Back to Anchorage & on to Juneau – planes & boats & trains

My alarm woke me at 4:15am so that I could make sure that things that I needed for the day were not in the bag being checked through to Anchorage. After breakfast at 5:30am we were on the big red & white bus and on our way at 6:15am.

At least the bus wasn’t totally full – being able to move around during the 6 hour journey helps to break it up, and it’s also really important when there are animal sightings. And we did see animals – golden eagles soaring above the mountains, a young caribou trying to find its herd (see photo), a very large caribou herd (probably the one it belonged to), and at long last, a bear with her cub – I’m saving that photo until later!

The sky was relatively clear – just a few puffy white clouds hanging in the background. As we rounded a corner, well before reaching Wonder Lake, Mt Denali was visible – yes, we did stop to take more photos. Denali comes from the Koyukon word, Deenaalee, meaning the “tall one” or “great one.” It lived up to its name, dominating the landscape on and off as we wound our way along the 92 mile/148km road, first along the single-lane gravel road, then the two-lane gravel road, and then the paved road that leads to the train station.

The large two diesel engine Alaska Railroad train came into Denali Station right on time. “All aboard” – the Conductor really did say this, and naturally we did as told. I was in the Gold Dome carriage with about 10 other people. Fabulous views and the option of walking to an open area at the back of our car, that made photo-taking easier.

It’s a great service and some of the views were very special. But it runs quite slowly in many places, extending the journey to around 7.5 hours. Announcements throughout the journey provide information on points of interest coming up, animal sightings from the people driving the train and passengers, and a reasonable lunch and dinner are provided.

We saw white swans, lots of moose – including two very close to the train just out of Anchorage but not easily photographed – and a bear that ran rapidly away from the train as we passed it.
Once back in Anchorage it was time to re-organise luggage (again), catch up on email, and by around mid-night, finally get to bed. Following another early start (I’m getting good at these), I caught my flight to Juneau, and have been getting ready for the Art Wolfe trip that starts tomorrow.

Lenses are clean, batteries charged, SD cards formatted, and luggage is again sorted for this trip.

Over dinner at a very nice restaurant in Juneau, Salt, I met my fellow-passengers, as well as Art and his assistant for this trip, Gavriel Jecan, (His website). They are a very nice group and it’s going to be a fun trip, with lots to learn from two very accomplished photographers. I’m packed and ready for our 10am pick-up tomorrow!

A reminder that there’ll be a gap in blog posts now until the end of next week. I expect that there’ll be lots to “talk” about then! Have a good week one and all!