We checked out of the hotel and bused to the train station. We took three train rides on this trip. The 1st was today to Talkeetna for the Princess Mt. McKinley Lodge. The 2nd was from there to the Denali Princess Lodge just outside the entrance to Denali National Park. And the 3rd was from there to Fairbanks. Each cruise line has their own cars as part of the train. Princess, Holland America, and Royal Caribbean had two cars each. There were other passenger cars and freight cars as part of the train. The Princess cars were two level; the top being observation and the bottom the restaurant and kitchen. There was a guide on board giving us a narrative as we traveled. It was sunny day and the views were beautiful. They allowed us to stand in the open area between cars. I spent a good deal of time there. After settling in we got breakfast on the train. The food was surprisingly good. They had a berry pie that Bonnie absolutely loved and she made sure she got it each time we ate on the train. We took a bus from the train to the princess Mt. McKinley Lodge. As we approached we were able to see Mt. McKinley. We were very lucky to see it since it is visible only about 25% of the time. It was a little hazy due to numerous fires in Alaska. We checked into the lodge which was rustic but quite nice.

After checking in we went on a tour to see Iditarod dogs. We took a bus that went off the side road from a side road from another road - the middle of nowhere. Bill Hall is a musher who did the Iditarod in 1999. He now trains sled dogs. He showed us how he trains the dogs and he gave Bonnie a pair of their booties. The dogs were "active" but well behaved. At the end he hitched several dogs up to a 4 wheel wagon and a he rode off down the road.