Early morning wake up and had our bags outside the door at 6:00
AM. They picked up our bags for Denali while we went to the
lobby to get coffee. The bus left for the rail depot at 7:15
where we boarded the train for our ride to Denali. We sat in
row 21 behind a very nice couple from the UK who had a daughter
in Houston. Their names were Alan and Mary. We had breakfast
with them in the dining car downstairs. I ordered the Blueberry
pancakes with reindeer sausage. The breakfast was incredibly
good. We lucked out because we were in the back of the train and
the back went first. I also enjoyed the outside platform on the
back of the train. What a neat experience. We rolled into the
Denali park entrance then loaded up into a bus that looked like
a school bus. Our bus driver named Kirsti was incredibly self sufficient and
multi talented. I am convinced there is nothing she can't do. It was very
rainy and at times incredibly foggy. The highlight of the trip besides the
incredible views was seeing a Mother Grizzly bear and her 2 cubs. Once at the
Roadhouse i was blown away by how nice it was. This is written up as "rustic"
but it certainly is not rustic. Every bit of it is luxurious. After checking in
we each ordered an Alaskan Amber which ended up being 2 Alaskan Ambers. Dinner was Sausage manicotti with a salad and peanut butter pie. It was an incredible day followed by a wonderful meal and a nice people.