Day 14: Northward, ho!

Saturday, July 25, 2009
Sadly, the cruise has come to an end. We had a pretty early disembarkation time, so we had to get up even earlier to eat breakfast. After that, we hung out in one of the dining rooms, waiting for our group (Brown 3) to be called. Eventually, we schlepped outside, in the cold and rain (what a surprise!) to the train, waiting just by the dock in Whittier, Alaska.

Amy and David waiting for our turn to disembark

Our train to Denali

We were taking one of the Princess Cruisetours, spending a few nights at various lodges around Denali National Park. To get there, we had to take a 10 hour train ride. Oh boy, this will be fun! We were in Car A, so we were behind the engine and could actually see over the top of it since we were in a double-decker car. The seating was on the upper level and the observation platform, the dining room and bathroom below. We assigned tables across the aisle from one another. Sarah, Sophie, Steve, and I started at one table and Dad and David at the other (with another couple who were kind of humorless). The cars had domed ceilings so there was lots of light.

Strange glances from dad aboard the train, with the Diamond Princess in the background

David, for much of the first half of the trip

We were finally on our way. We had a guide who pointed things out to us along the journey, giving us historical details, comments about the plants, and pointed out animals. We saw a few moose but not much else. After getting past Whittier and Anchorage, we headed around the Turnagit Arm, a pretty area with a large body of water. The sun was starting to come out, finally. We even got to travel through Wasilla. You know, the duct table capital of the world! Oh right, also the home of Sarah Palin. Lucky us! The trip itself was very pretty - lots of mountains, water, pretty fields, etc. We went over what looked like a rickety old trestle bridge at Hurricane Gulch and eventually wound up at the town of Denali, right outside the entrance to the park.

Images from the train journey northward:

Wasilla!

What's that, you say? When the fireweed finishes flowering, winter is coming? I had NO idea!

During the trip, Sophie was pretty good. She had her very loud moments, but it was happy-loud, not crying or whining or anything like that. She slept for a little while but for the most part, was more interested in playing with us and throwing things around. Food on the train was less than exciting. We had some good cinnamon buns, but the nachos weren't at all impressive.

Sophie's on the look-out for moose

Nap time!

Someone clearly just woke up

Doing the moose antler wave to the passing train

Dancing on the table is such fun!

Someone has been spending too much time around daddy.

Yay! We're almost there!

We received all of the room keys and itinerary stuff for the next couple days while on the train. Dad, David, and I had to share a room tonight due to a reservation snafu. Oops. We also used this time to book a flightseeing trip for Dad, David, and myself in two days time.

For someone who just HAD to take the train, he sure is taking in all the sights.

Once we arrived in Denali, we were taken to the lodge and quickly found our building and rooms. Our luggage had already been delivered and was waiting for us in the room. We all went for dinner at a burger place. It was ok, nothing special though. Sophie and I had fun running around while everyone else finished up. She was mostly interested in trying to balance on the rocks.

Dad and I wandered around for awhile later on. There were pretty views all around. About this time, I started feeling really off - lightheaded and my legs felt like jelly. We decided that was a good time to go back to the room and call it a night. As it turns out, Sarah also felt weird and was convinced she had altitude sickness. We both felt better in the morning, so crisis averted.

View from the Denali Lodge

Our Journey, Thus Far (Part 3)