Yesterday I told you about the miles and miles of rivers that parallel the train tracks from Anchorage to Denali National Park. One of the interesting facts that I failed to share is that at one point the river flows south toward the Pacific Ocean. At another point that same river flows northward and deposits into the Bering Sea.

Speaking of rivers, we saw many different kinds of rivers today as we navigated paved roads and gravel roads on a 5 hour bus tour of Denali National Park. Most of these rivers don’t have any fish because the rock silt flowing from glaciers are unhealthy for fish. Many braided rivers that run through the park have less water and more rock.

The Tundra Wilderness tour bus utilizes the only road to explore some of the six million reserved acres of this amazing place. In those acres our tour guide, Jenny, claims there are 1500 Moose. We saw one Bull Moose from miles away. There are 1000 Caribou in the park. We saw eight from about 30 yards away. There are 98 gray wolfs. We saw none. We did see a Grizzly bear, two moose, a Golden Eagle, four Dall Sheep, all from a mile away. If you had a good professional camera lens you had some great pictures to share. We did not. We did see the Alaska State bird, a Willow Ptarmigan, but I decided not to trip over others to photograph that little dude.

We had beautiful sunny weather today so we were able to see the snow covered Denali Mountain from fifty miles away. Some roads in the park were washed out by a landslide earlier this year so we got as close as roads will take you. We are a month too early to take a dog sled any closer than we got today. Sandy and I agree, Denali National Park was one of the most spectacularly beautiful places we have ever viewed. The sunny weather and gorgeous fall colors make this trip one for the memories and one to recommend. We are on the train from Denali to Fairbanks as I write these words. The scenery by train is as fabulous as the scenic bus tour. Is there another expression for FANTASTIC DAY?

We were up again at 5:30am to shuttle to the train station. The Alaska Star departed at 8:15am for Denali. We checked-in at the Denali Bluffs Hotel at 4:15pm.

The eight hourAlaska Rail Road train ride from Anchorage passed through Wasilla, Talkeetna, Hurricane, and Honolulu (yep, Alaska not Hawaii) on the way to Denali Park. The spectacular fall color views of trees changing to bright yellow contrasting with red tundra and green Evergreens mixed in with three different mountain ranges, train bridges 200 feet above a multitude of rivers, streams and lakes was beyond words can describe. Just as The Grand Canyon or Bryce Canyon beauty cannot be captured by photographs adequately, this Alaskan wilderness viewed from train dome was beyond amazing.

Alaska Summit Lake, Indiana River, and Panoramic Mountain were three of the most memorable sights from the full day travelled. Sandy and I have been to many beautiful places in our travels but we both said this trip is among the most beautiful. And, it has just started. We haven’t been to Denali Mountain or Fairbanks yet.

Pandemic: Road Trip Week Seven Summary

Summary/Observations

Home sweet home!

We left St. Louis June 30, arrived Anacortes, WA. July 4, departed Guemes Island/Anacortes August 7, spent 4 days in Mazama, WA., and then, arrived St. Louis, August 16. Forty-eight days away was just right for me but not long enough for Sandy.

We miss all of them—Brian, Emily, Fisher, Amaya, Mark, Kelly, Rumi, Teo, Kris, Kerry, Sienna, and Sebastian already.

We traveled 5,635 miles, 14 States traveled through, 5 State Capitol Cities visited. We were never bored but challenged by driving through Nebraska and Kansas. Most beautiful terrain is tied with Washington, Oregon, Utah. Idaho is cool. Montana is my favorite. Colorado is always magnificent.

Every city and every state visited is pandemic conscious except for Cheyenne, Wyoming. Of the nine hotels that we stayed only one did not have staff with masks. Every hotel room was spotless. Best breakfast was the Tru Hilton in Lawrence, Kansas. They offered a hot breakfast sandwich that we did not try. But, the paper bag to-go breakfast included a hard-boiled egg, blueberry muffin, and an orange. Coffee was pretty good. Most hotel coffee is awful.

Highway travel on the road is interesting. We saw highway speed limits from 55 to 80mph. At every speed many cars passed us bye like we were standing still. 90mph is a common speed in Wyoming, Montana, Idaho and Utah. The drives through mountains is always fun with lots of varied speeds from 70mph on straightaways to 15mph on hairpin turns.

When on the road we accepted the hotel breakfast in a bag which were not very good. We ate peanut and jelly sandwiches with grapes and protein bars for five lunches and fried chicken or homemade left-overs for the rest. We ate dinner at restaurants, six of which offered outdoor seating. We ate at ZERO fast food places. And, ZERO local diners (my favorite).   

Going west we had four overnights. Coming home we had five. Going out we listened to Spotify and other music. ZERO podcasts. On the way back home, we listened to nothing at all, ZERO. Until yesterday, when I listened to every inning of the Cardinal/White Sox double-header. E

So, we traveled to the west coast and back and witnessed the pandemic situation from many angles in multiple locations. We are fortunate to return in good heath (as far as we are aware).

We arrived home Sunday at noon. Had an awesome dinner with Todd, Jessica and Scarlet at 4pm. Then, Monday, I played golf with Tom and Gerry. Shot my best round of the year-78!