At Talkeetna, we stayed at the Mt. McKinley Princess Wilderness Lodge. The Lodge itself is about an hour north of Talkeetna, and a shuttle runs between them. Like I mentioned, we received our room information when we arrived in Talkeetna. Instead of a traditional hotel, the resort is made up of small lodges. These are camp-style buildings with ten or so hotel rooms, vending, and laundry. We wound up not spending a… View Post »
Talkeetna, Alaska
Talkeetna is a small, quirky town in between Anchorage and Denali National Park. It has a permanent population of around 300, and men outnumber women about 10 to 1. The word is that the odds are good, but the goods are odd. This town also inspired Northern Exposure. Talkeetna also serves as the base for climbers heading up to Denali. These days, most climbers fly from Talkeetna to a glacier… View Post »
Train ride from Anchorage to Talkeetna
Our first day of our tour took us on a train ride from Anchorage to Talkeetna. The Alaska Railroad owns the single train track through the state, and we rode on a Princess train car. Princess offers two double-decker car styles. Depending on your trip, you may ride in a car with two rows of two seats or a car with benches on either side of a table. Each car… View Post »
Anchorage Trolley Tour
When we were waiting for the zoo shuttle, we passed a stand for the Anchorage Trolley tour. We decided to check it out later in the day. After we got back from the zoo, we headed over to the Westmark to see if we could check in. Our room wasn’t ready, so we grabbed lunch across the street at the Glacier Brewhouse. The food was fantastic. We shared a tempura… View Post »
Alaska Zoo
So you don’t travel 3600 miles and go straight to the zoo? After we checked into the Anchorage Grand, we grabbed a few brochures in the lobby display. Mac saw the one for the Alaska Zoo, so we decided to visit on our first day. Keeping in our grand tradition, we went on the first shuttle to get there when they opened to avoid large numbers of kids. But the… View Post »
Our Alaska Itinerary
Our Alaska itinerary We booked a five-day, four-night tour package through Princess Cruises. For a first trip to Alaska, we liked the cruise-like itinerary. On trip 92G, we had one night in Anchorage, train fare to Talkeetna, a night at the McKinley Princess Lodge, train fare to Denali, a night at the McKinley Chalet, train fare back to Anchorage, and a final night there. Princess also offers a military discount (I think it’s… View Post »