Friday 20th June Fairbanks to Denali National Park

Up at 5am and bags out at 6am. We headed for the train station and boarded the world-famous ALASKA RAILROAD for a memorable journey through untamed wilderness. We were lucky enough to have a glass domed carriage and sat back in comfort with waiter service and enjoyed spectacular scenery through wide windows. After departing Fairbanks the train crosses the Tanana River on one of the world's longest single-span bridges. It was here, at the west end of the 702-foot bridge, that President Harding drove the final spike completing the railroad in 1923. We passed through the Nenana River Canyon and the guide told us about "The Nenana Ice Classic" which is an annual ice pool contest held in Nenana. The "tripod", which actually has four supports, is planted on the river ice between the highway and railroad bridges in Nenana, 300 ft from the shore. The tripod is connected to a clock which stops as the ice goes out, moving the tripod with it. It is a fundraising event in which individuals attempt to guess the exact time the Tanana River ice will break up at Nenana. Tickets are on sale from February 1 through April 5 of each year throughout Alaska. A passenger took a photo of me staring out the window just at the right time when we were passing the tripod that is placed on the river each year. There is a lifeguard tower which is manned to make sure there is no cheating.

The train ride ended in DENALI NATIONAL PARK. Our hotel room was not ready so we visited the Denali Visitor Centre. We saw a movie called the Heartbeats of Denali in the visitors hall and then hopped on a free shuttle bus to visit the dog kennels. We saw how Rangers and dogs work together demonstrating a traditional Alaskan mode of travel. The dogs were friendly and the puppies just adorable. We had a sled demonstration with teams packing and harnessing to leave on a run. The dogs love running.

We headed back to our hotel, the Denali Bluffs at around 3pm. This was a very average hotel. We rested up before meeting our tour group at 5.30pm and went to the Cabin Dinner Show. Talented performers tell the story of Fanny Quigley, a pioneer in the Kantishna area, deep in Denali National Park. The actors and actresses did double duty as our servers for our dinner There was piano music, singing, corny jokes, a little history, and acting out a Robert Service poem. They picked a couple of audience members to perform in 'The Shooting of Dan McGraw'. The food is good—salmon and ribs, various side dishes, and berry cobbler. It was fun. Tony told the staff that we were celebrating Petes 60th birthday much to Petes' surprise, bloody hilarious.