Trip to Denali

On Thursday we took an 8 hour train ride to Denali National Park. Everyone says it's really rare to get to see Mt. McKinley, but we had a perfect view! (Mom took this one)

The whole trip was really fun, even though it was so long. We got to ride 1st class which means we had free drinks whenever we wanted and our own dining car and of course I could walk around. Here are some more pictures we took from the train:

Me getting on the train in Anchorage.

The conductor was really nice. We also talked to a host and he told us a lot about Alaska.

Mt. McKinley

Mt. McKinley  behind a river that followed us most of the way to Denali.

This was on one of our stops. Most of the stops there was only a depot and nothing else except woods. this place was a main stop. It is called Talkeetna and about 140 people live here.

When we got up really high the trees started to change and look like this. The other ones were bigger and more like the ones in Washington. These are all black spruce trees. They are not very tall and they are really skinny. Also, on the ground are all berries like: cranberries, blueberries, mullberries and something else I can't remember. Also, the higher we got the more it looked like fall.

This house was earlier on the trip. A couple built this and lived in it since 1964. There are no roads or electricity... only the train that goes by. Then they had 4 kids. During the winter, the husband went into Anchorage for work and the mom and 4 kids stayed at the house... for the whole winter... alone! (We bet that they homeschooled!)

This is me getting off the train in Denali National Forest. Tomorrow we go rafting!