Alaska: Quick Visit to Anchorage

We arrived at the Anchorage Westmark Hotel fairly late in the day on July 15th.  From our eleventh floor room we had a nice view of the harbor.

There was just enough time to take a short stroll from the Westmark to a park a few blocks away.  There were flowers everywhere and they were Alaskan sized and colorful.

We also stumbled upon a mural of swimming Orcas painted on an old building. Yes that's a real truck in the parking lot in front of the painting.

I guess you just never know what you will find on the streets of Anchorage.

The following morning (July 16th) saw us walking to the Anchorage Museum for an excellent tour of their native history section.




The all-glass front of the museum looks pretty cool from the inside looking out as well.

  Our guide for the morning was superlative and she took us through the histories and development of some of the main native tribes such as the Aleut, Athabascan, Eskimo, Tlingit, and Haidas.

we saw dioramas of native life,

examples of the native art of scrimshaw,



and once again gorgeous example of ceremonial masks.

 

The museum also had a hall full of working scientific gadgets that were fun for both kids and the kid in us older folks as well.   Here one of our road scholars gets ready to encase himself in a giant bubble.

We would have loved to stay longer, but we had to get back to our hotel by 11:30 in order to board our coach for the trip to Seward. That will be the subject of the next entry.

Till then

Alaska: We Saw It! Gimpse of Denali on Train Ride to Anchorage

All Aboard!

We got back on the Alaska RR train at McKinley Park around noon on Friday, July 15th for the five hour run to Anchorage.

AND THEN IT HAPPENED.

It was almost like seeing "Big Foot."  About an hour or so out of McKinley Park we caught a glimpse of Denali. It was not visible for long and it was way out there in the distance, but I did get a couple of shots.  Even at 70 miles away, it still looks big and white and overpowering as it rises 20,000 feet to the highest point in North America. 

Look sharp.  It's almost like an extension of the clouds.  With the telephoto in place you can suddenly see it in and up and over those clouds. It ain't much but for hand holding a 300mm lens while riding in a moving train, I'll take it. 






The rest of the journey to Anchorage was probably a bit anti-climactic, but Alaska really doesn't stop being beautiful just because you saw one big mother of a mountain.  We completed the day in the magnificent dome cars of the Alaska RR and each bend continued to reveal new delights.  

Steve, our Holland America guide, kept us up to the minute on the sights

Thirst was never an issue either

And before we knew it we were gliding down the Knik Arm and the Cook Inlet into Anchorage

From our hotel room that evening I pointed the camera back toward the Alaska Range and reminded myself that back there in the clouds somewhere was Denali and that you really could see it from here on a clear day.

Alaska and Denali: Where the Word "BIG" is Redefined

 

 Only 20% of Denali National Park visitors will actually see "the high one."  We were a bit disappointed, therefore,  to join the majority of visitors, but what we did see was enough to leave an indelible imprint on our understanding of that vast space called Alaska.   Private vehicles are for the most part forbdden on the single park road in Denali and that road is open only during the short intense summers.  For most of the rest of the year dog sled patrols remain the only human on-ground intrusion.

Our motorized traverse of the Denali Tuntra, courtesy of the Nationl Park Service,  began with an early morning pickup at our hotel by a mustard colored  converted school bus.


 Our guide and driver (Sarah) was a cheerful articulate school teacher, who also cleaned our windows at every stop.  

About thirteen miles of pleasant blacktop ended at a bridge over the Savage River and a brief stop at the Ranger Station there.  "The High One", we were told was somewhere beyond those clouds.



From the Savage River you do take off into the tundra.


Our first stop, about fifteen miles later, was at Igloo Creek.  We saw some arctic ground squirrels closeup



and our first of many Dall sheep literally silhouetted on the tip of Igloo Mountain.  They must have suction cups for feet. 


From Igloo Creek you begin a long and torturous climb up toward Polychrome Pass.  The bright bands of color were created by volcanic magma that spilled out over other rock beds.



 The vast Murie Valley spreads out below cut by braided rivers and patches of rich vegetation and wildflowers.



The weather, as we were warned was highly changeable. We went through patches of sun, light rain, chilly winds, and even a few snow flakes, but the biggest excitement was always when someone spotted an animal.  We missed moose and wolves (along with the big mountain), but we did catch sight of Dall sheep, grizzly bears, golden eagles, and caribou.










 Across the valley and in the generally misty distance were the Alaska Range foothills. Behind that,  shrouded in clouds, were the higher peaks of the Alaska Range, the great glaciers,  and of course the elusive "high one"--Denali .




Our furthest penetration into the Denali wldeness was the Toklat River Rest Area (mile 53). 




There was time for some high jinks as we stretched.  I tried out the new antler look.




  On the return we stopped at the Polychrome Overlook and were treated to some of the best views of the day.







as well as a hillside packed with lots of arctic wildflowers.








We returned to the McKinley Lodge in the late afternoon.