Alaska & Canada Adventure - July 1-15, 2015

Part II - Magnificent Alaska

July 3rd and we're up for an early morning walk - 6:00 a.m. - in downtown Anchorage. The sun is up and the streets are quiet. We walked for 30 mins. and then stopped for breakfast at a small restaurant across the street from our hotel. Lots of locals having breakfast there.

We had booked the "On Your Own" land tour with Princess. Princess provides the transportation and lodging and you are responsible for your meals and what you would like to see and do. They offer several different land tours with different prices, depending on whether you want fully escorted and all meals to just transportation and lodging. Princess does offer several optional excursions to select from on the "On Your Own" land tour. One can also take an excursion from any number of private companies which can be found on the internet in advance of the trip or you can just book when you are there (assuming availability).

Princess had notified me in advance of the trip to bring a carry on bag that could be utilized for the land tour portion of the trip. The night before I had packed my carry on with clothes for the next three days and in the morning, my regular suitcase was picked up to be stored and later taken to my cabin on the ship. My carryon was tagged and would be waiting for me at the first lodge.

I was really excited about beginning the land tour as it begins with a domed train ride. We were transferred by coach to the railroad depot, after first picking up Holland America guests from their hotel. Both Holland America and Princess had their own separate rail cars. The outside of the separate rail cars said Princess and Holland America. Seats were assigned and there were four comfortable seats, two on each side, with a table in the center. Maureen and I sat with a man and a woman who were traveling with their 3 children. The children were seated at a table across the aisle from us. Our group was only approximately 25 people, so after we got underway, we were able to move and spread out. All in our group were on the same land tour. The train ride was one of the highlights of the land tour. I loved seeing parts of Alaska from the train. It was approximately a four hour train ride with commentary. Snacks and beverages were available for purchase and there was a dining car one could go to if you desired breakfast.

We arrived in Talkeetna, a charming small town which is the base for mountaineers climbing Mt. McKinley (known as Denali by Alaskans). If you live in the U.S. and in years past have seen "Northern Exposure", it looks like what I thought a small Alaska town should look like Flightseeing, rafting, hiking, it's all here. We walked around town and purchased wraps at a tiny establishment with window service and picnic tables. We had a Sun Dog Kennel excursion scheduled for 3:00 p.m. Maureen decided to try some Fireweed ice cream which is made from Fireweed, a plant with a single stalk of pink-purple, four petaled flowers that bloom in the summer. They are beautiful and bloom everywhere.

We met our Sun Dog Kennel excursion and were transported by van. Jerry Sousa, an Iditarod racer/musher and his wife, Kathleen Holden, own this operation. Jerry and his 13 year old son were our hosts. The family lives on the property and they have a building that houses their former racing sleds, trophies and pictures. Jerry's son pointed out that his mother, now retired from racing, had more awards and records than his father. We had a presentation by Jerry and his son and then we were divided into two groups for a "dog sledding" experience. In the summer, the dogs continue to work by pulling a small open air jeep that is put in neutral for several miles twice a day. While this might sound unusual, Jerry stated that the dogs have to pull a lot of weight on the sleds for many days during the Iditarod and this keeps them prepared. The first group took off in the jeep with the dogs while our group piled into a van to go to a meeting point to meet the first group. It was our turn next. These dogs can run! I'm glad I was sitting in the back seat of the jeep and not standing in the back and hanging on. Even in the jeep, Jerry was giving the dogs commands as to which way to run. We then had an opportunity to see some of the puppies and interact with them. I learned a lot about sled racing on this excursion, but if one is opposed to dogs being bred and used for sled racing, this excursion is not for you.

The excursion included a voucher for an entrée and drink to eat at Kahiltna Bistro in Talkeetna - which is where we met our Sun Dog Kennel excursion - and it was good food. We sat outside for dinner. Did I mention the weather? It was mid 70's from the time we landed in Anchorage until we boarded our ship. I mentioned earlier that Princess was the 'major player' in Alaska and in the tiny town of Talkeetna, there is a building with a sign prominently displayed "Princess Guest Services". And their reps are everywhere to help their guests.

We finally decided to go to the Mt. McKinley Princess Wilderness Lodge. We had been previously informed where to catch the courtesy coach in Talkeetna to the lodge. Princess runs transportation every 30 mins. to the lodge from Talkeetna for guests. It is an hour to the lodge from Talkeetna, so one needs to stay in Talkeetna upon arrival and enjoy the day so as to not waste time. Upon arrival at the lodge, a Princess rep was waiting for us and we received our "Welcome Packet" with room key. We never had to formally check in the hotel or lodges, it was always done through a Princess rep and we never had to wait.

The Mt. McKinley Lodge was fabulous. It what you think a lodge should be like in Alaska. And it's huge. And if you are not on a Princess land tour, it's open to book to the public. We met a young couple from Anchorage celebrating their 5th anniversary and were spending the weekend at the lodge. The mountain was not showing itself that evening, but we spent quite a bit of time outside on the terrace that evening enjoying the scenery and chatting with a few other guests. We finally went back to our room and called it a night. I was tired, but still excited about being in Alaska.

We had breakfast the next morning in the lodge. There is no where else to eat except in Talkeetna, an hour away, one way, and we didn't have the time. I was bracing myself for Disney World type pricing, but I was pleasantly surprised. The prices were breakfast prices I would expect at home. We were seated by the window and the mountain was starting to show itself! We moved out to the terrace after breakfast and it was partially exposed and I was thrilled as I know not everyone has the opportunity to see McKinley, based on weather conditions, when one visits.

Today was July 4th and there were a few decorations out in the lodge. We boarded our coach and headed for the Denali Princess Wilderness Lodge. All I can say about this lodge is WOW! it is the largest in Alaska as well as the largest lodging establishment in Alaska. Fabulous, fabulous, fabulous! I think I also said that about the first lodge. We had no excursions planned for today and had decided to just enjoy the lodge. There are laundry facilities here and I took advantage of doing a small load. We took the hotel shuttle to Denali National Park and went to the Visitors Center for the afternoon lecture on the park and hiked a bit around the area. We had dinner at the King Salmon Restaurant in the lodge that evening. There are a number of shops in the lodge and in outbuildings. The prices again were very reasonable compared to what I saw in Anchorage and later in the trip and I purchased a pair of earrings for a friend's birthday (which I unfortunately lost on the trip). In this lodge there was no evidence it was 4th of July. Zero. Zilch. Nada. I knew there would be no fireworks due to the recent fires in Alaska, but there was nothing in the lodge that even gave a hint it was our country's birthday. This was disappointing.

The next day we had the Tundra Wilderness Tour booked. This is THE tour to take in Denali National Park. We booked this through Princess in advance of the trip and I am so glad we did. All tours were full. It is an eight hour trip on a bus, yes, a bus, not a coach into and back out of the park. There is a 4 hour Natural History Tour, but you will see so much more on the longer trip. There are no restrooms on the bus, but as this is a national park, there are occasional comfort stops. Denali means "the High One" and we were fortunate that Mt. McKinley was fully exposed on this trip. Breathtaking! Our guide had worked for the past 7 summers as a natural history guide in the park. She told us she had a Master's Degree in Biology. She knew her stuff and was a fantastic guide. I bought a video of our trip which included video footage of our specific tour. We were lucky to spot some wildlife - bears, dall sheep, caribou and a big bull moose.

After we returned to the lodge, we went for pizza in the lodge at Lynx Creek Pizza and Pub. We then went across the street from the lodge to "Glitter Gulch", a hodgepodge of touristy stores, restaurants, bars and a small grocery. Then back to the room for the night. We turned on the tv and the show "Dateline" was on. It was about a mysterious death on a cruise ship. YIKES! We would be leaving on our cruise tomorrow.