Our Great BigTrain Ride to Denali.
Let me begin with saying this post has a TON of pictures. I'll add as little commentary as possible. Sean says I am putting way too many pictures on here, but it was hard to cut it down. We took over 400 pictures this weekend and I won't bore you with that many, but you'll get a bunch!
We left on Saturday morning for the train depot in Anchorage, our destination: Denali National Park. This is our story.
Ready to go in the depot.
Sean and Autumn got off the train in Talkeetna to stretch their legs.
Tight spaces.
One of my favorite shots.
Autumn wanted to make sure that Sean looked pretty, so she was trying to put a head band on him.
Doesn't he look happy?
Panorama Mountain.
Musher's Monument. It took me a minute to find the monument and really, I should have Sean talk you on to the target, but I'll do my best. The one rock that really sticks out all by itself and sort of looks like a finger is supposed to be the musher. The bumps in front of him, the dogs.
So thankful that Autumn took a nap. Raising a free spirited, highly independent girl is a double edged sword, especially when she has to be confined to a train for eight hours.
Yay!
After our eight hour train ride, we took a bus to our hotel. Here Autumn is practicing safety by buckling her belt.
Emelia enjoyed the bus ride.
I don't have to turn on the TV, read a newspaper, or google a hero, I get to see one every day. Thank you Sean.
We made our way to our room and then headed out for some grubs.
We ate at Nenana View Bar and Grill.
I love the looks Autumn is giving me.
Yep, she is eating Fritos at a nice restaurant. What can I say folks, she did so well through dinner, I didn't care about the fritos. Sean and I orderd a Charcuterie plate (which I had never heard of nor did I know how to prounounce it), but we all three shared it and all three enjoyed it. It amazes me what Autumn is willing to try and even likes!
After dinner we did some walking around. Sean and Autumn bumped into a scary bear.
After bumping into the bear, we decided to do some walking outdoors. Autumn passed the time following the tracks, which she sang the whole time whilst doing so.
My sweet girl holding her daddy's hand.
The lone wolf.
I'm a real girl.
My three favorite people.
The dangers of being a dad. This made me laugh so hard.
So of course the karma bug came back to get me. You cannot see it so well, but Emelia got me too!
I love those curls.
The next morning it was a wee bit chilly, so I had to steal one of Autumn's old fleece jackets and put it on Emelia.
I purchased all of us girls some bling (bracelets all around).
We checked in at the train depot and stopped by The Morino Grill for lunch.
What is going on here?
After we ate, we took a walk around the Visitor Center at Denali.
Doesn't it look beautiful out there and again, thank you Sean for carrying both the girls.
We asked Autumn to take a picture of me and Sean, this is what she came up with:
Our shoulders! HA HA HA
I'm pretty sure Emelia can sleep through anything.
Back on the train, Emelia and I were hanging out in the dome car. I was surprised at how interested Emelia was at looking at the landscape.
Shortly after I snapped this shot, a bunch of tourists passed Emelia around and snapped off photos. I guess she is just that darn cute.
We spotted salmon.
Autumn and Mt McKinley.
In the dome car.
Another shot of Mt McKinley. I read that only about 25 percent of the time can you even get a decent shot of Mt McKinley due to weather (cloud cover). We were very fortunate to have such beautiful weather and get such great views of the highest peak in North America.
A closer shot.
A Roww sighting.
Autumn pretty much went up and down the stairs for 16 hours.
What does one say about a photo like this?
What can I say? Sometimes, Autumn is very special.
A Sean shot.
To sum up, we spent 8 hours on the train, stayed the night at the McKinley Chalet Resort, had a wonderful dinner, a nice walk, a good night sleep, a walk around Denali, another 8 hours on the train, then came home.
The good: Great weather, wonderful views of Mt McKinley, the fall colors, the food at the resort, the accomodations.
The bad: Being confined to the train with AUTUMN- (if you wanted to stop for a minute, you'd have to jump off. If you had driven yourself, you could stop whenever you want), the price, the food offered on the train, the price of the food on the train, the time constraints.
Would I do it again? No. I'm glad we experienced Alaska in this way, but now I do not feel the need to ever do it that way again. I think if we could have stayed longer than one night at the park, it would have been much more enjoyable. For the amount of $$$ we spent, we just did not have enough time to experience Denali in the way I would have liked to. Perhaps it is one of those things couples should go and enjoy without their children!!
Thank you for reading and I hope it wasn't too long!!
We left on Saturday morning for the train depot in Anchorage, our destination: Denali National Park. This is our story.
Ready to go in the depot.
Sean and Autumn got off the train in Talkeetna to stretch their legs.
Tight spaces.
One of my favorite shots.
Autumn wanted to make sure that Sean looked pretty, so she was trying to put a head band on him.
Doesn't he look happy?
Panorama Mountain.
Musher's Monument. It took me a minute to find the monument and really, I should have Sean talk you on to the target, but I'll do my best. The one rock that really sticks out all by itself and sort of looks like a finger is supposed to be the musher. The bumps in front of him, the dogs.
So thankful that Autumn took a nap. Raising a free spirited, highly independent girl is a double edged sword, especially when she has to be confined to a train for eight hours.
Yay!
After our eight hour train ride, we took a bus to our hotel. Here Autumn is practicing safety by buckling her belt.
Emelia enjoyed the bus ride.
I don't have to turn on the TV, read a newspaper, or google a hero, I get to see one every day. Thank you Sean.
We made our way to our room and then headed out for some grubs.
We ate at Nenana View Bar and Grill.
I love the looks Autumn is giving me.
Yep, she is eating Fritos at a nice restaurant. What can I say folks, she did so well through dinner, I didn't care about the fritos. Sean and I orderd a Charcuterie plate (which I had never heard of nor did I know how to prounounce it), but we all three shared it and all three enjoyed it. It amazes me what Autumn is willing to try and even likes!
After dinner we did some walking around. Sean and Autumn bumped into a scary bear.
After bumping into the bear, we decided to do some walking outdoors. Autumn passed the time following the tracks, which she sang the whole time whilst doing so.
My sweet girl holding her daddy's hand.
The lone wolf.
I'm a real girl.
My three favorite people.
The dangers of being a dad. This made me laugh so hard.
So of course the karma bug came back to get me. You cannot see it so well, but Emelia got me too!
I love those curls.
The next morning it was a wee bit chilly, so I had to steal one of Autumn's old fleece jackets and put it on Emelia.
I purchased all of us girls some bling (bracelets all around).
We checked in at the train depot and stopped by The Morino Grill for lunch.
What is going on here?
After we ate, we took a walk around the Visitor Center at Denali.
Doesn't it look beautiful out there and again, thank you Sean for carrying both the girls.
We asked Autumn to take a picture of me and Sean, this is what she came up with:
Our shoulders! HA HA HA
I'm pretty sure Emelia can sleep through anything.
Back on the train, Emelia and I were hanging out in the dome car. I was surprised at how interested Emelia was at looking at the landscape.
Shortly after I snapped this shot, a bunch of tourists passed Emelia around and snapped off photos. I guess she is just that darn cute.
We spotted salmon.
Autumn and Mt McKinley.
In the dome car.
Another shot of Mt McKinley. I read that only about 25 percent of the time can you even get a decent shot of Mt McKinley due to weather (cloud cover). We were very fortunate to have such beautiful weather and get such great views of the highest peak in North America.
A closer shot.
A Roww sighting.
Autumn pretty much went up and down the stairs for 16 hours.
What does one say about a photo like this?
What can I say? Sometimes, Autumn is very special.
A Sean shot.
To sum up, we spent 8 hours on the train, stayed the night at the McKinley Chalet Resort, had a wonderful dinner, a nice walk, a good night sleep, a walk around Denali, another 8 hours on the train, then came home.
The good: Great weather, wonderful views of Mt McKinley, the fall colors, the food at the resort, the accomodations.
The bad: Being confined to the train with AUTUMN- (if you wanted to stop for a minute, you'd have to jump off. If you had driven yourself, you could stop whenever you want), the price, the food offered on the train, the price of the food on the train, the time constraints.
Would I do it again? No. I'm glad we experienced Alaska in this way, but now I do not feel the need to ever do it that way again. I think if we could have stayed longer than one night at the park, it would have been much more enjoyable. For the amount of $$$ we spent, we just did not have enough time to experience Denali in the way I would have liked to. Perhaps it is one of those things couples should go and enjoy without their children!!
Thank you for reading and I hope it wasn't too long!!
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