First of all I have to say that I was very excited about the Alaska Railroad Train Trip from Anchorage to Denali. Why? This is the train ride of a life time! Did you know that the Alaska Railroad is one of the most scenic train rides in the world? The Alaska Railroad stretches 470 miles from Seward on the south-central Kenai Peninsula, to the northern "golden heart" city of Fairbanks. Along the way, the train travels through some of the most scenic and rugged territory in Alaska, including Denali National Park, Denali State Park, and Chugach National Forest. The Alaska Railroad runs two primary passenger services during the summer season. On the rail north of Anchorage, the Denali Star operates daily between Fairbanks, Denali, Talkeetna and Anchorage. To the south, the Coastal Classic operates daily between Anchorage and Seward. 

I personally love train rides because they are one of the best ways to get from one destination to anothers while I can sit back and is enjoying the beautiful scenery. On the Denali Star line there are choices of class of travelsuch as Gold Star and Adventure service. The classes are priced differently and offer varying amenities.  I chose the more luxurious offering, GoldStar.  The GoldStar dome rail cars feature a confirmed seat in the upper level dome car, complimentary non-alcoholic beverages served at your seat, a special GoldStar pin, priority seating in the lower level dining room showcasing original Alaska artwork, and a private outdoor viewing deck - the only one of its kind in the world. I loved the design of the train with the big domes glass windows and the open area at the rear of the car where I could enjoy the outside weather and the wind in my hair while enjoying the passing scenery!  

On the train you can travel in style and relax and enjoy the scenic beauty of a ride on the Alaska Railroad, one of the the last full-service railroads in the United States. Be sure to keep an eye out for wildlife and magnificent views of Mt. McKinley. On a clear day you will start to get a glimpse of the Mountain within half an hour of departing Anchorage. Three hours into the trip marks one of the most spectacular views of McKinley, and if the weather is good the train will slow to allow passengers to snap a few photos. North of Talkeetna you will cross the startling 918-foot Hurricane Gulch trestle, towering 296 feet above the creek below. Be sure to have your camera ready, as this is one of the route's best photo opportunities. Before arriving at Denali Park you will pass though Broad Pass, the highest point on the Alaska Railroad at 2,363 feet.

I enjoyed the gorgeous scenery all the way from Anchorage to Denali but better than that I was able to relax with a cocktail and great food on the train as well. There is a small bar where you can order cocktails on the second level of the car and the first level contained the dining car. The service was great and the food was much better than I expected. I really enjoyed the salmon chowder soup and wild Alaskan cod for lunch. It could not get any better than enjoying my meal on the train surrounded by the beautiful Alaskan scenery. This was a truely happy and unforgetable experience for me. I was on the train for around five hours, but time flew by because the ride was so much fun yet relaxing. The weather during this leg of my trip was perfect so I was lucky to get some beautiful pictures. 

After a wonderful long ride from Anchorage I arrived at Denali rested and reasy for some fun. I booked a cabin at Denali Cabins right near the national park.   Most of the accomodations in the area offer a shuttle service from the train station to your hotel or cabin so it was really convenient to have my luggage transferred right from the train to my cabin without having to lift a single thing.  The shuttle bus was waiting right at the train station and in no time I was at my cozy and private cabin in the woods. Denali Cabins has a cute  bar and restaurant on-site where I could enjoy some great local food. The staff was very friendly and helpful with information and even booked a Denali jeep tour for me. I decided to take it easy on my first day in Denali and planned for independent activity on the second day. I just wanted to take it easy and be on my own so I went to Reilly Creek early in the morning for fishing, to enjoy the river, mountains and look for some wildlife. Unfortunately I only found some fresh animal prints on the ground and no fish in the river since the stream was very strong. The stunning views under the beautiful weather were the best I could ask for. I spent about three hours at the river until I realized I had not had much to eat - I was enjoying myself and the natural beauty way too much.

After leaving Reilly Creek I walked about a mile from the river to downtown Denali for lunch. I loved the walk into downtown Denali along the national park border.  After half a mile I crossed the Nenana river and stopped in the middle of the bridge to enjoy the view of the Nenana river that is glacial melt from the Nenana Glacier in the northern Alaska Range, southwest of Mount Deborah, approximately 100 mi (160 km) south of Fairbanks. It flows briefly west, then north, forming the eastern boundary of Denali National Park. It emerges from the mountains onto the broad marshy Tanana Valley, joining the Tanana from the south at Nenana, Alaska, approximately 35 mi (56 km) southwest of Fairbanks. The Nenana here in Denali is great for water rafting. I saw many rafts heading downriver and it looked like a lot of fun and quote adventurous but unfortunately I didn't have time for that activity and was getting pretty hungry so I kept walking until I arrived in downtown. I chosed to have my lunch at Salmon Bake. This is a well known spot and the food overall is decent but some of the dishes were downright delicious.  I highly recommend the elk burger here as well as the local salmon.  After a I filled up my belly I did some shopping at the gift shops in downtown. There are many gift shops and tourist information booths here so if you plan to visit Denali and you are looking for something to do. You will find many activities information in the downtown area, from fishing, Jeep excursions, water rafting, helicopter tours of the glaciers and many more.

On my third day I decided to go on the Denali Highway Jeep Excursion since I found out that National Geographic Travel ranked it as the number 2 road trip of a lifetime. This is a great way to enjoy and explore the Denali area and look for wildlife  such as grizzly bear, moose, caribou, wolves and dall sheep. The tour guide points out the various sights and local wildlife and tells the stories of each spot over your Jeep radio. Typically on the tour there are five jeeps with four people maximum in each jeep. We stopped at many viewpoints for photographs and to learn about each location.  At most stops I got to enjoy picking wild blueberries there are plenty of them in the bushes everywhere you look! The most stunning view of this trip for me was the Nenana Glacier from distance The green mountains with different layers from one to another were the absolute in Alaskan geopgraphy, so unlike anywhere else I have been. It was five hour roundtrip drive but there was plenty to discover.

I had planned for a night fishing trip from 6:00PM - 10:00PM as this was my last day in Denali and I wanted to include as many unique activities as I could. It was very convenient since the Jeep parking lot was right next to my cabin area so I could walk back in less than three minutes. I had a quick rest and had dinner at the Denali Cabins' restaurant and enjoyed some wine that I brought with me from my Napa Valley trip.  Drinking great wine under the late afternoon sunshine in with the mountain view right in front of me was truly relaxing.

At 6:00PM my fishing guide for the evening picked me up at Denali Cabins. We then went to the guide shop to prepare for the trip and gear up.  The group was broken up into groups of two to give us space to fish.  This was my first time fly fishing so I was ready for some fun.  I managed to catch my first fish early on so I was ble to really enjoy the experience and the new fishing spots full of natural beauty at the river. This fishing spots are in a private area so it is very difficult for any tourist to get in without a guide so I was really lucky to find out about it and enjoy some quiet fishing. After four hours of fishing and some more wild blueberry picking along the way, I felt complete after a very full day.

I truly love Denali, the natural beauty was unique and very memorable. This was a true experienced of a lifetime but it was now time to pack my bags for the next leg of my journey to travel further north in Alaska by train again. I was excited about the train trip and some new scenery to photograph; I was already thinking of the salmon chowder on the train since I reallye enjoyed on the last train ride.  The next morning I got up early and used my last hours in Denali to hike in Denali National Park as the train wasn't departing to Fairbanks until the late afternoon. I spent a few hours hiking and got in some great exercise and of course some more wild blueberry picking. I quickly had become obsessed with wild blueberry picking they were delicious. During my hike I into a porcupine, he was so cute and it was a great way to end the last day here in Denali. After hiking I walked back to the train station and was ready to depart for my next destination!