Part 3 - Alaska Railroad

 

Alaska Railroad

 

            At 12PM the next day I had the train back to Anchorage. I booked this a month earlier but the standard tickets were sold out, so I booked the Goldstar Service which is basically first class. Each Goldstar car is a double decker. The top is the seating area which has panoramic dome glass, and, more importantly, there is bar service at the back. The bottom is the dining area.

 

The train ride from Denali to Anchorage is almost eight hours, so two meals were served. Because I was a single passenger, I was seated with three other people. There was a tour group, and I was seated with two of the ladies and their tour guide. Their names were Anne, Angela, and Mike. We were chatting it up as if we were long-time friends. We talked almost the entire time, but it was hard to ignore the beautiful scenery passing by our window. After we were returned to our seats, the server who sat us earlier asked me if I knew the others. I told him that I didn’t. He was surprised because we just clicked so well.

 

            On the top of the train at the back of the car is a door that leads to an outdoor platform. I went there to take some pictures, feel the Alaskan wind, and smell the Alaskan air. Of course, it was windy. I almost lost my hat. It was very relaxing though.

 

            On the ride, we saw a bald eagle perched on the branch of a fallen tree on a little island in the middle of the river. At another point, we saw a moose running through the water away from train because it was startled by the noise. Because moose are so tall, it had no trouble traversing the water.

 

            The ride was just incredible. We passed through forests, meadows, marshes, and rivers. The mountains were always lying in the distance. 

 

            A very cool part about the Alaskan Railroad is that they will pick up riders who flag the train down in the remote areas. These riders are Alaskans who live in small cabins tucked away in the wilderness. They use it to go to the bigger cities for supplies. The train travels slowly through these areas so that it can stop easily to pick them up. I would love to travel by train in this manner, but it’s only in certain stretches that it does this so that it won’t continuously delay the train schedule.

 

            At some point on the train ride, I noticed some passengers getting a drink that looked like hot chocolate. That piqued my taste buds. I asked the bartender what that was and ordered one. It was called a Brown Bear. He asked for my ticket. I assumed they just marked it for something. Later I found out that they marked it for alcoholic drinks. I would never have known that the Brown Bear contained alcohol, which reminds me, I need to find out how to make one.

 

            Around dinner, they seated us again. I was hoping to have more conversations with people, but this time I was sat all to my lonesome. There were less people because they let out some other passengers at the previous stop.

 

            Around 8PM we finally reached Anchorage. The train ride was one of my favorite things about the trip. If you ever have the chance to go to Alaska, the train ride is a must.

Goldstar Seating Area

A view of the train

A view from the train

A view from the train