I’m an official member of the 30% club – I just need my membership card and a ceremonial pin.  You’re probably scratching your head and wondering what I’m talking about.  Well, I saw Denali in all of its splendor as we were on the train north.  Since you’re likely to have only a 30% chance of seeing the mountain, I got lucky on my first try.  Let me tell you a little about this day.

We started out from Anchorage about 8:15 in the morning.  As the day dawned, we hoped for the best but didn’t expect too much.  There are fires burning to the west and north of Denali and smoke has been in and out of the area.  Besides being bad to breathe, smoke can also obscure vision, and each one of us wanted to see “The Great One” – Denali.  The best viewing of Denali is from the Talkeetna area since the mountain is toward the southern portion of the park.  So as we were going up, we all looked from time to time.  Once I looked out, there was nothing and then before you knew it, someone was calling out, “There it is!”  Sure enough, Denali (or Mt. McKinley) was visible, gleaming white in the brilliance of the sun.  I was lucky and persistent enough to be positioned well to get some pretty good shots of the mountain.  This is my first time (and may be my only time) to come to Denali and I was lucky enough to see the mountain.  Others have come numerous times and have not been able to see it.  We were extremely lucky that day!

The trip to Denali was completed by train on the Alaska Railroad.  This train takes about 7 hours to travel from Anchorage to Denali.  You can travel the route faster by car, but you don’t get to see and focus on the same sights.  You’d be worn out from about 5 hours of driving instead of having the luxury to read, converse, sight-see or just sleep as you travel.  Knowing me, I was sight-seeing all the way, baby!  The train trip was great and relaxing, allowing us to see a part of Alaska that’s not available from the road.  The rail cars have assigned seating but you are able to travel to other cars that have observation seats in them.  There are also open areas between the cars that make for excellent picture taking. The train also has a sit down dining car as well as a snack or bistro car.  Since we left shortly after 8 AM, we had breakfast at my sister’s place, but had lunch on the train – pretty good buffalo chili.  As interesting as the trip is, it can get a bit monotonous, so we all dozed off at least once.  I found myself standing for much of the trip in between the cars.  Here, you have the entrance to the car when it is stationary, but when the train is moving this gap creates a partial opening that allows you to see what is going on outside and allows you to take a look up and down the length of the train.  I found this to be exciting as well as a great way to enjoy the warm sun on my face.  I would recommend the method of travel to others who are thinking about heading to Denali.

So the comfortable train service and the clear skies that allowed me to see Denali made this a day to remember.  I hope to someday be able to make this trip again with my family but if not, I know that I have see the Great One and have stared upon its rocky face.

On Monday, I was on my own since my sister and her boyfriend had to work. I had known that before my flight up, so I booked a seat on the Phillips 26 glacier cruise out of Whittier, Alaska. After a good night’s sleep, I said farewell to my sis and headed off down the Turnagain Arm to Portage and the tunnel that connects it to Whittier. As I drove along the Turnagain Arm, I stopped and snapped some photos. As I was nearing Portage, I noticed a car that was parked on the shoulder. A person was standing on the shoulder and was looking at the water. Curious, I stopped and peered out at the water also. To my surprise, I saw a pod of beluga whales swimming up the main channel. I was able to get a few images on my camera – the belugas only look like white or gray humps in the water, but they were special none-the-less. I knew then it was going to be a good day.

The only way to get to Whittier is by boat or car. Boats arrive via the Prince William Sound. Cars have to come through a one-way tunnel. At the top of the hour, cars can go from Portage to Whittier for a $12 toll. At the half hour, cars can go from Whittier to Portage. Oh, by the way, trains use the same tunnel, so your schedule could be screwed by a train either arriving or leaving. I was able to make the 9:30 AM tunnel with no problem and I was shortly in Whittier, which gave me plenty of time to explore the town since I had never been there. Once I parked, I started my explorations around the town which isn’t really that big. I visited the local museum and took in the exhibits. I investigated the abandoned Buckner building (a former military barracks) and noted some of the graffiti. I walked up the roads on the hillside to find a great view of Prince William Sound. Lastly, I hiked some trails that led to several melt water streams merging together to form a creek. Once I followed the creek to where I parked the car, I saw that it was boarding time for the boat.

The Klondike Express is a powered catamaran that plies the placid waters of Prince William Sound, giving tourists a close up view of wildlife, glaciers and the overall majesty of the sound. Once on board and underway, we were served a fish and chips meal while a forest ranger narrated the opening segments of our excursion. We soon understood the differences between suspended, hanging and tidewater glaciers, and we were ready to view. It was a beautiful day on the sound, temperatures in the 60s and full sun, but the ship moving across the water at 46 mph creates a very cool breeze to say the least. As I walked outside, I donned my hoodie and set my camera to capture the sights I would see. There was plenty to look at – we saw birds, lots of sea otters and seals. The glaciers themselves were also very interesting. We got to see some of them, specially the suspended and hanging glaciers from a distance, but the tidewater glaciers were the coolest. We visited two different tidewater glaciers and you could tell when you were getting close, even if you couldn’t have seen them. Small icebergs and brash ice were in the water, signaling that a tidewater glacier was near. As we got closer, the boat slowed down and then finally stopped. As the engine sound died away, you could hear the ice groaning. Since a glacier is simply a river of ice, it is in constant motion even though it might not be apparent to us. It became clearly apparent when a section of the glacier fell away, calving off from the main glacier. With a groaning crack and a crash of ice into the water, the glacier became a little smaller. The visit to the tidewater glaciers was the highlight of the cruise. Soon we were heading back to port in Whittier. After the cruise I headed back to my sister’s place and rested for a few minutes before heading out for dinner to one of my favorite Anchorage establishments, Humpys. If you ever get then chance to to a glacier cruise, take it! It’s too great of an opportunity to let slip through your fingers.