4

Sep

Days in Denali

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Leaving the Anchorage hostel was a struggle with only a couple hours of sleep. This is the disadvantage to sharing accommodation with large groups returning late and drunk. I had decided to retaliate by being extra loud when I left before 7am to catch my northbound train, but the group beat me to it. They were already up and occupying the bathroom. C’est la vie. A wicked glare will have to do.

Lucky for me, there was a coffee bar at the train station. I ordered an ‘Alaskan Sludge’ (added espresso shots to a traditional black coffee) and sat waiting for the whistle to blow for boarding. I chatted to other tourists with anticipation for the journey ahead, and took several photos in front of the shiny black display engine. The visitors from Kentucky were amused by my accent-it seemed as though the intensified coffee gave me an Irish lilt. Although I insisted I was Canadian, I gave in to the part and clicked my heels like a leprechaun for my own Kodak moment.

Lucky Leprechaun on the Alaskan Rail
Once I nestled into my window seat on the top deck, I pulled out my guidebook and tattered travel notes. For the next eight hours I would be covering terrain that helped form ‘the wild frontier’ tag line known to all visitors. As ‘the last frontier’ is actually written on the Alaskan license plates, I figured it was time to delve into a bit more geographic history at the same time.
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28

Aug

Bumping Into a Moose in Anchorage

Filed under What's next, North America, USA | 4 Comments

Bumping into a moose is not that out of the ordinary up here. Every tourist wants to see the gangly legged creatures. On my first full day I saw six. But that isn’t even the start of my story today.

Arrival glacier

My flight departing Vancouver streamed past the mountains for only a few moments. This was nothing in comparison to flying into Anchorage. Underneath the wing tips not only did I manage to see snow capped mountains, but glaciers and a coastline replicating a drunken trail home from the pub. It was amazing that I was able to see any of this considering my eyes were still filling with tears. Although there had been no emotional goodbyes in Vancouver, I couldn’t stop crying. The bugger of it all was that it was my fault.

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