Last day in Alaska😞 The temperature in the morning in Denali was a crisp 32° but clear. Today I had to head back to Anchorage for my 10PM flight back to Chicago. I had hoped to take the train back but the shortened summer schedule didnt work out with the timing of my flight so I was back on the Park Connection bus. We departed from Denali at 7:15 and headed on the journey out of the Alaska Range down to the coast in Anchorage. The driver for this stretch was a lady named Karen and she was awesome! She has lived in Alaska for 25ish years and provided all kinds of information on the landscapes and the towns as we went by.
She told us all about the Talkeetna Bachelor Auction and Wilderness Women Competition held each year in December. She had a ton of for the guest departing in Talkeetna. The town is about 2 blocks long and the main draw is Denali. Climbers register here during climbing season and attempt to make it to the 20,310 top. Unfortunately today she wasnt visible. That makes it 2 out of 5 days where I saw here and became
part of the 30% crowd. I was ecstatic to get one day, let alone two. I hope she emerges for all travelers but I do like that she is picky about who gets to clearly see her.
After dropping passengers off in Talkeetna we continued on to Anchorage. On this stretch she told us the history of the Iditarod race as well as how it is usually run and then was run during Covid. She is a volunteer for the race and had lots of behind the scenes information. It was really interesting to hear about the food consumed along the route by dogs and mushers, the process if a dog pulls out, how to wake up a musher and many other little tidbits.
On the approach to Anchorage she filled us in on things to do in the city. We were arriving at 1:15 and my flight was at 10 so I had a lot of time to kill. I used the airport storage to store my large suitcase while I went into the city. With my Park Connection bus I had a free ticket to the Anchorage Museum. I dont really like art museums so I
quickly walked through that section and looked at the area on the native peoples. That was interesting with exhibits on different sleds and canoes and clothing. The museum also had a pretty good interactive area for kids.
I still had plenty of time and walked over to the visitor center and decided to take a trolley tour of Anchorage. The tour was an hour and stops at important places in the city. One stop was at Earthquake Park where you could see how the land changed after the 1964 earthquake. We also drove by the float plane airport, the largest in the world. Planes are vital in Alaska to get people and supplies to remote villages. These planes can land on water, ice or land depending on the type of landing gear.
After the tour I got a bus back to the airport, checked my bag and proceeded to wait for my late flight. Flight home was smooth and got in on time and to a gate that wasnt a mile walk to exit the terminal. I would Alaska Air if you ever need a flight. The leg room was good, the seats and check
Alaska was amazing and so worth the trip. There were no crowds of people and lots of opportunities to enjoy nature. During regular times Im sure there would be more people. Travelling during a pandemic was not as bad as I thought. My mask often doubled as a face warmer so I didnt need a scarf. Everyone followed the rules and I think most of us were just grateful to be able to travel at all. Ive my 50 states by 40 bucket list. Now the question is, what should I do next?
