For your 45th Birthday - you really are "Denali Bound" - Complete w/final thoughts - 2/17/2013 - Page 13 - PassPorter - A Community of Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel Forums
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Amazing photos from the train[COLOR="black"]! All that wildlife, and the frozen lake and beaver lodge are so beautiful. AND MT MCKINLEY! WOW! So Chris basically stood from Denali to Anchorage! He didn't want to miss a thing.
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Originally Posted by cubfancolleen
So glad you've picked this up again! Love the pics of Mt. McKinley! Did Chris REALLY stand for 7 hours?
- sometimes he was in the front vestibule... sometimes he was in the back vestibule... but he was standing for 90% of the trip taking pictures and recording video.
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Hotel rooms, getting lost and HUMPY's!!
We checked in. Chris and I were upgraded to a suite (loving those Hilton hhonors again). I had asked for a King – but we got a double room, two double bed suite with a water view upgrade (and didn’t pay a dime for it!) – so we opted to keep the upgrade – SWEET!
View from our window - looking over the Port of Anchorage
And looking out over the Turnagain Arm of Cook Inlet.
After getting all settled into the rooms, we headed to Humpy's. Or at least I thought we were headed to Humpy's. Humpy's is a local bar & restaurant in Anchorage that I have great memories of from my trip to Anchorage in 2009 for Planning Associates (I think many of us spent a fair amount of time there!!) and I wanted to show my hubs and our friends this neat local place...
Well, we got a little lost, courtesy of my phone that didn't want to send me in the right direction. This ticked George off (it was late, we were tired...I tried to ignore him) and FINALLY - we found it!!
Wednesday night is open mic night at Humpys... it was hopping!! We were seated in a booth in a fairly short time and settled in for a good meal. Humpy's is named for the sockeye salmon that come up to Alaska each summer - they have a hump on their back and are referred to as "humpys".
Chris opted for a grilled Halibut.
And the rest of us got Humpy's famous Halibut fish and chips
Humpy's is also known for its halibut tacos... but I opted for this instead.
Rachel took a photo of us enjoying our dinner at Humpys.
After dinner, the four of us wandered back to the hotel and settled in for the night. I went out to the living room around 11pm to take photos of the sunset over the peninsula across the inlet. It was SO vivid.
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Touring in Anchorage
May 24, 2012
Today the idea was that Chris and I would be solo in the morning. George and Rachel also planned solo events today.
We woke up not too early, and did a little touring. It was cold and rainy, overcast and grey - but we were dressed for it. Our first stop was the official Anchorage Visitor’s Information Center – that has a large 5,000lb piece of Jade outside the front door. Jade is the state gem of Alaska.
Then we headed to the Public Land’s Information center – which is located in the federal building (accessed through metal detectors...) by the Forest Service, Park Service and the State of Alaska.
I was trying to find a copy of a guide to the Seward Highway that we had in 2009 when Jodie, Christine, Jake and I drove down to Seward. It was a great guide that gave details of the drive based on mile marker. No one seemed to have a copy though. It was an interesting Visitor’s Center with stuffed animals from all over Alaska.
Some of the species of Alaskan salmon - see the red sockeye? That's a humpy
They had displays about each region of Alaska. the geology, the ecosystem, the wildlife, etc. Made me start thinking about planning our next trip to Alaska.
The owl made me think of Hedwig from Harry Potter
After leaving the federal building, we took some photos of two totems right outside the building. “Raven Stealing the Sun and Moon” and “Eagle and Giant Clam”.
After the failed effort to find the Seward highway guide – we opted for some brunch at a local cafe I found when I was in Anchorage in 2009 for work - the Snow City Café. I had a really good breakfast of reindeer sausage, scrambled eggs and a pancake. Chris had a sandwich with turkey and bacon. I know if had a name... but I don’t remember what the name is now.
Waiting for our food
Chris' sandwich
Yummy hashbrowns
After Brunch, Chris and I decided to take a walk on the Tony Knowles trail, after a short detour (I got us lost) to Cook Park – an overlook of Cook Sound dedicated to Captain James Cook who sailed into the bay in 1778 while searching for the Northwest Passage. Another Englishman, George Vancouver who had served under Cook in 1778, named the inlet after Cook in 1794. We took photos from the park (which is really a 3 story tall overlook) and then found our way to the Tony Knowles trail.
Captain James Cook
Overlooking Cook Inlet
Next - I know its "the Circle of Life", but...
Makes me so anxious for this summer when we are doing the Fairbanks to Anchorage land portion and then a cruise from Seward to Vancouver. Your pictures are amazing.
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That train trip looked like a good time.
- sometimes he was in the front vestibule... sometimes he was in the back vestibule... but he was standing for 90% of the trip taking pictures and recording video.
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What amazing photos. 
Such beautiful scenery...
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