Breakfast Train

Up early this morning. We had to have our bags in the hall by 6am to be packed in the bus. It drives us to the train station then drives to our final destination for the day and brings our bags to our room...pretty good deal, huh?

Very nice train car. The seating is on an upper level that is almost completely glass. There is a dining/cooking level below. We had breakfast on the train. Pretty nice table service with white linens and stuff...these meals are not included in our package though.

Saw a couple of glimpses of Mt. McKinley on the way. Also saw a baby moose and its mom from the bus in the morning. Talkeetna is our destination today.

Jane and I decided to hang out in town a bit and then booked a jet boat tour on three of the rivers. While waiting for that we walked down to a river with great views of Mt. McKinley and its friends. It is really impressive 20.280 ft and covered in snow. Aparently only about 30 percent of people get to see the mountain on their visits to the area. It is typically covered in clouds because it is so big, it just traps them as they go by. Even fewer people get to see it so clearly. We have been told by a few people that the view hasnt been this good since May...Did I mention that it is 75 degrees???

Jet boat tour was a blast. Got out and walked a nature trail with our guide for part of it....He carries a shotgun in the case we find some aggressive bears. Very interesting trappers cabin with cache and old native structure. The boat was wicked fast when we went back down the river (we were on three rivers during the tour) It basically skims accorss the water and only needs about a foot and a half of depth. (There were 40 of us on the boat). It is good that it can run so shallow because it was as little as two feet in some parts.

Quick dinner in the hotel. I had crab bisque and truffle mac and cheese. Jane had a nice roast chicken breast. Our hotel was awesome! We could see the entire mountain from our room! Just wonderful.

Some time here in the morning before getting on the lunch train to Denali.

Oh yeah, rode through Wasilla on the way today. Didnt see Sarah or Russia