In September 2019, we went looking for moose in the wild and what better place than in Alaska? We flew into Anchorage, rode the Alaska Railroad to Denali, and rented a car to drive down to the charming fishing village of Seward before flying back home. Below is kind of how it went with some pictures.
- First two days in Anchorage - Walked the downtown area, visited shops and breweries. The Alaska Railroad Station is conveniently located there, too. Their trains go all the way up to Fairbanks with stops along the way at Talkeetna and Denali a stop at both, so we were in!
- Train ride up to Denali National Park in the glass dome car was awesome and we got to see 3 moose on the way up! Also on the way up the clouds parted enough to actually see the snow covered Denali. They say only 30% of visitors get to see it. After spending a day and night at the National Park we went down to the Denali State Park.
- Denali State Park Princess Lodge - Riding back to the state park in the Princess dome car was non-stop entertainment. Got off in Talkeetna What a place! Princess cruises sure knows how to set things up. Cruise to Seward, train ride up to the lodge on a Princess car, stay at their lodge. We even got a clear day of the mountain! A surprise was the tree house built by the Treehouse Masters on one of their episodes.
- Two more days in Anchorage - Deb had two days down with a cold so not much to tell here other than I went to get a rental car at the airport.
- Trip down to Seward - On the way down we stopped at numbers of places. The best was Potter Marsh Wildlife Bird Sanctuary. We saw salmon waiting for the right time to start their swim upstream and a Moose stroll across an open field.
- Seward - 5 days roaming the town, shops and bars was fun but the mountains and scenery were the real treat here. Awesome clouds and fog in the morning clearing mostly in the afternoon. The trip to Exit Glacier was mixed. Glaciers are a special sight but the walk up to this one you pass signs with dates on them letting you see where the edge was at that year. The signs started right after you leave the parking lot. The hike to the Glacier was about 1/2 hour and then you had to stay 100 to 150 yards away because it is unstable. All that melting! A woman there actually had pictures of her in 1987 standing at the edge of the glacier which was several hundred yards the other side of the viewing area.
- The trip back to Anchorage - Rainy day but stopping at the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center was a real treat. Got to see moose up close with antlers!
- Train To Denali
Deb at Denali
Denali on a clear day
Fireplace at Princess Lodge
Downtown Anchorage
Train to Anchorage
Exit Glacier
Me and Morning Clouds in Seward
Moose at Potter Marsh
Moose at Reserve
- Treehouse
