Alaska by Rail

There are many ways to see Alaska. Unfortunately on my plane ride over the mountains I was stuck in the middle, no window seat for me. But I did have an amazing six-hour boat tour on the shores of the Gulf of Alaska. Of course you can also see sites by kayaking, biking, rafting, etc. But if you ever find yourself in Alaska don’t leave without seeing it by rail. The historic Alaska Railroad Corporation runs all the way from here in Seward to Fairbanks.

On Saturday, Jolund, Monica, Gwendolyn and I got in the car at 5:30am to meet up with the Wilderness Express (operated by Royal Celebrity cruises) in Talkeetna, five hours of driving. We boarded the train and found ourselves in Fairbanks nine hours later. We made a big stop at Denali National Park, unfortunately it was too cloudy to see Denali anywhere on this trip. But the other views were breathtaking, the various mountain peaks, rivers, bridges, and watching the scenery change from mountains to completely flat. The interior of Alaska is a lot different than the coastal regions. Seeing Alaska by train is fantastic.

After a long day of travel we met up with Gwedolyn’s brother Jamethon in Fairbanks at the airport. This marks my 5th fire station of the trip, but never has it been one at an airport. He gives a great tour. And I think I’d like to buy a big powerful fire truck of my own. This was the first time I had a demonstration of how the water works on the trucks and even used a fireman’s pole for the first time.

This morning, at 5:30am once again, the trip back started all over. In 48 hours I spent over half of it in a car or on a train, and I would do it all over again, especially the train part. Aside from the amazing views of Alaska it gave me a lot of time to look back on this year.