Alaska, Anchorage and Seward

We left Denali to travel to Anchorage via a domed rail car on the Alaska Railroad. It was an eight hour trip with a bartender and dining car to make it a very comfortable way to travel and admire the scenery.

All the way the scenery was amazing. There were eleven moose sightings as well as trumpeter swans and eagles. It was hard to get pictures, but I did manage to get this moose.

Here is some of the scenery along the way, mountains, rivers, lakes and beauty everywhere we looked.

We arrived at our very nice hotel in Anchorage late in the afternoon. Since it is light out so long, we were able to book a trolley tour at 7 pm. It was a nice overview of the city. After the tour, we wandered around the downtown area for a bit, and had dinner at a local microbrewery.

Flowers grow in amazing abundance all over Alaska. With the long days of sunshine, the flowers go crazy.

The next morning we boarded a coach bus for the scenic trip to Seward. The Seward Highway is one of the most scenic drives in the state. Unfortunately, it rained all the way, so it wasn't as scenic as hoped for.

That evening the rain stopped for a bit, and we were able to go on our scheduled dog sledding tour without getting too wet. The Seavey family has been raising sled dogs for four generations. The dad Mitch has won three Iditarod races, and his son Dallas has won four. They have about 200 dogs of which 14 will become race dogs. It is quite an operation with lots of hard work required.

In the summer, the dogs train by pulling tourists on wagons. As soon as the trainers began preparing the dogs for the ride, pandemonium broke out. The dogs were SOOO excited to run. They are Alaskan Huskies bred for this purpose, and they love it.

Once we returned, the dogs were ready for a rest. We were able to pet them.

We also had the opportunity to hold some puppies. So cute!! We enjoyed the tour, and learned a great deal about this sport. It sure takes a tremendous amount of dedication to participate.

Don’t wish upon a star – Reach for one!