiful to see and take pictures of.
We passed through several towns and stops. One stop was Wasilla... probably now well-known as the hometown of Sarah Palin. I think it is also the actual start of the Iditarod, though they have the ceremonial start in Anchorage.
We saw quite a few dead trees in the first portion of our trip, thanks to the 1964 earthquake. Apparently it was a 9.2 and shook for several minutes. The ground dropped about 12 feet and the trees absorbed saltwater, which basically killed them and preserved them as they were.
We saw our first eagle on the train! Not very close up - but we'll have better opportunities later.
This is fireweed - apparently one of the first things to grow after a forest fire. We saw this plant everywhere! They say, "when the fireweed turns to cotton, summer will be soon forgotten." Something that looks like cotton floats around in the air, apparently from several plants and trees, but they also say that once cotton flows out of the stems of fireweed, winter is 3 weeks away.
Another train stop - Talkeetna. More about Talkeetna on a later visit.
Hurricane Gulch - this was a beautiful view from a high bridge with no rails! Well, of course there were rails beneath the train... I meant no side rails. =)
On our train ride, we saw a few creatures, though I didn't get a picture of them all: 1 moose, these 2 swans, and 3 eagles. Yes, I kept count.
These dark trees are black spruce trees. They are smaller than the trees we are used to because there are only 3 to 4 warmer, sunny months... they don't have much time to grow!
I didn't know why we stopped here when we did... Cantwell is apparently a flagstop along the Alaska RR. It is not a routine stop, but if someone in Cantwell wants a ride, they flag the train down. However, that particular day someone on our train got sick and we had to stop at Cantwell for medical assistance.
The rocks sticking up on the middle-right side of this moutain look like a musher and his dogs! I didn't make it up! =)
Last stop (for us) on the Alaska Railroad! Now, we have to hurry to the hotel and get changed for our rafting trip. Yes, we're going rafting after 6pm!
Here is the train we were on. The upper deck has nice big windows, and the sight-seeing portion in the back. Like I said before, that's where I spent most of my time! After being outside and then trying to take pictures through the windows, there was just no comparison. It was nice to feel the environment - the cool temperatures, the rain, the cotton going up your nose...
Next... rafting!
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