By Train to Anchorage

We returned from Denali to Anchorage by double-decker train; the passengers sat on the top level and the bottom level was a dining car.  I had reindeer chili there for lunch; it was good, but the reindeer tasted much more like beef than I expected - I assumed it would be more like the deer my Dad used to shoot in South Dakota.

Photographically speaking, this was another day of vehicle motion, window reflections, and fellow passengers jumping in front of my lens.  Worse yet, I missed the two best shots of the day - a moose disappearing into the forest, and a skinny-dipper jumping into a river just as we passed.  (My guidebook for the area said the water there is about 45 degrees Fahrenheit this time of year - what was he thinking??)

We passed several homes where the owners have to either pack all their supplies in from a road that's miles away, or flag down the train that occasionally comes through to transport them into town and back.  I always used to think I'd like to retire to a cabin in the woods, but I was envisioning something a little closer to fast food and medical attention.

The weather continued clear and we were able to see Mt. McKinley almost all the way back to Anchorage, which is very rare.

"Between every two pines is a doorway to a new world." ~John Muir