All Aboard the Alaska Railroad

Pulling in to Denali NP

After spending time camping in Denali National Park, I headed up north to Fairbanks, Alaska. There were a few transportation options but every person I talked to in Denali recommended the Alaska Railroad. The train depot was a short walk from the National Park Visitor's Center. As a solo backpacking traveler, the bus loads of cruise passengers were slightly annoying at the terminal but most of them were waiting for the train back south towards Anchorage instead of heading north to Fairbanks. Nonetheless, I was glad to get on the train and escape them. My patience can only take so much of John and Mary Smith from Orlando, Florida and their grandson that would be perfect for me.

First Class Seating

I am usually a budget traveler but I accidentally clicked the wrong button when I made my train reservation and I bought a first class ticket. I didn't realize it until I picked up at my ticket at the depot. It was the best mistake I have ever made. There were only 10 of us in the first class area so I had my pick of seats and could move around to check out different views whenever I wanted. I have never sat in a domed train car before. I sat in my seat looking up at the blue sky thinking that this is one of those rare moments that are absolutely perfect. The car had it's own small bar with drinks and snacks. It felt like I was in a movie.

View from the balcony

The other benefit of the first class seat was our own open air balcony. You could walk out there enjoy the wind created by the train and look for wildlife. We saw moose on the side of the tracks multiple times. Granted we were traveling fast but it was still a pretty amazing sight. They had a system in place where someone in a car ahead of us would notify someone in our car because they would tell us, "Moose coming up on the right." In addition to wildlife we also saw old telegraph poles all along the route. It must have been an adventure to travel around Alaska building those poles. I know Alaska has changed a lot since then but looking out over all of that land, it felt like maybe it hadn't changed that much at all.

Salmon Chowder & Alaskan Summer Ale

I took a break from the balcony and headed down to the dining car. After backpacking for 5 days I was excited to eat something other than trail mix. The staff recommended the bowl of salmon chowder for lunch. If you like salmon and corn you will love this chowder! The Alaskan Summer Ale was a perfect match for the chowder.  There is something old world about eating in a dining car on a train. You can buy food, if that's what you want to call it, on airplanes these days but it is nowhere near the same. When I need to get from one place to another quickly, I love a plane but when I have the time to sit back, relax and enjoy the world as it goes by, there is nothing better than a train ride. The Alaskan Railroad is a modern day time machine. Climb aboard and enjoy the ride.