Oklahoma -> Alaska (not overland)

[waterboy222]

My plans to take my Jeep to Alaska this winter fell through, unfortunately. Working in the family business means my replacement at work is my retired Father. With his health declining, I couldn't ask him to spend a month at my desk so I decided to just take a week and fly up here instead. It was a great trip, even though I missed my jeep terribly and rather disappointed because I have spent so much time, energy and money preparing it for this trip. Summer will be a significantly easier time to travel for me so I've pushed back my plans til August and will try it again. But the Alaska itch was just too strong so I booked a ticket and headed North..

I flew from Tulsa to Dallas then on up to Seattle. From Seattle into Anchorage.

The flight from Seattle to Anchorage was absolutely gorgeous. Make SURE you get a window seat on the way up so you can see the St. Elias mountain range along the coast for the majority of the flight.

A couple of pics from the flight:





I spent a few days wandering around Anchorage, I really fell in love with that town. The people are incredibly friendly and there is a LOT to do without having to rent a car. I stayed at the Anchorage Downtown. Its a very small (8 room) boutique hotel on 6th street. The bay was one block away and right on the edge of all the local hiking trails. I would spend just a few hours each night in the room so I didn't require a fancy hotel.

Downtown Anchorage:

 

[waterboy222]

Saturday Morning was a struggle, the sun doesn't come up until around 10 AM here and I'm already jet lagged. But very excited for the next leg of the journey. A few weeks prior to the trip, I had researched a ride on the Alaskan Railroad and decided the trip wouldn't be complete without a train ride through Denali National Park. Further investigating showed that there is a train ride available from Anchorage to Fairbanks right through the middle of Denali! BOOKED! If there is only ONE thing you do while you're in Alaska, make sure its the railroad. This is the last flagstop train running in the US. We dropped off a number of people at the trailheads to their homesteads. They would flag the train down and catch a ride into town to stock up. It was a very interesting experience and I thoroughly enjoyed visiting with the homesteaders about their way of life being truly off the grid.

 

[waterboy222]

The conductor told us that there is less than 20% chance we would be able to see the summit of Mt. McKinley (aka Denali) because of the fog and clouds usually in the area.

My luck held out. The view was so impressive they actually stopped the train so everyone could take pictures. It was stunning.

 

[waterboy222]

The train ride was gorgeous, I took over 400 pictures in the 14 hour ride. The train takes anywhere from 12-15 hours depending on how much flag stop service stops they attend to.

I was absolutely wrecked at the end of the train ride so a few beers at the local pub and some pizza and I was done for the day.

The first day in Fairbanks was spent checking out the University of Alaska's Museum of the North and buzzing around town in cabs checking out all the little touristy spots. Weather was unseasonably warm and it was a complaint of every person I came across. Apparently if the weather is above freezing during the day, they have to cancel classes because of icing issues. Everywhere I went was incredibly slick. By Day two, I had purchased a set of ice spike attachments for my shoes just so I could walk around town without busting my butt on the ice.


Unfortunately I forgot my camera card and was only able to take one picture with my digital camera at the museum. The rest are on my iPhone and I will upload them when I get back home.

That night I booked a trip with a local photographer named Ronn Murray to go out to the Poker Flats Rocket Research Range and try to find the Aurora. As I have about 500 images from that trip, I won't flood the board with them until I get a chance to go through and see which ones came out the best. But for now, here is one of the shots.




I can not put into words what it was like to experience the Aurora Borealis first hand.

I am late for my next flight so I will finish this up this evening. Next I head to the Arctic Circle.

 

[JPsLC]

Five days with no comments!?! These are great pictures! I'm looking forward to seeing the rest of your trip.

 

[skrillah]

Great report, looks like you found plenty to do! I am fascinated by the flagstop train, very cool. We in the lower 48 have it so good, almost to the point we are isolated from the way the rest of the world lives. Alaska at least offers a small glimpse.

Keep the updates coming!

 

[James Pierce]

Looks like a great trip Cale... Even without your JK.

 

[4x4x4doors]

Keep it up. We're sitting on the edge of our seats.