Alaska by Rail

Contents

Exploring Alaska by Rail
Arrival in Fairbanks
Fairbanks to Denali
Denali National Park
Denali to Anchorage
Anchorage
Anchorage to Seward
Seward and Resurrection Bay
Trip to the Kenai Peninsular
Anchorage and to Home
Reflections on Alaska

We had thought about trips to Alaska for many years, but taking a cruise ship to get there did not appeal to us. We could fly to Alaska and rent a car, but the prospect of all the driving was not attractive either. Then we recalled a vacation three years earlier, when we took a Road Scholar tour using a train to cross the Canadian Rockies. Sure enough, Road Scholar also offered a tour of Alaska by rail.

A railroad extends 470 miles from Seward on the south coast of Alaska to Fairbanks in the center of the state. It passes through Anchorage, the state's largest city, and Denali National Park, home of the largest mountain in the continental U.S.

Denali, meaning "The High One" or "The Grand One". was formerly called Mount McKinley, but it was recently restored to the name used by native Americans from the area.

We took the train trip in the opposite direction. We flew into Fairbanks, then took eight days to complete the journey, spending two or three nights each in Fairbanks, Denali Park, Anchorage, and Seward. We took a bus back from Seward to Anchorage, and flew home from there.

As seen in the map, the east and south of Alaska are mountain ranges, capped by snow all year long. To the west and north the land slopes away in glacial valleys, with broad, flat valley floors and steep sides.

We flew into Fairbanks, in the near-center of the state. The landing offers a view of both offers a view of both a snow-capped mountain chain to the south and the wide, green valley to the west. We discovered it is not rain that makes things so green, it is the result of all the rivers and glacial runoff in the area. a class="narrative">

Flowing through the valley is the very broad, muddy Tanana River, with the narrower, clearer Chena River bisecting the city. Beside the Chena is the River’s Edge Resort. Our lodgings for two nights were a small cabin in the resort.

The first morning we visited the Thompson Cultural Center, a display space for the history, cultures, and wildlife of Interior Alaska. The entrance provide a delightful and welcoming display of local flowers. We'll have more to say about Alaskan flora later.

In the entrance hall hangs a light plane used by the "Flying Bishop", William Gordon Jones, who used it to minister to remote villages.

The most informative display was a series of life-size models showing how the seasons defined the rhythm of life for indigenous Alaskans. One would encounter different wildlife in different seasons. For example, the eagle and wolf appear in summer or a beaver fells trees in autumn. Tents would be used during hunting season, salmon would be cured in spring, and an ice sled was essential during the long dark of winter (it is not much more than 100 miles to the Arctice Circle).

Outside the cultural center is a sculpture of young ravens. The raven is an important symbol for several indigenous tribes, representing both the clever creator and the greedy trickster. We later learned at the Alaska Native Heritage Center in Anchorage how such symbols often appear in contrasting pairs.

Nearby is a cottage built around 1900 by early settlers in the area. The interior is compact but very efficient, and gives a good sense of how settlers lived at that time.

For something different, next day we took a bus to the Chena Outdoor Collective to learn all about reindeer. Reindeer are a variety of caribou, selectively bred to facilitate domestication. The Collective encourages visitors who want to learn more about them.

Ryne Olson gave an explanation of how reindeer evolved, and their relationship with caribou and other deer. She showed how their hides can be used for clothing, and talked about their antlers. She demonstrated how one reindeer's antlers change every year intro as the deer ages.

Then it was time to meet the reindeer. We were surprised at how intro friendly and easy going they are. They are quite happy to interact face to face, even with a stranger who is willing to offer them food that they like.

The Chena Collective breeds its own reindeer. The youngsters develop small antlers right awaay. We learned that, although the antlers for adult females start to grow as soon as they drop the previous year's set, antlers for males are delayed for a few months. This is presumably an adaptation to protect youngsters from bullying by bulls.

Next morning we took the first of our three train rides. While waiting to board the train, we could enjoy looking at an elaborate model of the Alaska Railroad. It even included a intro model of the Fairbanks raiload station. We could not tell if the model itself contained a model of the model. However, it did incorporate models of the buildings and scenery alomg the way.

A few minutes before departure time, our leader gathered her flock, and we all boarded the train. We departed for a review of the geology and geography of Central Alaska.

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Earthquakes - 600 to 1,000 earthquakes every month.
Due to the collision of the Pacific Plate grinding beneath the North America
1964 9.2 Prince William Sound [ Only Chile 9.5, 1960, has been worse.
Earth movement generated massive tsunamis.
1946 Aleutian Islands (M8.6):
1957 Andreanof Islands (M8.6)
2002 Denali Fault (M7.9):
2021 Chignik (M8.2):

Permafrost Characteristics & Impacts Where It's Found:
Thickest in the Arctic Coastal Plain and north of the Brooks Range, permafrost thins out and becomes discontinuous as you move toward Southeast Alaska.
The Hazards: As ice-rich permafrost melts, the ground collapses. This causes "thermokarst" slumping, sinking foundations for homes and roads, and even inland lakes draining.
Infrastructure Crisis: Thawing permafrost threatens housing, water systems, and runways across remote
Native villages, frequently forcing entire communities to plan costly relocations to higher ground.
Ecological Change: Thaw allows groundwater to mix with soils, releasing naturally occurring iron that turns clear streams bright orange and alters local chemistry.
Global Climate Impact: Arctic permafrost holds large amounts of ancient, trapped carbon.
When it thaws and decays, it releases carbon dioxide and methane, further driving global temperature increases."
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One feature soon became evident as our train headed west, then south, along a broad river valley. This was the permafrost, ground that stays frozen for two or more consecutive years. It underlies some 85% of Alaska. Its upper layer thaws in summer, allowing plant growth, but rapid climate warming is thawing the deeper permafrost. This leads to "Alaskan quicksand," subsidence and flooding that create environmental hazards, forcing relocation of built areas.

In many areas the train passes through, melted permafrost has killed off the spruce forests that were previously dense.

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We stayed for three nights at the Denali Education Center, an educational partner of Denali National Park and Preserve. The Education Center provides visitors with an opportunity to learn more about the park. In fact, it works closely with Road Scholar to organize activities like the railroad trips.

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intro link walling off infected tissue, do not typically cause harm to the tree. Grain pattern makes them highly prized by woodworkers.

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To see the interior of the park, one must take the only road, 92 miles long, from the boundary to the park center.

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Unfortunately, the road is closed after 42 miles, due to rock slides that have destroyed the road. The ground under the road at Pretty Rocks, near Polychrome Pass, has been creeping for decades, but in 2014 it began to accelerate substantially. In August 2021, when movement at at Pretty Rocks reached speeds of almost an inch per hour, the road was closed.

Pretty Rocks? Polychrome Pass? With such beautiful names, how could bad things happen here? Well, click here to see a time-lapse video of the landslide site from June 24 to November 8, 2024. A period of 137 days is compressed into 22 seconds, but it is still frightening. This is what thawing permafrost and warming temperatures can bring about.

To describe the land slide, the area at Pretty Rocks has been compared to an ice cream sandwich. A photo taken from the place where traffic must turn around shows the situation. The white section consists of easily eroded rocks, surrounded on each side by more harder, more solid formations.

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We stopped at an overlook from where one cam obtain a good view of the mountain Denai today we were not in luck.

To see what we missed, here is a photo that friends sent to us, intro taken from Talkeetna a few years ago.

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One morning we drove to a few miles outside the park to Squid Acres, to meet a team of sled dogs, and learn about the Iditarod race from a prize winning musher. The musher was Paige Drobny, who with her husband raises Alaskan Huskies, the breed most preferred by sled racers.

Paige's presentation was assisted by Ragnar, an Alaskan Husky, who enjoys nothing more than meeting visitors.

Paige gave a detailed description of what is involved in competing in a slide race. She described the sled itself and its contents, which have to support a team of 16 dogs and the musher. They will spend 10 days or more on a snow covered trail, racing through the wilderness in bitterly cold weather.

Now it is time to dress for the event. This involves adding layers of clothing to ward off a cold wind. The face disappears behind a heavy hood, and gloves are essential to prevent the fingers from freezing.

Finally, wearing some 18 pounds of gear, the musher is ready to take charge of the sled and direct her dogs.

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**Effect of prmafrost** intro link end

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**Importance of gravel** intro link end

We stayed two nights in Anchorage at the Captain Cook Hotel. Captain James Cook, of course, was a famous British explorer who was very instrumental in the European discovery of Alaska, and the 200 mile inlet leading to Anchorage was named after him. Our room was on the 18th floor, offering a fine view of intro downtown Anchorage and the Chugach mountains to the east.

Brief visit to Anchorage Museum end .

intro link end Tony Weyiouanna, "Dancing figure", Anchorage Museum

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The Qasgiq served as men's house and community center. Boys old enough to leave mother joined the men.

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Whales bind members of the tribe to the land, and bind them to each other as a people, an integral part of their worldview.

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Sea faring people, Unangax^ and Sugpiaq. Rich sea life all year round enables people to develop complex societies with hereditary classes.

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intro link end The "house far away from home". The clan or long house. Massive plank houses with cedar posts and spruce beams. Posts are carved with Moieties, raven and eagle, plus killer whale and wolf in some cultures.

The last section of the train journey is the most spectacular part of the railroad, and we were looking forwad to it.

We gathered early in the morning at the Anchorage train station.

**Steep bank and flat area for parking: The effect of the 1964 earthquake** The Alaska Railroad #802, a preserved steam locomotive manufactured in 1907. Originally used during the construction of the Panama Canal, transferred to the Alaska Railroad Commission in 1917. Used to lay track during the building of the Alaska Railroad.

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Downtown Seward looking to Gulf of Alaska. intro link end

A stone monument commemorates the 1903 founding of the town and the Alaska Central Railway. It serves as Mile 0 of the historic Iditarod Trail.

Mile 0 is in Seward because it served as the starting point for the historic Seward-to-Nome mail and supply route. During the gold rush, steamships dropped off goods in Seward's ice-free port. Dog sled teams then carried these supplies to mining camps and northern villages.

While we were in Seward we stayed at the intro Gateway Hotel, a mile and a half north of downtown. Near the hotel is a humurous wood carving that reflects the history of the Iditarod.

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This mural for example, "The Fog Woman", by master artist Jennifer Headtke, represents an old story about respect for what one has. The Fog Woman manages to create salmon before she is lost. intro link end

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"The Alaska SeaLife Center is the only facility in Alaska that combines a public aquarium with marine research, education, and wildlife response. While primarily dedicated to marine research and education, the nonprofit Center is the only permanent marine mammal rescue and rehabilitation facility in the state. The Alaska SeaLife Center lies at "Mile 0" of the scenic Seward Highway on the shores of Resurrection Bay. Visitors have close encounters with puffins, octopus, harbor seals, sea lions, and other Alaska marine life while learning about the work our researchers conduct both in the field and in our laboratories."

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One morning we took a trip on a catamaran boat from Seward harbor to the Kenai Peninsular.

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It was time to head home. A bus took us north heading for Anchorage, from where we could catch a flight to Raleigh.

As we left Seward we were treated to one more sight of wildlife, a Golden Eagle high in a tree, who flew to her nest when we stopped for a better view.

Much of the bus route paralleled the route taken by the train, but with enough variation to maintain intrest.

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intro Always a chance for one more photo.

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By now we had spent so much time looking for wildlife like sea lions, whales, caribou, and moose, we were quite sure we saw a large moose on our way through Seattle airport. But we were very tired at that point; it was probably something else.

What follows is mostly about what we learned from our trip. There's a lot of words, and not much in the way of photographs. Of course, you are not obliged to continue reading unless you want to.

Alaska is unique among the 50 U.S. states. It is the largest, and the population is relatively small; there are only two with smaller populations (Vermont and Wyoming). If land were divided among the people of Alaska, there would be roughly 10 acres per person. By comparison, in North Carolina there would be 3 acres each.

Alaska has been inhabited for almost 15,000 years. Europeans have lived here for less then 300 years. The first inhabitants had migrated across the Bering Straight. The first European settlers were Russian, and Russia claimed the land as their own until 1867. That year they sold it to the U.S. The sale was not popular here, but it's worth pointing out why Russia sold the territory, and why many in the U.S. thought it was not a good deal.

This map shows the distribution of languages spoken by indigenous people across Alaska, showing how widespread was their presence.

It has been widely noted that native Alaskans show a deep respect for their environment, balanced with a desire for resource development. Indigenous tribes had developed a respect for the land. However, many non-native residents tend to champion property rights and resource extraction. Russia was anxious to sell their rights when they decided the cost of resource extraction was too high. U.S. citizens who criticized the sale felt the same way.

A compelling image pointing to the impact of gold mining is seen in this photo of the largest truck in Alaska. It holds 240 tons of rock. When this is used to extract gold, one truck load may generate no more than 5 to 8 ounces of gold. Plus a lot of left-over rock.

When it comes to resource extraction, the European principle of property rights manifests itself in other ways. For example, Russia has probably regretted abandoning claims to Alaska. They seem to be compensating By applying a "finders keepers" rule to vast swaths of the Arctic Ocean. In 2027 two Russians took a submarine to a depth of 2.65 miles to explore the Arctic seabed, planting a capsule containing a Russian flag.

Problems that are only indirectly the consequence of human behavior. Moving plates, Pacific Plate grinding beneath the North American, lead to earthquakes, creating instability. Permafrost and variation across seasons add to the problem. Global warning further exacerbates the instability.

We reached a few other conclusions from our experience in Alaska. In cities like Fairbanks and Anchorage, the architecture was notable in a way for its simplicity. In downtown Fairbanks, for example, there was plenty of space between buildings (as one might expect), but there was little or no originality. A very good restaurant was uninspiring from the outside. A general purpose grocery and supply store might be seen in any of the lower 48 states.

Similar conclusions were suggested by Anchorage. The view of downtown from our hotel room was of uninspiring buildings and parking lots.

We found a rare exception on the campus of the University of Alaska Fairbanks. This building, which houses the Museum of the North, is more architecturally interesting.

During the course of our trip, one other feature became apparent. Most of those who were organizing or operating aspects of our tour were women - with Road Scholar, Jenn Shippee, Toni Oliveira, Jordan Lammert, Natalie Reimer, and others; Ryne Olson and Kalyn Holl, who work with the reindeer; Paige Drobny the Iditarod competitor; Justine Pechuzal, the guide to the Seward murals,and our guide to the Alaska Native Heritage Center.

Maybe this was related to the fact that many of the people we met had moved to Alaska for a job and stayed because they loved the place. There seems to be a sense of freedom to pursue one's own goals without the usual social norms interfering.

I don't think either of us feels impelled to move to Alaska, but if this is an area where respect for the land still reins over a drive for ownership, there is much to be said for living there.

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