The Ground tour Alaska
Day One: Seward to Anchorage then Talkeetna
The end of the cruise, we anchored at Seward around five in
the morning and had to be assembled with our tour group at seven, so it was an
early start to the day. The three day ground tour was the part I had really
been looking forward to, hopefully it would afford me the opportunity to get up
close with some wildlife, specifically grizzly bears and moose.
We boarded our bus dockside and were made welcome by our
tour guide Kate, what a mix she was; Polish, with a Scottish name and American
citizenship. She is a tour guide in Alaska during the Northern Summer and then
heads down to one of the bases in Antarctica to be a supply manager during the
winter I guess it’s not such a change. Getting on the bus the kids were
thrilled that another two families they had made friends on the ship would also
be joining us on the tour, this was also good for us as it meant they wouldn’t
get bored being stuck around adults. Setting off from Seward we then made our
way up to Anchorage, a three hour journey, which gave most people a chance to
catch up on some much needed sleep. The scenery along the way was pretty and we
did see a Beluga whale come up for air in one of the bays but other than that
the trip was uneventful.
Arriving in Anchorage around lunch time we had a couple of
hours to ourselves so we had a quick look around, grabbed a bite to eat and
stocked up on some supplies for lunch over the next couple of days. We also got
our first glimpse of Mt McKinley (Denali) the highest peak in North America,
one of the things Kate drummed into us was that only 30% of the people that
come to see the mountain actually do so as it’s clouded over most of the time,
being six kilometres high I guess you have to expect that. So to see the
mountain from Anchorage over 300 kilometres away is a rare treat. After our break we re-boarded the bus and
drove to Talkeetna our overnight stay. The drive from Anchorage to Talkeetna
was also pretty uneventful (can you see a pattern building here?). Along the
way we passed Sarah Palin’s house and I can tell you now I couldn’t see Russia
from her backyard?? (Apparently one of her many outlandish statements).
The lodge at Talkeetna is pretty luxurious with fantastic
views of Mt McKinley from its balconies. We arrived at the lodge late afternoon
and after taking the time to admire the view, we went off on a hike through the
forests surrounding the lodge, when we got back it was on to another bus that
would take us down to our jet boat; the activity we had decided to do in the evening.
The bus that was to take us was the local school bus and the woman driving
jokingly said she had her fingers crossed we would make it; a portent of things
to come? Helen was the smart one she went off and did a flight around the
mountains including a landing on a glacier. A fact I didn’t know 70% of the
population of Alaska have a pilot’s licence, I guess because it’s the easiest
way to get around. Anyway back to the
jet boat, Chelle and I had expected it to be a high speed ride up the river
over rapids etc, it turns out this one is more of a sedate river cruise up
river to a recreated trappers camp and native camp, although it was interesting
it wasn’t the adrenalin rush we hoped for. A point to note everything in Alaska
runs to ish time (sixish etc), so instead of the cruise starting at 6:00 we had
to wait around while they fuelled the boat, so we didn’t get back till late,
add to this the bus refusing to climb the hill back to the lodge and it was late
when we got back. The lodge was also seven miles from town so the dining
choices were limited also; lucky we had bought supplies earlier in the day. End
of dDay one not quite what we had expected of the tour. At least Helen had had
a good flight.
Day Two: Talkeetna to
Denali
Again another early start and not a lot of time to grab
breakfast before setting off on another 300 kilometre bus trip. Around lunch
time we arrived at Denali National Park, again we had some free time before the
next activity. Denali is the largest national park in the USA and it
encompasses the Alaskan Range which Mt McKinley is the centre piece of. At the
interpretation centre Ryan and Tash set about trying to earn their Junior
Ranger badges (Ryan already earned one at the Grand Canyon now he was after his
second)but unfortunately we had to be on another bus. This one took us on a
four hour tour of the National Park, I enjoyed it but I think it went too long
for the others. The scenery in the park is once again stunning, but what is really
surprising is how barren it becomes especially as you go up higher. Apparently
the US Army sends some of its troops here to acclimatise before shipping them
to Afghanistan. As well as the trees being few and far between so was the
wildlife, we did have a close encounter with some caribou and saw a moose from
a distance and some mountain sheep as white specks on a hillside but that was
it. No bears.
Late afternoon and off to Denali Lodge and surprise surprise
it was nowhere near town , mind you Denali isn’t a real town its only there
because of the cruise lines and is closed during winter, at least this one had
a choice of dining options. It would have been nice to have been somewhere where
you didn’t have to waste time taking a shuttle to get into town. Anyhow we had
a nice dinner with Michelle and Jeff Landau, a family we had met from New
Jersey.
Day Three: Denali to Talkeetna then
Anchorage
We had the morning to ourselves, so Chelle the kids and I
went back into Denali Park so the kids could complete the Junior Ranger
booklet. Once again we were at the mercy of a bus and the tight tour schedule,
so all we really had time for was to grab a quick breakfast, a better look
around the centre and the kids to get sworn in as Rangers. What we would have liked
to do is go for a hike.
Back to the lodge to get back on the bus and drive back to
Talkeetna, we did see a couple of moose on the way but most of us blinked and
we missed them. More time off in downtown Talkeetna, but not enough to do
anything exciting. Wish we had been able to get into the town a couple of
nights before as it looked very rustic and inviting and would have been a good
place to hang out and have a meal.
Next the part of the trip Ryan had been looking forward too;
a trip on the “Wilderness Express” this was basically two carriages that were
owned by Royal Caribbean that made up part of a normal train. The carriages
were very luxurious (they would want to be at 3 million each) with the upstairs
being an observation lounge with a bar and downstairs a restaurant. The
pictures in the brochures we had looked at prior to booking the cruise make it
look like we would be passing through gorges and past rushing waterfalls
something similar to the Rocky Mountains. The truth was much different, we basically
paralleled the same highway we had driven up two days before, another let down.
At least the meal aboard the train was worth it.
We made it back into Anchorage mid evening and were picked
up and delivered to our hotel downtown, which basically gave us enough time to
put the kids to bed and pop downstairs to have some farewell drinks with the
Landau’s and that was it the end of the tour.
Last Day: Anchorage
and fly back to Burlington
Our last of touring and because we didn’t fly out until
eleven PM we held on to our room for the day, which turned out to be a good
thing as Chelle had come down with a cold and was feeling very ordinary, so she
was able to have a sleep in the afternoon. Nine O’clock and we had to say
goodbye to Aunty Helen who was flying out that morning to begin the long haul
back to Australia. It was sad seeing her go as she had been with us for nearly
a month ever since Las Vegas and we all had enjoyed having her share the trip
with us.
After Helen left Chelle we went and got breakfast at one of
the malls then chelle and the kids went back up to the hotel, Chelle to rest
and the kids to vege out in front of the TV. I went off to have a look around
and to try and find myself an ULU knife. This is an Alaskan native knife used
for food preparation, it has a wicked curved blade and is very sharp (ask me
how I know? Cut the tip off a finger the first time I used it back here) After
purchasing the knife I then set off to walk along a trail that curves around
the bay toward the airport in one last vain attempt to see moose, apparently
people see a lot along this particular track, but not me.
Giving up on moose I went back to the hotel grabbed the kids
and took them down to the pool for the rest of the afternoon. Nine PM we got
picked up and delivered to the airport and boarded our flight to fly home,
finally getting in mid morning the first of September.
So instead of being a bit of a highlight of our trip, the
ground tour turned out to be somewhat of a disappointment. Both Michelle and loved
this part of Alaska and would like to return someday; but next time we would
spend the money and hire an RV so we could do things at our own pace and stop
where we wanted to instead of being stuck out in the sticks at the whim of
unreliable shuttle services.
The Wrap Up:
Eight weeks ago we embarked on our summer holidays, for
Michelle and the kids the longest break they have ever had from school, for me
just another extension of the holiday I am already on. In that time we visited
ten US States and four Canadian Provinces, took three flights, one cruise and
drove almost ten thousand kilometres, along the Atlantic Seaboard, down the St
Lawrence Seaway, through mountains, and deserts. We have visited innumerable
cities and dipped our feet in both the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.
Since we have been back lots of people have asked us what
was our favourite part and that’s not easy to answer as all parts of the trip
were great, some better than others but I’m glad we saw what we did. Now it’s
time to settle back into school and a normal life and contemplate the fact we
only have fifteen weekend sleft before we leave in December. So many things
still to do so little time.
