Wasilla, Alaska - Local Wildlife and Nancy Lake

We continued along the rail northward, winding past half frozen lakes and different "tundra" levels.

Wasilla, Alaska - Views from the Train

We road in to the town of Wasilla.  Tina Tour Guide mentioned that the town holds an official "Wasilla Clean-Up Days" so that the entire town can turn out and clean up after the winter.  Does the name Wasilla sound familiar to you?  Sarah Palin was the Mayor.  I took several photos to see if I could see Russia from here.  This photo looks across Wasilla Lake

Anchorage, Alaska - Train to Denali

After a good night's rest at the Hilton, we had the bellman call a cab to take us down the hill to the railroad station.  It is close, but I had too much luggage to haul so we took advantage of the cab.  Those taking the Princess tour took the luggage to a separate stand to get tickets for the train and check in the luggage.  The train departed about 8:00 AM ish (we learned that "ish" is the Alaska railroad time schedule) so we had 45 minutes to spend in the terminal.  It is a fairly nice size terminal with restrooms, a coffee bar and the ever present Alaska gift shop.  As boarding time approached, the other passengers were called to line up.  They were going to cross the tracks and board the train. The Princess passengers were to board a motor coach and travel 1/8 mile to board the special Princess car.  We checked in, found our seats on the upper level, and started the journey.  The seats in the upper level of the Princess car were arranged with two bench seats and a table in between.  This made it very easy to have our new blue Princess water bottles filled and our special Alaska mug filled with Moose Kiss (hot chocolate and liquors). 

Anchorage, Alaska - Crow's Nest Dinner

At 10:15 PM!! Look at the view! Look at the time. How do they handle this day after day?

Anchorage, Alaska - Orso Restaurant

We stopped for lunch at a restaurant next to Orso and it was packed with a forty minute wait. The hostess suggested that we go next door to Orso, so since we didn't want to wait we went next door.  The place had a few people sitting at tables but was otherwise fairly empty.  Hmmmm, this didn't look good.  We sat down to look at menus and within a few minutes time, the place was buzzing and filling quickly.

Anchorage, Alaska - Street Scenes

Anchorage has a homey and small town feeling.  The houses are in town, next to the restaurants and other buildings.