Oliver Moss

Yup, this is the last one.

Why did my plane look like the 80s?


Not that I am complaining. I put my seat back and listened to The Midnight.

This trip marks the end of my trusty travel journal:


I write down all my travel info and itineraries longhand. It's the best way to keep track of where I should be and when, especially since I travel far from cell phone coverage. I've brought that journal with me everywhere for a long time now. But, it's time to set up a new one.

( More words and more pictures )

I made a quick post about this when I was still in the area, but leaving the park was a jolt I am still not over. Within 90 minutes of the bus reaching the entrance, the following things happened:

( Pictures and words and stuff )

It's hard to tell scale in that picture. I was on my knees photographing the ground.

Only about 30% of visitors see the giant mountain called Denali. People who make it further into the park are usually pretty focused on the really big mountain.

Hiking the tundra:


I was more interested in the tundra. Other people were strategizing how to get a chance to see the mountain and I was off taking pictures of the ground. I did a lot of hiking out there, but I wish I'd done more ridges and also had time to poke around Wonder Lake. I did most of a 1,000 foot elevation hike only to find no one could get on top of the ridge because it was too windy.

( More pictures and more words. )

I got up that morning in Anchorage, stuck my pack on my back and made for the train station. The way down to that part of town was being blocked by a street fair being set up. It was all no entry. The ways around would take some time so I called a car. The car went a bit astray. The guy just kept talking as he made another wrong turn and I was just 'um, yeah, train. The big building right there ... just please?'

When I walked in the depot there was a lady there who said 'Are you Rathany?' I was like 'oh, this is a bad sign. I still have 15 minutes, right?'

I did. I made the train, but I was the last one aboard.

I was in Adventure Class for this leg, which I quite enjoyed. My original seat was not good, but I was quickly reseated.

This leg did not have the free mimosas, back decks or grand views of the Seward-Anchorage leg. I was in a well maintained vintage car going through birch forest with the ground blanketed with giant ferns. I loved it. This was exactly my speed. I was too relaxed to bother taking pictures to document my favorite parts. I had my seat back, feet up, The Midnight and Timecop1983 in my ears and just watched the woods. It was raining. I was absolutely happy.

There was a dome, but it was a small vintage one with only 20 seats for all adventure class peeps to share. Fortunately, nearly all the tour groups got off in Talkeetna, leaving those left with plenty of space.

Up in the dome:


The seats across from me:



( More words and more pictures. )

I dipped down to Seward to do the whole train route because I am a dork. I went to Kenai Fjords National Park when I was down there, but that will be in my next post.

It's part industrial small town and part tourist trap in a stunning setting, when it's clear.

Seward when I arrived versus the morning I left:



The morning I left I was pretty tired. My room looked cute when I booked it, but was terrible. It had bad venetian blinds which did not block the light. My room was brightly lit at midnight. Still, who needs coffee when the morning looks like this?



( More pictures and more words )

I am back and am going to start posting my travelogues and pictures. This first entry is just words, though.

Getting to Alaska was surprisingly cheap and easy. Getting around and being in Alaska is a different matter. That is why my trip wound up being so long. I had to fly to Anchorage to get to Seward and the go back through Anchorage, dealing with different train and shuttle times.

I landed in Anchorage and got into a car to my hotel. The news was playing, and they were talking about someone trying to move people from land that might be gone in 3-5 years so retreat from global warming losses could be done in an orderly way that preserves communities, rather than last minute panics. In Denali and everywhere south of there climate change realism and massive life disruptions in a 3-5 year time scale was a common topic of conversation. North past Denali was Fairbanks and Fairbanks was different. I'll get to Fairbanks later.

I saw a cute sushi place on the way in and walked a a few miles to find it and familiarize myself with the city. I opened the door and all I could see were bibles. There was a display of free bibles for any traveler who had forgotten to bring theirs on their trip. It was set up in such a way that it was all you could see when you opened the door. From behind the bibles I heard a lady's voice ask me if she could help me. I said 'nope' and walked to the next sushi place. I had tekka maki and negihama. Really amazing fish with really crappy rice.

I went to watch all the tourists trying to snag a salmon in the river that runs by the hotels and got pooped on by a bird. I had to do sink laundry my first night.

I also hiked part of the coast trail, wanting to look around the area. I didn't take many pictures. Anchorage's main business is being a waypoint for tourists. The trails I did had cultivated plants, the underbrush was mowed down and there were a surprising amount of people livestreaming or vlogging like they were out in nature when they were next to condos and standing on freshly mown grass. Selective angles abounded. Yeah, not really my scene. And my train to Seward left at 6:15 the next day. So I grabbed a few hours of sleep in an expensive and fairly cruddy hotel.

I am sure there is cool stuff to do in and around the area, but I was just using it was a place to pass through, like most people seem to. The city does have a cool energy from so many people being at the start or end of a trip.

Part 2: Train to Seward.

I am bringing a single backpack.

Things that complicate my packing: wool allergy, expected temp range from freezing to 80, will be hiking, will be bringing camera, will be away from any place I can get food for 5 days, food allergies, not skinny enough to get away with walking around in base layers or a tank top, refuse to travel without cozy PJs and thick socks. (The cube for my PJs takes up a chunk of my bag.)

( Here is my packing list )