Alaska Railroad

We returned to Anchorage via the Alaska Railroad, departing from inside Denali National Park. The train was surprisingly luxurious and despite the fact that the trip took almost 8 hours, it was a beautiful way to experience the scenery and landscape of interior Alaska. One of the most amazing things was seeing Denali from the train. For the entire day, the peaks of Denali were completely visible, which is highly unusual.  

Hurricane Gulch

iPhone photo from the train - insane

Lunch in the dining car.

A few hours into the train ride, and the peaks were still visible.

Denali selfie

When the scenery got a bit monotonous, Emily passed the time reading.

Old telegraph wires and poles.

Hours into the ride, and the view was still unobstructed and breathtaking.

Remnants of a forest fire.

Moose tracks on the beach.

Anchorage train station.

Denali Peaks

Our last morning in Alaska, the girls and I took a flight seeing trip over Denali. We were originally supposed to fly out of Talkeetna a few days earlier - and land on a glacier inside the park, but the weather did not cooperate so we scratched that trip. Lee opted out (not a fan of small planes) but the girls and I had a remarkable experience. Our flight reached altitude of 12,000 feet and the pilot told us that our flight was among the top five he'd ever done - there was visibility as far as the eye could see and both peaks were remarkably clear. It was the experience of a lifetime and I was so glad that we had the opportunity to see the majesty of Denali up close and so clearly. 

The two peaks are two miles apart.

Debris left behind by hikers

Animals of Denali

In addition to the sled dogs, we saw so many amazing animals while we were in Denali, including moose, bears, caribou and Dall sheep.