Alaska Trip -- Day #5

Today we were up at 5:45, got ready and had breakfast (the rest of the yogurt parfait and cinnamon roll, assorted fresh fruit pieces, orange juice), and headed to the Alaska Railroad Depot in downtown Anchorage.  We boarded a little bit before 8:00 a.m. and were heading north by 8:20.  We saw several moose, which unfortunately I was unable to get any pictures of because they were always running away from the train!  We also saw many beautiful mountains, including Mt. Denali way far off, and glacier-fed streams rippling with icy water.  It was a clear, sunny, warm day, perfect for enjoying a short train ride to Wasilla.  Once we got there around 9:45, we walked to the Dorothy G. Page Museum & Visitor Center, operated by the city.  I think it will be my most favorite museum of the trip...nothing against the other ones we have visited, but this one hit my sweet spot.  There wasn't information overload or vast, seemingly-unending rooms full of outstanding relics.  It is small and simple, yet portrays the history of Wasilla, the area's gold-mining past, and the Iditarod connection extremely well.  It is divided into two levels, and I especially love the entrance to the basement exhibit room.  It has been painted to look like a mine shaft (see the picture below), and it's so realistic that I did a double-take when I first started down!  Across the street from the museum is a historic village display, with homes, shops, a school, sauna, and post office moved to their current locations when the city began expanding and "modernizing". They are very well-maintained, and it is a joy to see the city and individuals taking care to preserve their past.  We were able to eat our lunch (a bagel with almond butter, chips, an orange, a homemade chocolate-chip cookie from the Krazy Moose Subs shop -- housed in Wasilla's former country store, cranberry-grape juice) on a nice picnic table in the midst of all the beautiful buildings.  Finally, with some time to spare before our train came to take us back into Anchorage, we just browsed through a few shops, then went back to the depot.  It turned out that our train ended up being an hour-and-a-half late -- due to the unrelenting sunshine and unusually-high temperatures, the track was literally warping, and driving a train over it at high speeds could cause it to break.  Obviously, for safety's sake, they had to slow it down quite a bit, which delayed things.  It all turned out okay, we boarded and enjoyed dinner in the bistro/cafe car (Alaskan cod, rosemary-roasted potatoes, coleslaw, and splitting a lemon-lime tartlet and chocolate moulton for dessert), and by 9:00 p.m. we arrived in Anchorage.  It was a lovely day to ride the train and explore yet another Alaskan city.

Beautiful Alaskan wilderness on the Denali Star train ride

It is very hard to see since we were so far away, but in the middle of the picture, way off on the horizon, is Mt. Denali.

The stairway down to the basement of the Dorothy G. Page Museum.

Inside the Denali Star train

~Anna