Anchorage July 26

Back on the train
This morning we packed up and grabbed a bite of breakfast. Afterward we checked into the train station. Having a few minutes to kill I decided to take a few photos of the train. My family enjoyed greatly watching the security guards trying to stop me. When he approached me, I was all done shooting and putting my cameras away. He informed me that I wasn’t supposed to do that. I smiled and said "I figured as much, but we both got our jobs to do". He smiled back and nodded.

Once on the train my daughters fell asleep almost immediately. What's the saying? "Carpe sleepen"? The train ride from Anchorage to Denali was slow but nice. We ran along Cooks Inlet to Wasilla and through Talkeetna. The Susitna River ran along most of the route. The marsh areas here were grassy and the moose could be spotted from time to time. After Hurricane Gulch the mountain closed in around the trains. High bridges spanned the deep gulches. The closer we got to Denali the bigger and closer the mountains seemed to get. Once at the train station we caught a shuttle to the Denali River Cabins. I had very little to do with the planning of this part of the trip and was surprised to discover how nice this place was. The cabins are about the size of a normal hotel room and located right on a mountain river. No nylon ceiling or outhouse here. It was late by the time we got to the cabins so we explored a little and called it a night.