After our somewhat wet sojourn to coastal Alaska, we returned to Anchorage for the night. We had a nice meal at Humpy's again and took an early night in lieu of an early start the next day.
Or next leg of the journey involved a 465 kilometre trip on Alaska Railroad's Denali Star(above). The journey would take us took us north of Anchorage along side Cook inlet, the Sustina River and through Broad pass (Alaska Range) on to Denali National Park. The train continues on to Fairbanks, but we (as most do) stopped in Denali for a couple of days.
After such a rewarding experience on the Rocky Mountaineer when we chose to go Gold leaf, we decided to take the equivalent option for this day tour. The Alaskan bi-level coaches have the open viewing deck on the top level instead of the bottom as for the Rocky Mountaineer (for the better).
Not long after clearing the outskirts of Anchorage (including an Air force base full of F15 Eagle jets) we encountered this sight, a train load of tanks and armored personnel carriers. Apparently, the military were mobilizing a battalion to Iraq. I've seen some military presence in the States (particularly in San Diego) but I hadn't expected to see any in the "remote wilderness" of Alaska. When you think of it, it makes sense. Those pesky commies are only just across the ditch to the west.
The further north we traveled, the prettier the scenery. On our right the Chugach Mountains (above), seemed to go on for ever. The mountains in Alaska are completely different to the Canadian Rockies. The Rockies were formed by tectonic plate collisions with sedimentary rock (sand stone). The mountains in Alaska are formed by volcanic activity and makes them look quite different.
The train stopped briefly at Talkeetna allowing us to stretch our legs and take in the scenery including our first glimpse of North America's tallest peak. Unfortunately it was just a glimpse because the trees were blocking the bottom half of the mountain and the clouds shrouding the top. It wouldn't be too long before we'd get a better look.
To the left of the train the Cook inlet gave way to the Sustina river (above) near the Talkeetna stop. The Sustina River runs from the northern part of the Alaska Range (Broad Pass) some 400kms south into Cook Inlet near Anchorage.
Beyond the Sustina river, the Alaska Range kept getting closer and more imposing. The range runs from just north of Anchorage (about 25 kms across Cook Inlet), 450 kms north east to Denali National Park, and beyond a little further.
About half way to Denali at Talkeetha, we finally caught our first good look look at the highest point in North America, Mt McKinley. At 6,193m (20,320 ft) it's pretty impressive considering we were pretty much at sea level. We should get much closer to this white giant during our coming incursion into the national park tomorrow.
North of Talkeetna, the Sustina River became steadily narrower, but valley it rand through became steeper and deeper making for some more interesting scenery.
Here's a side note about the crazy cruise boat tourists.
As I mentioned before, the big cruise ships disgorge there passengers and herd them onto day cruise boats and railway cars. Above are the silver/blue rail cars. They are actually owned by the cruise operators (Princess & Holland America). Alaska Railroad charge the cruise operators a bunch of money to haul their cars behind the Denali Star. Word has it that it is much cheaper to go it alone after the cruise and book direct with Alaskan Railroad. It seems to be a far more relaxed experience as well. As I mentioned above, we were in the double deck car so we could enjoy the view. It turns out that we needn't have bothered because the cattle class have dome cars that actually give you a better view because the seat backs are lower. (you don't have to keep standing up all the time). The Gold Star service wasn't nearly as good as the equivalent Canadian version. It was way cheaper than the R.M. and we didn't miss the service that much.
After a steep climb through the forest the train crossed over Hurricane Gulch (above & below).
Not far down the track, the Alaska Range started to become more prominent (on both sides) and the trees became more stunted and sparse. Eventually the trees pretty much disappeared all together. This kind of landscape (complete with submerged permafrost) is called Tundra. I was taken aback that the tundra was this far south. I figured you would only see it closer to the Arctic Circle. I guess we were close and were also fairly high up by that point.
Notice the mountains are black (unlike the grey in Canada) and have narrow grooves that run down to the base full of snow. They almost look like volcanoes (they once were) but with white lava. As usual the photos don't do it justice, but Broad Pass is a part of Alaska that shouldn't be missed. Remember that the main part of the Alaska Range was behind me when I took these photos.
After scanning the countryside for most of the day, Broad Pass was where we finally saw moose. It was a mother and her new calf walking along the shore of this lake (below).
As we neared the end of our journey for the day, the wet weather started to move in. The only other point of interest was Panorama Mountain (above) that is just to the south of our base for the next two nights, McKinley Park, located on the edge of Denali National Park.
