Day 7, Sunday, June 4, 2023
Disembarking the Ship, Boarding the Train, Traveling to Denali National Park and Preserve
The part of this cruise that I’ve always wanted to do was beginning. I had been on an Inside Passage cruise with Holland America—in fact, on an earlier iteration of the Noordam—in 1998. But I had only done the sea portion. I had always been curious to see Denali and whatever wildlife might cross my path on such a tour. So I was happy that Jas wanted to go on the land tour also.
To get to Denali from a ship, you have to either fly, ride in a passenger coach (bus), or take a train. When a cruise begins in Vancouver, the disembarkation point is Whittier, and then you take a train. Each cruise line and each ship has their own passenger car on the train. These are double-decker cars, with seats and lots of windows on the top floor, and a rustic dining car on the lower floor. There’s a bar in the front of the upper level, and tasty, freshly-prepared food on the lower level. An experienced guide who knows all about the flora and fauna of that part of the world dispenses a lifetime of information during the eight or so hours we’re together on the train.
Whittier is a small city, and it really only has a life in the summer, when the waters are passable. Winter? Not so much happens there! For more information about the important town of Whittier, follow this link.
Shortly after going through the 2¾-mile-long tunnel, Jas (who spent his working life on and around freight trains; and while they were moving, sitting in the engine watching for obstructions on the track ahead) pointed out our first wildlife view of the day—a small bear running across the field. We were lucky to be seated in the first car on the train. We were able to sneak up on the wildlife. Those travelers on the back car didn’t see everything we did, as those bears and swans and caribou and Dall sheep had already run away by the time the third car passed the viewing area.
We had an enjoyable lunch in the dining room underneath our seating area. We were the only ones eating for the first twenty minutes or so, so got to spend time talking to the server and learning about her Alaskan life.
We stopped in Anchorage for fifteen minutes or so—I believe to let some trains pass. There were also sidings along the way where we had to pull over. Freight gets priority! One of the times the conductor, Ian Frazier, came through our car, Jas introduced himself, and they spent a good amount of time trading stories and lies.
After eight or so hours had passed, we pulled into the Denali Park depot and exited to the coaches that would take us to the resort. One of our checked bags had been sent to the Anchorage hotel; the other two bags were waiting for us in our suite at the resort.
A Holland America/Princess Line representative (same parent: Carnival Cruise Lines) was on the train with us, moving from car to car, making sure we had all the excursions and activities we wanted for the days of our land tour. We decided to go to the Music of Denali dinner theatre that evening. It’s one of those musical experiences where the dinner servers are the actors and singers in the show. And it was an excellent show. I can be a harsh critic at times, having sat in on so many voice lessons in my life and played for so many high school, university, and community theatre performances. But these were excellently trained singers and the show was very well written—interesting historical anecdotes, clever jokes, good (unboring) choreography. We both felt this show was absolutely worth the money we paid.
We were in the old part of the resort. And we both have visited enough national parks and seen the lodges there. We had no unreal expectations about what the accommodations would be like. They were rustic and bare bones, but comfortable. I didn’t expect the Four Seasons. There was a bedroom with a double bed, a clever carved tree serving as the closet, and a vanity with sink; a bathroom with a tub-shower, toilet, and sink; and a living room with a pull-out couch, a small refrigerator, a microwave, and a coffee machine. It was basic, and clean. We wanted for nothing.
We opened the windows of the bedroom and enjoyed the cool temperature and the sound of the Nenana River flowing by.
The Nenana is what is referred to as a braided river. Braided rivers are a type of river that forms a network of many branches within a channel. They don’t become separate rivers, but come back together at some point. If you’re into geology or environmental topics, google “braided river” for some more academic discussions of this topic.
We also passed, along the train tracks, many areas that looked like marhes but were actually areas of permafrost. There is another term we were introduced to for this phenomenon, but I can neither remember or find it right now, so will just encourage you to check out this site. We need to be paying attention to our environment.
Not specifically on point, but interesting nonetheless: While I was googling to remember the term “braided,” I found this website, and I encourage you to explore it: BraidedRiver.org.
The first day of our Denali tour was over.
P.S. If you’re thinking you might like to visit Denali sometime, here’s an info link for you.
