After four days in Talkeetna, we headed for Anchorage to wrap up our 40th Anniversary trip. Our train was scheduled to depart at 5:30 pm. We caught a ride with Charlie, a local campground host who shuttles travelers in his free time, to the depot. It was only about half a mile from downtown to the train station, but with our luggage we splurged on a taxi ride. And Charlie gave us tips on where to eat and hang out if we had to wait a while. We checked our bags and settled in for a thirty-minute wait. Fun fact: scheduled for 5:30 doesn’t mean depart at 5:30. Like one of my favorite episodes of Sesame Street, Can you say adventure?
“Sorry folks, the train is having engine trouble. We’ve dispatched a repair crew. There will be about a two-hour delay.” No worries. I had two good Susan May Warren and Dani Pettrey novels set in Alaska to read on the train, so I got comfortable with my books.
Two hours passed. The depot attendant walked into the waiting area. “We’re sending a second engine to get the train. We’re also sending a second crew that will have to drive there on a little-traveled road, so we expect at least another two hours. We apologize for the delay. Would anyone like a water?”
Can you say adventure? We moved our belongings to an outside bench and watched bush planes taking off and landing at the Talkeetna Airport. After a while, Kent found a friend to talk to and I decided to walk back downtown and take one more look around for Aurora, the town’s Mayoral Cat. No luck, but I did finally get a glimpse of Denali from the boat landing at the end of Main Street.
As our third departure time approached, the attendant returned to announce, “Folks, we are fairly certain that the train will be here for an 11:30 pm departure. If you’d rather make other arrangements, we understand.” So much for riding in the daylight to see the countryside. Oh well, adventure and all that.
Originally, we’d planned to get to Anchorage around 10:30 pm. We had tickets to ride the train at 6:30 the next morning for a daytrip to Seward and a wildlife cruise. There was still time to make it, but it would be tight. The delayed train pulled into Talkeetna at 11:30 pm, quickly filled with tired passengers, and headed for Anchorage.
At 3:30 am we reached Anchorage, waited thirty minutes for luggage, and took an Uber to our VRBO. Another fun fact: on the train to Anchorage in the middle of the night, Kent checked email and found a notice from the VRBO that we had only paid our deposit. We were way overdue to pay the balance. He sent them payment and a message and we hoped for the best. Can you say adventure?
Thankfully, by the time we arrived, we received a code to open our rental apartment. Too late for a grocery run, we showered and crashed. After an hour’s sleep, we scrounged peanut butter and cereal from our luggage for breakfast and got an Uber back to the train station. Neither of us are coffee drinkers, so no problem that we hadn’t had coffee. However, milk is my coffee. With no groceries, we had no milk. I knew there would be no chance for a grocery run that night because we wouldn’t get back until 10:30 pm. Thankfully, the depot had had a coffee bar, so I did grab a hot chocolate.
Our train ride to Seward was spectacular. The views of mountains, glaciers, lakes, and waterfalls were amazing. Kent got some great pictures, but he wasn’t quite quick enough to get a picture of the moose that swam away from the train in one of the marshy areas we passed. That moose was moving.
Our half-day cruise with Kenai Fjords and Resurrection Bay Company was a highlight of our trip. We climbed aboard the boat and tried to get a seat on the upper deck. That didn’t work out, but we were able to stand near the rail on the bow for most of the trip. It was cold and windy, but a great spot for viewing wildlife.
Sun, cold, clouds, and sun again–the weather changed constantly during our four-hour cruise. We saw harbor seals–a mom and her baby, sea lions, sea otters, mountain goats, and several species of birds including an adult eagle with an eaglet in the nest.
The best part was being held in “whale jail” by two juvenile humpback whales. When approaching a Humpback, boats must stay back one hundred feet. If the whales approach the boat, the pilot must kill the engine. Two humpbacks held us in “whale jail” for about twenty minutes as they swam on either side of us near shore where they were feeding.
We were freezing cold by the end of our cruise, but it was totally worth it. We docked and Kent headed for the depot. I headed for a Safeway store I’d seen on our way into town to buy a gallon of milk. It was about a mile away, but there was a pedestrian walkway and I needed to warm up anyway, right? Bonus, they had a Starbucks inside and their barista knew what “an extra shot of mocha” really meant. I got a Vente. It was worth the walk.
Our train departed on time and yes, I took my gallon of milk with me on the train. (I can see my eldest rolling her eyes at me, but no shame.)
We spent our last two days taking a trolley tour of Anchorage, visiting the ceremonial start of the Iditarod, and hanging out at the Anchorage Museum. In case you need to know, the museum has lockers to store luggage on a first-come, first-served basis if your checkout time is hours from your flight time.
Our flight home Saturday night included a twelve-hour sleepless layover in Seattle and we arrived in ATL just before lunch on Sunday. Two weeks in Alaska was the longest trip we have taken together in our 40 years of marriage. Our Alaskan Adventure was lots of fun, full of surprises, and overall amazing.
Happy Anniversary, Kent! Here’s to many more!
Blessings!
Photo credits to Kent
