Last Morning at Holland America Denali Wilderness Lodge to Alaska Railroad Ride to the End of the Line
What I would call the headline event for our last day was clearly seeing Mt. McKinley from the Alaska Railroad on our trip from Denali to Anchorage. Julie took the photo above on her iPhone.
Blanketed in deep snow on that mid-summer day, it is easy to see why clouds make it difficult to differentiate beyond what are already high mountains. It doesn't seem quite real.
Mt. McKinley isn't the only beautiful sight to behold from the rail journey.
During our bus ride to Denali three days earlier, the driver said only one in three people who visit Denali National Park get to see Mt. McKinley, so we were fortunate indeed.
On our final morning of our stay at Holland America Denali Lodge, Julie and I took the shuttle bus to Denali National Park Visitor's Center.
Once again, we saw mama and baby moose along the way.
Getting up early often beats the crowd.
Julie had selected the less-heralded McKinley Station Trail, so that morning we had it pretty much to ourselves.
I'm not sure why this trail is less heralded, because it is quite beautiful. Possibly it is less unique with regard to Alaskan flora?
Just as on a cruise, you want to vary your port visits to give each day a unique memory, Park Rangers likely intend to guide us to experience a broad scope of terrain. Or maybe to stop such a lovely, easy-to-access trail from being overrun.
We enjoyed all of our hikes, and there are many more accessible trails. Because at the time I was nursing a hernia for which I was scheduled to have an operation upon returning home, we didn't take on the most grueling hikes. Still, we were able to see a lot of beautiful parts of Denali.
No matter how much hiking we did, we could only scratch the surface of Denali National Park's six million acres.
The forest path leads to the lovely river, which the trail follows.
Here are links to short videos Julie made on this hike:
A suspension bridge that looks like it might have been dreamed up by a kid with an Erector Set spans the river for the railroad track to cross.
Our train would cross that bridge later the same day.
I was always more of a Lincoln Logs kid. There's a wooden bridge not far away from which we could easily see the Erector Set bridge.
After completing both directions on the trail, we headed back to the Visitor Center to catch the shuttle to our Lodge.
Arriving a few minutes ahead of the scheduled bus, we walked across the street to see how far we would need to tote our bags to catch the Alaska Railroad for our trip to Anchorage. Not far! This is good to know for anyone who might be doing Denali on their own. Of course, the cruise line will take care of that on a seamless cruise tour.
At the park entrance, incidentally, there are signs for another bus visiting free Sled Dog Demonstrations.
We did not feel compelled to go, but I know many avid "dog people" would find this to be a highlight.
At the Visitors Center Theater near Morino Grill, we watched a wonderful movie about sled dogs and Park Rangers who train them over the course of our stay. It's a cinematically beautiful, engaging movie about preserving a truly unique form of transportation in a challenging environment, where lakes become trails in Denali's snow-flocked winter months.
There is a baggage storage area by the Park entrance. We could have saved ourselves a couple of bus trips by storing our suitcases in the morning rather than doubling back, but we wanted to have breakfast at Holland America Denali Lodge by the river.
Other guests strolled along the river on the path where we walked on our arrival day.
I wonder how many people walk by the little picnic huts without sitting a spell?
Sometimes, you have to stop and smell the coffee.
There are signs along the river that provide interesting commentary for those who make the effort to take the walk and read the information.
Once again, you must be curious enough to take the time to read them.
A humanizing story that former Representative Liz Cheney told in a lecture I attended with Gina in Philadelphia was that going to a park with her dad, VP Dick Cheney, he would stop at every single sign to read it, which seemed excruciating as a child.
The Holland America Lodge proved to be comfortable and convenient place to stay for visiting Denali National Park.
The Holland America Resort is generally split between two levels, with most of the public spaces on the highway level and most hotel space four flights of stairs lower.
For people with mobility issues, trams drive a regular course around the property multiple times per hour, making stairs optional.
Julie and I mostly took the staircases up or down. We don't mind the exercise and never like sitting around waiting to go somewhere near.
We rode the tram only when checking into our room and at the end of our stay, when we had luggage with us.
Whether you snag a room a la carte or visit on a cruise tour like most people, the Holland America Denali Wilderness Lodge is not cheap.
Then again, it is a prime location and worth the price.
I think that it has been implied based in my blog posts but let there be no doubt: we enjoyed our stay.
Getting muffins in the evening for breakfast the next morning worked well, because the Grizzly Grind can get busy with orders for specialty coffees.
Something important to remember when visiting is that you don't need to fill every minute with pricey excursions. Leave some open time for exploring the hotel grounds and nearby Denali National Park on your own. There's a lot to experience.
The dedicated bus service between the Lodge and Denali National Park makes that a breeze. That in turn means getting to the railroad station is just as easy, if you are doing Alaska without a tour.
Because of the way our family thinks, being on time means arriving early, so Julie and I took our suitcases over to the air-conditioned theater to re-watch the dogsled documentary while we waited for our train.
We took turns visiting the light museum exhibits within the welcome center right by the theater.
It is interesting to learn about how different conservationists of a century ago differ dramatically from self-identified greenies of today.
After we walked to the railroad station with time to spare, I realized I had lost my sunglasses. I reasoned they must have dropped out of my pocket in the movie theater.
We still had a few minutes before the train was scheduled to depart, so I trotted back to the theater. A gentleman was sitting where I had been, but upon being asked politely, he stood to allow me to check. Sure enough, my sunglasses were under the seat. While not $200 Ray-Bans, I don't like to lose my cheap sunglasses when traveling and was happy to retrieve them.
Back to the loading platform I ran, and a couple of minutes later our train began boarding. Soon, our train rolled over Riley Creek on that "Erector Set" bridge we hiked past in the morning.
A railroad trip can always be relaxing, if you allow it to be.
To maximize the experience, I would recommend GoldStar Service, like Gina, Laszlo and Emma had luxuriated in. The domes on top would add more of those big skies to views. But that more than doubles the price.
The higher perch of GoldStar seats on the upper level also allows for better views when trees as compared to where we were seated, but often the track is elevated, giving all seats great views.
Sometimes, trees right next to the track obscured views of distant vistas, sort of along the lines of the old adage, not being able to see the forest for the trees.
It was a lovely ride all the way.
The Alaska Railroad is rightly known for ever changing scenery.
Another advantage of GoldStar for those who splurge is that meals are included.
That premium class has their own menus, and from Gina's description, there was not an issue with getting exactly what they wanted or having it served in a timely manner. Because they did the 12-hour trip from Anchorage all the way to Fairbanks, they had a chance to try all of the menus and loved their choices.
However, prices aren't unreasonable for regular passengers like us.
We weren't starving, so we weren't among the cattle stampeding to grab lunch. It turned out that these others probably knew more than us, because by the time I sauntered to the dining car, I found the turkey croissant Julie wanted --- and in fact, all sandwiches --- were sold out.
There was no indication of this, or any kind of instruction to check the refrigerated section on our own to see what was available without standing in line to ask.
By the time I went to grab lunch, I found a long line at the Wilderness Cafe. A single young woman serving one customer at a time.
Multi-tasking never entered her mind.
She was personable, spending quite a bit of time chitchatting with each customer in a friendly manner, but the service time was absurdly slow at about five-minutes per guest, because each hot ordered had to be heated individually, so really inefficient by design.
Fortunately, she had my corn dog on a stick --- only $3! --- in stock.
I added a bag of pre-popped popcorn that didn't require preparation, assuming that would be welcomed by Julie in light of not having sandwiches.
In what is really little more than self-serve with a very long wait, it is rather insulting when the credit card terminal asks how big a tip I wanted to leave. 18%? 22%? You know the drill.
I confess that I stiffed her, because she was a terrible server, though when I returned to get another corn dog and later snacks without such a long wait, I made up for that for the most part.
At a mid-afternoon whistle stop, additional food came aboard. I was able to get a ham sandwich for Julie.
By late afternoon, some tables were available in the dining car, so Julie and I enjoyed our happy hour of popcorn, wine and beer sitting in style.
Throughout the afternoon and early evening, the lighting and landscapes changed.
Over the public address system, a young man provided excellent commentary about the modern day homesteaders who settled out in the wilderness, where the only means of transportation was the railway which they would flag down for a ride.
Local author Shannon Cartwright, who wrote a children's book about the Alaska Railroad, received special attention.
As I mentioned in my Anchorage post, the train in that book was on display along the walk from our rental to downtown.
It was a nice combination of history, nature, climate and local gossip.
You'll have to board the Alaska Railroad to hear the stories for yourself.
Maybe you'll also see eagles and moose like we did.
Scenery continued rolling by until we arrived in Anchorage 45-minutes late.
We considered taking one of the idling taxis rather than waiting for an Uber. We were unsure how much of a zoo the airport would be on Sunday night on a holiday weekend during the peak of cruise season. Nonetheless, Julie summoned an Uber.
If you've taken Uber, you know the feeling of a promised arrival time jumping a couple of times. By the time our driver pulled up, Julie had grown quite antsy.
The driver let us load our bags in her trunk before announcing, "I need to use the bathroom."
She headed for the doors without looking back despite Julie saying we had to get to the airport right away. Fortunately for us, the doors she tried were locked from our direction, and the driver doubled back.
When we got inside, I noticed she had Pittsburgh Steelers floor mats, so I asked about that. The driver said upon retirement from a job in social services five years earlier, she had followed her dream of moving from Pennsylvania to Alaska. It turned out that she actually grew up in Philadelphia. Small world.
She made good time to the airport, where she double-parked and dashed in search of a restroom after opening the trunk for us to retrieve our own bags. The driver wasn't high on customer service, but she still got a tip. Am I the only one who thinks this tipping culture has gotten carried away?
With our Global Entry passes making TSA Pre-Check a given, we were able to get through security efficiently, if not exactly a breeze in a very busy airport. We had enough time for me to get burgers and French fries from McDonalds before boarding our flight.
The redeye had no major issues connecting through Detroit this time. Julie had booked the aisle and window seat, as we often do in hopes of no one taking the middle. This time we were in luck. Not a bad end for our fun summer trip to California and Alaska.
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