Alaska Railroad to Denali National Park

On By DbmakesIn Alaska August 2024

Sunday, August 18, 2024

First of all, I am thrilled to report that all 8 of us are safely home. It was quite the long journey home,  and I’m so grateful to have this Fabulous Bucket List Trip checked off. But first, I need to catch up on the last 2 days, so here goes …

We left the McKinley Princess Lodge at 9AM on Sunday and took a short coach ride to Talkeetna. This is the jumping off place for those who are intending to ascend the highest mountain in North America. Mike captured this image that shows the climbing stats for April through July ~

We didn’t get to see the little town of Talkeetna, as we were driven directly to the train. A 4.5 hour train  ride commenced and we saw some incredibly beautiful scenery. It rained almost the entire trip until the very end when we saw a little bit of sunshine. Unfortunately, we never saw any wildlife. It’s also challenging to take pictures from a moving train, but here are just a few:

Each car has its own tour guide,  bartender, dining car and 3 heads.
Questions, anyone?
The view from my seat
Hurricane Gulch
Yes, That’s a long way down into Hurricane Gulch on a very  narrow bridge that was built 100 years ago
I just KNEW I was going to see a bear right there
And see a moose right here.  Where is all the wildlife?
The highest point on the entire train trip
Neither pictures or words can describe the vast and incredible beauty of Alaska
We enjoyed a lovely lunch on the train and a glass of Prosecco to wrap it up

We checked into our room at the McKinley Chalet Resort, and after just a little shopping across the street, we met for dinner. I’ve eaten some really great seafood, especially the seafood chowder, my favorite.  Oh, and certainly the lobster tails on the ship

Our after dinner libation

I was noticing employees walking around in Christmas garb, and while caroles were playing, I saw this sign.

I was told that in the 4 short months the lodge is open (mid-May to mid-September), each department is in charge of decorating for another annual holiday
I’m glad we got Christmas as I don’t see these fine people in the winter.  The Makes family lives in Illinois, Wisconsin, and South Carolina. 

We all went back to our room to get organized for moving to our last accommodation of the trip. Our bags were to be picked up at 9AM Monday, so I had to take time on Sunday evening to get myself organized (again).

I have traveled all over the world and I STILL overpack.

We went to bed at a decent time, because we knew our time at the park on Monday would be limited.  It had already been 10 days of NOT getting my required 7 hours of sleep, so I definitely was starting to get worn out.

I love everything about a train … wish he would have blown the horn when I shot this.

13 thoughts on “Alaska Railroad to Denali National Park”

    1. Thank you so much for sharing with me. Good thing I went to high school in Portland Oregon. Much of the trip’s weather was familiar to me. I know you love Christmas so you would have loved that.

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  4. azbrujo's avatar azbrujo

    Glad you got to go on this, Definitely an Awesome trip, but glad to see everybody made it home safely. Beautiful photos of the whole experience. And Christmas in August, wow.

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  5. denicebars's avatar denicebars

    So happy you got to see the beauty of Alaska. Was reliving my own trip there through your posts. Sorry no wildlife. We were all up into the backcountry and only saw a few moose and Grizzly in the Brooks Lodge Sanctuary. They are there, they just avoid places where people go. Even camping in the back country we did not see as much as we had thought so don’t feel bad. It’s a big country and lots of wilderness for the wildlife to hide. I had the same experience- mostly gray skies and rain. And think! This is their BEST season for weather. Makes you appreciate the hardiness of the Alaskan pioneer. Back to your warm pool, your inviting home and lots of great memories. Thanks for sharing!

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