North to Alaska: October 2011

Alaska Day 13

Anchorage to Minneapolis

9/5/11

We needed to get up early today. Luggage would be picked up from our room at 6AM and we’d be driven to the airport at 6:45 for our 9:30 flight. We waited outside for some time, talking to some of the other people taking this early shuttle, before Kris found out that we’d been waiting in the wrong spot and the bus had left without us. This is what happens when Randy is no longer in charge. Fortunately the bus was alerted in time and came back to get us. On the way to the airport we got a brief tour of Anchorage. It is Alaska’s most populous city with 290,000 people, comprising 40% of the state’s population. We learned from the bus driver that its temperatures are moderate, usually 20-30 degrees in the winter, occasionally dipping to zero, and that the moose roam freely in the streets. On the way to the airport we got a stunning view of Mt. McKinley 300 miles to our north, clear as could be. The air quality there is amazing. We also got to see a few moose along the roadway. Moose plus Denali; not bad for a shuttle ride to the airport.

We took a flight to Seattle, had a 1 hour layover and then got on our plane to Minneapolis. Alaska is one time zone earlier than Pacific, so we will have lost three hours by time we get back home. I’m sitting on the plane now typing while Kris is reading about Alaska on her kindle. I know that I must return to civilization and work, but in these last 13 days, I’ve grown fond of living out of a suitcase and having my biggest decision of the day being whether to order red or white wine at dinner.

I’ve learned a lot about this region. I knew nothing before about the Klondike gold rush of 1897. I knew nothing about gold panning, sluicing, or gold dredges. I knew nothing about Alaskan cruise ships, gold key status, the Neptune lounge, and the secrets of Soduko. I knew nothing about the rail cars, luxury coaches, catamarans, Westmark hotels, and ships that comprise the Holland America empire. I knew nothing about what whales, grizzlies, and moose look like in their natural habitat. I knew nothing about the vast beauty of Alaska and the Yukon where the forests and mountains go on, uninhabited, as far as the eye can see. And finally, I knew nothing of the true majesty that is Denali National Park, a place where a world goes on unspoiled just as it has for thousands of years, protected from the only species that can truly upset the balance….man. Now I know.

Denali (Mt. McKinley) 300 miles away!

Mt. Rainier (shot from airplane near seattle)

Alaska Day 12

Denali to Anchorage

9/4/11

Our train ride down to Anchorage wasn’t until noon so after sleeping in, we decided to walk the three mile path over to the park and the train depot to get just a brief amount of movement in our legs before the 8 hour train ride. When it appeared that we were further away than we thought, we picked up the pace a bit so as not to be left behind. As it turned out, we made it in plenty of time.

The ride was fairly uneventful. Again the scenery was stunning and we had a great view of it in our domed car. They offered two meals on this ride but we ended up just opting for dinner. We sat across from a couple from Sioux Falls, SD who were very nice and worked for Sanford Health. They let it slip that Sanford’s plan is to buy up every clinic available. They made it sound like this was akin to Sherman’s march to the sea and if we were in Sanford’s path we’d soon be bought up also. Watch out Mayo.

We noticed as we got closer to Anchorage, there were more signs of civilization to be seen with the occasional river boat or house on the lake. Kris made the astute observation that it was funny to see cars stopped for us as at railroad crossings as opposed to the other way around. My only regret was that we were eating at the time we passed through Wasilla. Someone who had seen it described it as a strip mall, and no, there were no sightings of Sarah Palin vigorously waving to us as we headed through town. We did however see some moose along the way along with some trumpeter swans.

Eventually we made it to Anchorage and were transferred to our hotel, the Hilton. (There was a Westmark in town, but it was full.) We said a sad goodbye to Randy, but before we departed we filled out an evaluation form giving him excellent ratings and some effusive praise in the comment section. He wanted to get invited back to work next year by Holland America and I assured him that if our comments were any indication, he’d not only get invited back but they might even ask him to run the company.

When we headed off to our room, no longer under the protective wing of Randy our tour guide, we felt that indeed our trip was coming to an end, in fact it was likely that we’d soon again have to carry our own luggage. After a brief sojourn to the bar, we retired to our room. One of the peculiarities about the way the Hilton was constructed was that the rooms are at 90 degree angles to each other so you could look out the window and see right into your neighbor’s room. Next to us, sitting at a desk, we could see one of our photo obsessed fellow passengers busy at his computer likely culling through the ten thousand pictures he had taken that day. (My grand total for the trip was 762, of which 53 of them inexplicably were of me posing shirtless in front of the bathroom mirror.) Later that night, I took a peak out the window, and there he was at 3 in the morning still plugging away at his computer. I’m glad I’m not that guy.