Nathan's Insights

World Traveller: 7 Continents, 90 Countries, 871 Days Overseas

World Trip 2011: Day 11 – Anchorage to Whittier, USA

June 10, 2011

Friday 10 June 2011
Highlights: Scenic Coastal Train Trip, Whittier Glaciers and Dolphins

A welcome late start saw me catch the 8.40 am shuttle for the 10 am train from Anchorage to Whittier. The coastal 61 mile trip was down over 2 hours at a slow pace to allow us to look out for wildlife, which worked when a very young moose started running with the train!

The train setup in Alaska is very well done. For this trip I had a seat on the second level giving me a very good view of the scenic coast. To arrive at Whittier the train had to go through a 4 mile tunnel cut through the mountain. This tunnel is use on rotation with cars, and the tunnel is shut at night meaning Whittier is very cut-off from the rest of the world.

On arrival I headed straight for the Philips 26 Glacier Cruise (after going to the wrong terminal – I was the only one who made this mistake, DOH). I’ve been looking forward to this tour of Prince William Sound. I was seated on a table of 6 which was a little tight fit, but it gave me a chance to met my travel mates (US and Mexicans), at least until after the lunch. The lunch included local fish from Prince William Sound.

Not long after lunch as we were nearing our first glacier a group of dolphins decided to play with our boat, a great start to the 5 hour cruise. We also got to see sea otters, sea lions and black-legged kittiwake (basically seagulls) during the day. During the day we had an onboard US Forest Service Ranger provide his insights into the area, including that not all wildlife at recovered from the Exxon Valdez 1989 oil spill, which just yesterday at the Anchorage Museum I was told wasn’t a big deal. Finally someone saying it isn’t all roses.

The glaciers are really spectacular, especially when a part breaks of and falls into the ocean. Having the boat hit a few of this ‘mini’ icebergs was kind of cool and got me excited about my possible Antarctic trip in 18 months. The sea otters floated on their backs and had they young sitting on them, which was very cute, at least all the women thought so.

After the cruise ended I headed back to Anchorage via the Whittier train for a very leisurely trip and instead of catching the shuttle back to the hotel I walked, enjoying the 9 pm bright sunlight.

Anchorage, USA, Whittier
World Trip 2011: Day 10 – Denali to Anchorage, USA

June 9, 2011

Thursday 9 June 2011
Highlights: Anchorage Museum

Early start with bus pickup at 7 am, which while becoming common is leaving me tried by the middle of the day. Still this was an easy travel day today with a 8 hour trip back to Anchorage including a short stop at Talkeetna Alaskan Lodge.

The Anchorage Museum was the highlight of the day. The indigenous people exhibit was fascinating and the history of Alaska from pre-Russian, Russian, the USA purchase and finally Alaska becoming a State was very insightful.

However the history on oil development has the most noteworthy exhibit for the wrong reasons. First off the exhibit was funded by the oil industry. Secondarily it mostly praised the great benefits the oil industry brings and lastly it down played the Exxon Valdez 1989 oil spill and talked about the heavily regulation.

Now I’ll admit the information on how the The Trans Alaska Pipeline was constructed and its history was very informative, but the rest of the ‘exhibit’ was so bias it was hard to believe. There was no mention of the species that have still not recovered. How a Museum can sell its soul like this is hard to believe, but I’ve noticed that there is a very pro-oil feeling in this state. I suppose you can understand it when up to 80% of government revenue is from oil and that residents actually get a cheque each year just for living here, due to oil taxes.

It’s a shame as the State is so beautiful. I’m not saying I have the answers but believing that a corporation can do no wrong almost always leads to disasters. The government, educators and museums shouldn’t just be focusing on the good and ignore the risks they need some balance. I worry about a future disaster if there is no effective oversight.

Anchorage, Denali, USA
World Trip 2011: Day 9 – Denali, USA

June 8, 2011

Wednesday 8 June 2011
Highlights: Denali National Park, Native Wildlife (including spotting a Bald Eagle!) and Mount McKinley

Today I got up early for a very long tour of Denali National Park starting at 6.30 am I found myself travelling with Ian, Helen and Rohran from yesterday’s adventure plus a seat mate in Rebecca and by extension her two friends. The park is a true treasure I can only imagine what it looks like when it is covered in snow, in an Alaskan summer I had to settled for partial snow coverage.

We had planned stops every 1.5 to 2 hours for viewing and toilet breaks, and unplanned stops whenever we spotted wildlife. Entry to the park is limited and the company I was travelling with went the furthest into the park, about half way in the roads are made of gravel and on the edge of cliffs – hair raising at times.

Shortly after the Park Ranger let us in we stopped to view Mount McKinley, the highest mountain in the USA (19,470 feet or 5,934 metres). We were very lucky as the top is usually obscured by clouds, and at around 10 am and for the rest of the day this is what happened, but the early bird gets the great natural sights!

During the day, in particular in the afternoon when heading back, we witness a huge array of wildlife including grizzly & brown bears, bull moose, caribou, arctic squirrels, and a BALD EAGLE! The first grizzly bear we saw had one cub which the mum was teaching how to pick berries, the second one had two younger cubs who were just playing with each other – incredibly cute! The binoculars I borrowed from my friend Jon came in very handy.

At our furthest point we reached a very remote lodge (Kantishna Lodge) and had a filly lunch (soup, chicken wraps and home-made purple lemonade). After lunch I attended a talk on ‘mushing’, the history in Alaska and the annual Iditarod Sled Dog Race (first prize $60K USD). The lodge takes in 6 homeless dogs each summer and trains them for mushing. After the talk we got a demonstration of the dogs in training as they pulled around a tractor. During the demonstrations I was almost eaten alive by the mosquitos, the warnings are on the money.

We also got a chance to undertake some short hikes during our tour, touching the glacial running waters and examining the local flowers and trees. The further you go into the park the more basic the facilitates as some people on the bus found to their surprises. Interestingly 7 people have died hiking in and near the park in the past 3 months. The warmer weather has melted move ice then normal causing extra hazards.

We got back after 8 pm, close to 14 hours after the start, we were later as we kept spotting wildlife. Most people only do a 8 hour tour of the park but I found this tour to be worth the extra hours, in particular getting to the lodge to learn about mushing (dog sledding) and seeing so much wildlife late in the day after everyone else at returned to their hotels. Also my conversations with Rebecca were very informative on the USA and how people are coping with less these days. I was very happy when I finally got back to my room.

Denali, USA
World Trip 2011: Day 8 – Anchorage to Denali, USA

June 7, 2011

Tuesday 7 June 2011
Highlights: Nine hour scenic train trip, white water rafting (class 3 & 4)

Early start day. I had a 8.15 am train to Denali with a 7.15 am check in this meant I needed to catch the 6.45 am hotel to the train depot transfer, long story short I needed to get up before 6 am so I could enjoy the free buffet breakfast, and I did enjoy it – eggs, sausages and little potatoes.

This is a rare full long distance passenger train service in the USA. The train stopped at Wasilla (Sarah Palin’s home which I could see from the train but I couldn’t see Russia!) and Talkeetna. As this train is designed for tourists (May to Sept only) you get a lot of information during the journey including that 1 in 7 Alaskans hold a pilot’s license due to the remote nature of this state. The train ride offered some great views and I took quite a few photos which I posted on Facebook.

I didn’t really dine on the train, the prices were typical “tourist who has no option” prices but I did buy a very nice chocolate cookie. Now these cookies are everywhere, I think it is the main state food. We arrived a little late at Denali due to the train losing power at one point (I thought freezing at night in summer might be on the cards). The moment I stepped off the train I was on a transfer to the Bluffs Hotel, I have to say everything is very well coordinated and I’m not even on a tour or boat package.

The Bluffs Hotel is more of a cabin arrangement with the hotel located on the edge of this very small town which took about 20 minutes to explore. By the time I got back my bag was waiting for me in my room, great service and they didn’t even want a tip (rarer still).

Now the real highlight of the day was going rafting on the Nenana River which has ‘class 3 and 4 rapids’. The company made us put on a couple of extra layers, a sign a lot of waivers, the dry suits being very warm and tight. I was surprised by this as I’ve done a few white water rapid rafting events around the world and the suits seemed a bit much but I was soon to find out why they were needed.

Also of interest was the company I was booked on didn’t issue helmets, again a first for me and I noted we were the only ones without helmets. The suits had a head slot which the called birthing slots, very hard to fit my big head through.

Now the reason for the suits? The water is freezing, it might be summer (so 12-14 degrees) but the water comes from glaciers and there is ice on the banks still. My exposed hands actually turned a couple of different colours, blue, than red, than finally purple and I didn’t even go into the water just had to cope with a lot of water ‘hits’. A very enjoyable 1.5 hours even if it took another hour for my hands to regain some feelings and their natural colour!

Another good aspect of the rafting adventure was meeting a few fellow travellers including Ian & Helen from the Gold Coast and Rohran from Houston. They are also on the same wildness adventure tomorrow so it will be good to see some people I know (especially to get them to take photos with me in them!).

Returning to the hotel I checked a few e-mails and moved some money into my credit cards and before I knew it I was sitting in the lounge area and it was after midnight – damn sunlight did it to me again. And I have a 6.30 am departure for the wildness tour tomorrow – god I am getting no sleep on this trip I’m going to be wrecked when I return home 🙂

Anchorage, Denali, USA
World Trip 2011: Day 7 – San Francisco to Anchorage, USA

June 6, 2011

Monday 6 June 2011
Highlights: The sun shining brightly at 00.30 in Anchorage

Said a last goodbye to San Francisco with an early 6.20 am start. The next major part of this trip will see many early mornings as I get in touch with nature. I don’t know if I’ll ever be back to San Francisco. It’s a very cool place and I recommend it but the world is a big place and life is short.

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Anchorage, San Francisco, USA
World Trip 2011: Day 6 – Sausalito and San Francisco, USA

June 5, 2011

Sunday 5 June 2011
Highlights: Ferry to Sausalito, walking around Sausalito

Last full day with my Mum before heading off to Anchorage, Alaska. An early morning start saw another local bus into the city. This time we travelled to the terminal and walked down to the coast enjoying a short walk to the start of the Piers and a ferry to Sausalito and we got great views of San Francisco, the Golden Gate Bridge and Alcatraz.

Sausalito is a great little city, and as my mum says was the location of Popeye the Movie (starring Robin Williams). A stroll around the town, some local lollies bought for the nieces and nephews and some local shopping and the morning was quickly over. We witnessed the kindness of strangers when a bike rider went to the aid of an elderly lady who collapsed.

Shopping in the city was next including a visit to Bloomingdale’s another first for mum. The metro sexual and other clean cute men was another interesting sight.

We had a problem catching the bus as one went sailing past us with the driver waving back at me, great service I suppose. Another visit to IHOP and for the first time I actually had pancakes at the International House of Pancakes. Very nice. Now for some research on my trip to Alaska.

San Francisco, Sausalito, USA
World Trip 2011: Day 5 – San Francisco, USA

June 4, 2011

Saturday 4 June 2011
Highlights: Ghirardelli Place, Music Box Shop

The big shopping day in the Bay area. Last night they issued warnings about unseasonable wet weather, it turned out to be very wet but for the most part it rained while we were indoors.

Caught the local bus in San Francisco, always interesting to see the locals. Saw the pink ribbon on the San Francisco hill which was highlighting 30 years since the first case of aids was diagnosed here.

First stop saw a visit to the Golf & Tennis shop for Andrew’s prized tennis shoes, unfortunately for him they were the wrong colour and I know how fashion conscious he can be. From here we went down to the Wharfs starting at Pier 1 (funnily enough) all the way to the famous Pier 39 (were it did rain). Now just as mum had given up on finding the Music Box Shop I figured out the new location, which really means that people getting presents from my mother also kinda owe me as well.

We ended up at Ghirardelli Place were we enjoyed ice cream and a banana split. We had planned to get the cable car but it was shut down for repairs so we went hiking up the hills of San Francisco which actually ended up being a good thing. Down to Union Square and we located Macy’s which is were the shopping began. Can’t say what we got but I have a few family member birthday’s coming up so hopefully they will be happy.

We were both clumsy or forgetful today, Mum managed to knock over a ‘Caution Wet Surface Sign’, drop her umbrella, spill her Banana Split on the table (really not her fault) and unfortunately I managed to delete all my photos from today 😦

San Francisco, USA
World Trip 2011: Day 4 – Las Vegas to San Francisco, USA

June 3, 2011

Friday 3 June 2011
Highlights: Gambling at Las Vegas Airport

The shuttle pick up worked out well but had we really left Vegas yet… well no. It’s around 9 am and we are sitting at Las Vegas Airport and playing the slots how addictive is that??

Well not as addicted as the smokers who locked themselves in a little ‘bubble’ room and smoked away as they lost their money and health.

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Las Vegas, San Francisco, USA
World Trip 2011: Day 3 – Las Vegas, USA

June 2, 2011
Thursday 2 June 2011
Highlights: The view from the Stratosphere Tower, gambling at ten casinos in one day!

We started today with a visit to the Stratosphere Tower to view Vegas from 500 metres height. Not a bad view, makes you realise you are in a desert, the only green places are the exclusive golf courses.

From here we aught the bus down to New York, New York Casino. I had a plan to bet $10 at as many casinos as possible during the day, shopping off as we walked back to Circus Circus. This plan took in 10 casinos and 7 hours but I can now say I gambled at;
- New York, New York (won)
- Monte Carolo (lost)
- Planet Hollywood (lost)
- Paris (even)
- Bellagio (lost)
- Caesars Palace (won)
- Mirage (won)
- Venetian (lost badly)
- Treasure Island (even)
- Circus Circus (lost)
So out of ten casinos I won at 3 of them, broke even at 2 and lost at 5, I’d say that is about the right percentages. Finished back at the hotel with a Buffet Dinner, I shouldn’t go to one of these places often or I’ll end up looking even more like an oversized local.
Las Vegas, USA
World Trip 2011: Day 2 – Las Vegas, USA

June 1, 2011

Wednesday 1 June 2011
Highlights: Premium Shopping Outlet (South)

Late start today getting up around 10.30 am, but with no sleep yesterday that’s not a big surprise. Finally dragged myself out to the strip and caught the Deuce bus service ($7 for 24 hours use).

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Las Vegas, USA