Anchorage to Denali

Jeff and I arrived in Denali National Park this afternoon after our 250 mile ride via the Holland America McKinley Express. It was a very nice dome car where we had great views of the scenic countryside. The train is run and operated by Holland America and the service was outstanding. We are staying at the McKinley Chalet Resort that also appears to be run by Holland. Very nice accommodations. Below are some views from our chalet.

Nenana River and our Chalet View (left)

Chalet View (right)

On our way we had a train guide by the name of Mike who entertained us on our journey. He is 85 years old and toured with Bob Hope for several years and was a dean of a college on the west coast for dance. We saw newspaper clippings in his scrapbook with he and another gentleman that he toured with. They also performed with Nate King Cole and others in the late 50's and 60's.

Mike our Train Guide (85 yrs. young)

After arriving and getting settled into our room we went to dinner at the Salmon Bake restaurant. Jeff and I enjoyed some halibut fish n' chips. Oh the calories!

Tomorrow we have an early start on our Tundra experience we leave the hotel at 7:10 a.m. and they've told us to prepare to be gone for 8-9 hours. If the weather is clear, we are seriously considering an airplane ride around Mt. McKinley/Denali in the evening. Since sunset isn't till 11:30 p.m. we will have plenty of time to catch a flight. Sunrise if 4:30 a.m. I'm trying to gauge if I will stay up for sunset or get up early for sunrise. The view from the chalet is western facing so it might be a late night, but I'm waiting to see if the clouds will clear enough for some sky to poke through. It is very cloudy here.

Wednesday, we are renting a Jeep Wrangler for 4 hours to venture off on our own. We are limited to the roads that we can travel but have decided to "scout" out some places for us to come back to. Yes, NSPS members we need to make a trip out here as a group, say 2010! I'm gathering information and brochures for us all. What do you say?????