When I think of Alaska my mind instantly goes to white capped peaks, endless glaciers, abundant wildlife and red tundra. I can now say from experience that was exactly what I got last week while staying with Pursuit Alaska.
I flew into Anchorage to begin the trip. While coming down the runway, I saw two moose in the nearby woods. First wildlife and I hadn’t even touched down!
We started with the Alaska Train early the next morning, this was so much more enjoyable than ever imagined! The train is painted a pretty yellow and blue and has Alaska written on the side. We were lucky enough to ride in the Gold star which is really just a step up from coach. It has a glass ceiling and includes breakfast. However the coach class has a viewing car and you can purchase breakfast. The fall colors made this ride so beautiful! I would highly recommend as a way to get around Alaska. It can take you all the way to Fairbanks.
We spent a night in Talkeetna. This is where the fall colors were their most vibrant. It was a bit rainy here, normally you would get a nice view of Denali but no such luck for us this particular night. I didn’t mind though, their were plenty of foggy fall scenes to keep me and my camera busy.
Surprisingly Alaska seemed to have many Vegan options for all of those plant based people out there. We had lovely lunches and dinner’s with yummy plant based burgers, appetizers and (some) desserts. I was very impressed because I originally imagined Alaska being a very meat oriented state, which they still have plenty of that!
Our next stop was by bus, to the infamous Denali National Park! We had two nights booked in Denali Backcountry Lodge. This was the most exciting part of the trip for me. I love vast wilderness areas with little to no people. This was what the next two days held. The road to Mile 92 of Denali is strictly by park buses only, with the exception of the end of the season road lottery. We took the six hour bus to the lodge. We saw ten grizzlies, numerous Dal Sheep, a massive bull moose, Gyrfalcons and arctic ground squirrels. The best part however was that Denali was visible the entire day! This mountain can usually be hidden by it’s own weather system, being the tallest mountain in North America.
Our stay at the lodge was so amazing. The staff were so helpful and kind and there was so much to do! I signed out a bike and got dropped off up the road to bike around the area and capture more photos of Denali. We also had guided hikes and talks if we wanted to attend.
The food was delicious at this lodge and they had one of the best breakfast spreads I have ever had. So much fruit! I really enjoyed the atmosphere here and was sad to leave.
We had a flight booked out instead of the bus which I highly recommend. Very few people get to fly out of the Kantishna airstrip. You also can book a sightseeing flight with Kantishna Air so that on the flight back they will take you closer to Denali for some amazing aerial scenes. This was a highlight of my trip. I live for sightseeing flights in the mountains! Flying near America’s tallest mountain is just too sweet to pass up.
Our last night we stayed at Denali Cabins. We visited the dog sledding pups on this particular afternoon, and if you love puppies I highly recommend! This was a nice way to wrap up the trip. We had a lovely dinner in town and made the drive back to Anchorage the next day.
I have to say that this trip was definitely one of my top trips so far. I have been so lucky to do some incredible travel over the years. This was a highlight for me. We couldn’t have asked for better weather or better activities!
