Alaska Railroad Adventure

September 10, 2023 /

The next phase of our vacation began with a rescue. When I had lunch with Aimee on Monday, she casually mentioned that she had a van big enough to carry all 5 of us and our luggage, and if we needed a ride to the train station Wednesday morning, to give her a call. We dropped off the car on Tuesday evening, and were planning on taking a taxi to the train station early on Wednesday. This turned out to be not as easy as we had hoped, as Ted called company after company, and none of them seemed to have vans or cars big enough for all of us. Lyft, same thing. So I messaged Aimee, and she very graciously came to our rescue, picking us up very early Wednesday morning to take all of us and our luggage to the train station. Of course when I woke up in the morning, I realized we could have simply taken 2 cabs. Also of course, when we got to the train station, there was a Yellow cab van that clearly would have been big enough. Why did they tell us they didn’t have one the night before? Or was that the 1 cab company we didn’t call? I don’t know, but I do know it was great to see Aimee for a few minutes (15 minute drive, no traffic) before we left Fairbanks.

When planning our trip, we had decided we wanted to have the more scenic ‘dome cars’ of the Gold Star Service, which would mean that we had cars with higher ceilings, most of which were glass, so we had great views. Also, breakfast, lunch, dinner, and beverages were included, vs. regular service where you had to go to another car for the great view, limited to 20 minutes, and meals were more grab and go (I think). Was it worth the extra $200 per person to go Gold Star? Considering this was a once in a lifetime trip, I am going to say absolutely.

The trip was almost 12 hours, and gave us a real idea of just how big Alaska is. It would have been faster to drive, certainly, but this was more comfortable, with no stops for meals or bathroom breaks. It was a lovely way to spend a day, and the food was pretty decent too. I was a little sad that we didn’t see any wildlife, no moose or bears or bald eagles. Also, Mt. Denali was shrouded in clouds, so we didn’t get to see that either, which was disappointing. But the views we did see were truly beautiful, and it was a very comfortable way to travel. Once we got to Anchorage, we took 2 Lyfts to our Airbnb, and were then ready to explore the following day.

20 Comments

  • nance

    September 10, 2023 at 5:45 am

    What gorgeous photos. I’d have spent the extra bucks as well to see Alaska’s beautiful vistas. There’s nothing like it. How kind of Aimee, offering to be your shuttle.

  • Beckett @ Birchwood Pie

    September 10, 2023 at 5:54 pm

    I’ve been thinking a lot about train trips recently. I’m not sure when/where I would go but it’s been on my mind. I think it would be so much fun to just sit back and watch the views. Make it a train trip through Alaska and I’m really interested!

    • J

      September 10, 2023 at 6:42 pm

      This was a beautiful trip for sure! My brother was looking at other rides, and fell in love with a train ride through Switzerland. And last year I took the train from Nice to Paris, which was pretty lovely as well.

  • Margaret

    September 11, 2023 at 12:29 pm

    I agree with your decision since it isn’t an everyday (or even every year) thing! It sounds comfortable and scenic. Too bad you didn’t get to see Denali. 🙁

    • J

      September 11, 2023 at 2:10 pm

      Thanks Margaret, yes, I was really disappointed about not seeing Denali. Then a couple of days later we were on an airplane and I asked the attendant which mountain was Denali, and she said, “none that we can see right now”, so I didn’t even get to see it from the air. Sigh.

    • J

      September 14, 2023 at 11:32 am

      It’s difficult to process, for sure! California is pretty big, but Alaska is HUGE. And mostly devoid of people, which I think is a lot of its charm.

  • Lisa of Lisa’s Yarns

    September 15, 2023 at 6:27 pm

    Wow that is gorgeous! Traveling by train is a great way to see the sights. I took the train from Seattle to Vancouver when a friend got married in BC. It was so pretty and it was nice to enjoy the sights with the friends I was traveling with. And no one had to drive!

  • Stephany

    September 16, 2023 at 6:38 pm

    I’m always a fan of upgrading to the more “VIP” experience on trips like this. Why not? It makes an adventure like this so much better! I’m glad it was a worthwhile expense for you guys!

    • J

      September 18, 2023 at 4:53 pm

      Stephany, when we first started discussing the train trip, my brother said, “Go Dome or Go Home!” HA! Yeah, sometimes it is nice to splurge a bit.

    • J

      September 18, 2023 at 4:54 pm

      Hi San, yes, the train trip was fun. It’s a great way to see the scenery, and you can get up and move and so on, which is a lot nicer than driving.