Our trip home started at 12 noon on Monday when we left Denali Park Village via Airlink, the only shuttle service that goes north from Denali. We finally arrived home 30+ hours later. The 2 1/2 hour ride to the Fairbanks Airport was made more interesting when we unexpectedly stopped at Denali Princess Lodge to pick up a "person who was sick and Princess didn't want to put on their motorcoach to Fairbanks." Susan and I looked at each other and immediately put on our masks. Turns out the older gentleman had stomach issues (probably dehydrated), not Covid. But about an hour into the trip, "Walter" started moaning/hallucinating and his wife was hitting his chest saying, "Walter, wake up! Walter, wake up!" Fortunately he did, but Susan and I looked at each other with grave concern. We were still more than an hour away from medical care in remote Alaska. If "Walter" had been on the Princess motorcoach, he would have gotten to the hospital at least 2 hours earlier. Bad form for Princess and it made our trip to Fairbanks very stressful.
We finally got dropped off at the Fairbanks Airport but still had 8 hours before our Alaska Airlines flight left at 12:46 am Tuesday morning. So we ordered (via DoorDash!) barbeque from Big Daddy's to be delivered to the Fairbanks Airport. Can you imagine that happening at Hartsfield?!?! Great Q and the best baked beans I've ever had! Next time you're in Fairbanks, go to Big Daddy's (or order via DoorDash 😋). All the flights home were on time and smooth. Joni picked us up at the North Springs MARTA station. The drive to the Chick-fil-a in Cumming was typical 5 o'clock rush hour on Georgia 400. I didn't drive; there is no rush hour in Denali. Made it home about 7 pm and slept good that night!
Since this is the last blog of the season (sorry for the delay; busy settling back home), I'm attaching some pictures that are fun and memorable.
One of my favorite shuttle runs was to the
Alaska Railroad. The beautiful blue and gold of the ARR pulling into the depot was always a thrill.
Beginning in 1904, there were several attempts to build a railroad from Seward (the northern most ice free port at the time) into the interior of Alaska, thus tapping into the richness and mineral wealth of the territory. Those entrepreneurs laid 50 miles of track and went bankrupt before making it to Anchorage. Another group of capitalists laid 71 more miles of track (still short of Anchorage), and they went belly up also. Because Alaska was a territory (not a state), Congress finally stepped in to finish building the railroad. President Warren Harding, trying to escape the growing morass of the
Teapot Dome Scandal swirling in Washington, D.C., came to Alaska to drive the Golden Spike, marking the completion of the 470 miles of track from Seward to Fairbanks. Oddly, the Department of the Interior ran the ARR until the Department of Transportation was created in 1967.
Gold Star Service double decker car Baggage car at the front of the train
The Alaska Railroad also hauls train cars belonging to Holland America and Princess cruise lines.
DOT regulations require that commercial buses carrying more than 15 passengers (along with any truck carrying flammables) stop at railroad crossings. Although I rarely was stopped by a train at a grade crossing, I did get this pretty picture of the blue and gold. 
In the mid-1980s, the Federal Government wanted out of the railroading business, selling the ARR to the state of Alaska for fair market value of $22 million. The State of Alaska has run the railroad ever since. The Alaska Railroad is a self sufficient operation and receives no subsidy from the state. Although Alaska doesn't have official state colors, I think if they did, those colors would be blue and gold. Alaska Railroad Fact Sheet
Headed southbound, as soon as the train leaves the station, it passes over the Riley Creek trestle.
This is inside Denali National Park, crossing on a trestle 300 feet long and 100 feet above Riley Creek. About 2 hours later, an even more dramatic bridge is crossed. The Hurricane Gulch trestle is 900 feet long and 300 feet above Hurricane Creek. The beautiful gold leaves of these birch trees adds to the beauty of Denali.
Another adventure - I would drive up to Grande Denali Lodge, which sits high on a bluff overlooking the Nenana River and has 5 hard switchbacks. Negotiating these hairpin turns was always a challenge, but the signs on the way up provided entertainment and distraction for the passengers. I was very focused!
The unofficial "bird" of Alaska is the mosquito, because they get so big. But not really this big!!
This was my favorite...reminded me of Prince's new/different name. 😀
Moose are the state mammal of Alaska, and I got to see a few. There was a kettle pond just off the road between the park entrance and the village that I drove past 20 times a day. I waited and watched for a moose to appear there, and finally...
Moose are ornery, unpredictable creatures weighing between 900 and 1100 pounds. This is a young female, not fully grown. For my own protection, I took these shots with my telephoto lens.
Working in a national park is a drop out of reality, and Denali National Park was an incredible experience. To see "the high one" is just breath taking, and the animals add to the magic. The fact that Susan and I are getting 2 autumns this year is a bonus! The beauty of Alaska is both breath taking and humbling. I hope you've enjoyed this blog journey through our 49th state and that you will have a chance to experience it yourself someday (if you haven't already). There are 3 signs at the 3 different entrances to Denali. I'm sure you can find the differences and I hope you'll reflect on why this national park (and all our national parks) are such treasures for all generations. Thanks...and take care.
Upper left - Dall Sheep; upper right - caribou; bottom - grizzly bear.
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