Train Heading into Anton Anderson Tunnel
The land section of the trip starts with an 8 hour (Denali Express) train ride from Whittier to Denali, with a short stop at Anchorage. To reach Anchorage, the train has to going through the Anton Anderson Memorial Tunnel.
Trains and cars has to take turns to travel through the tunnel as it's a dual mode tunnel.
Last View of Cruise Ship
View of the cruise ship as the train heads into Anton Anderson Tunnel. It was our "home" for the past 7 days, and now a memory.
Whittier to Denali Scenery
View from the (Denali Express) train ride from Whittier to Denali - remains of "ghost forest" of trees that died after salt water inundated their root systems.
This area is a former settlement, Portage, which was destroyed in the 1964 Good Friday Earthquake when the ground in the area sank about six feet, putting most of it below sea level.
Whittier to Denali Scenery
View from the (Denali Express) train ride from Whittier to Denali.
Whittier to Denali Scenery
View from the (Denali Express) train ride from Whittier to Denali.
View from Hurricane Gulch Bridge
This view from the Hurricane Gulch bridge is part of the Whittier to Denali Scenery. The bridge, at mile 174.3, is only half the length of the Susitna Bridge, but it is a breathtaking 254 feet above the white water of Hurricane Creek.
According to some, the name 'Hurricane' came from the 90 mhp winds that blows through there occasionally.
Whittier to Denali Scenery
View from the (Denali Express) train ride from Whittier to Denali.
Moose
Just before we enter the Denali National Park, on the 8 hour Tundra Wilderness Tour (TWT) bus, we had our first animal sighting - the moose.
Teklanika River Bridge
Our first stop into the area was at the Teklanika Rest stop which overlook the Teklanika river.
Arctic Ground Squirrel
It was through the sharp eye of the driver, that the bus could stop and offer us to the opportunity to see the Arctic ground squirrel (all in the close up view from the camera). It is a squirrel species that is native to the Arctic.
White-tailed Ptarmigan
One of the birds we managed to see was this White-tailed Ptarmigan, aka Willow Grouse.
Polychrome Overlook with Dall Sheep (Panoramic)
As we headed further into the area, we came across some dall sheep resting on the edge of the road with the Polychrome Pass as its background.
Dall Sheep
A close up head shot of the dall sheep resting on the edge of the road.
Red Fox
As we headed inwards after Polychrome Pass, a red fox came running along the road and into the grass patch ahead of the bus.
Red Fox (Close Up)
This was taken with a teleconverter added to the 200mm lens as the distance was too far for a close up of the red fox with the normal lens length.
Polychrome Pass (Panoramic)
For this bus ride, the turn around point was at Stone Hill Overlook (Mile 62). The last stop was at the Polychrome Pass (Mile 46), before heading straight back to the Visitor Center. Unfortunately it was a cloudy day, so we could not catch a glimpse of Mt McKinley (aka Denali) from this vantage point.
Denali Lodge (View from Train)
View of the Denali Lodge - where we were staying - from the train, during the journey from Denali to Fairbanks.
Denali to Fairbanks Scenery
View from the train of a bridge, within minutes after leaving the station, during the journey from Denali to Fairbanks.
Denali to Fairbanks Scenery
During the train journey from Denali to Fiarbanks, there were trains heading the other direction.
Denali to Fairbanks Scenery
View from the train during the journey from Denali to Fairbanks.
Riverboat Discovery Cruise Scenery
First stop during the riverboat cruise was the bush pilot demonstration. Here, a bush pilot would takeoff and land right next to the boat, while sharing stories of village life and explain the vital role planes play in remote Alaska.
Riverboat Discovery Cruise Scenery
The bush pilot was demonstrating the landing of the plane on the river next to the riverboat.
Bald Eagle
One of the icons of the country - Bald Eagle, perched on the branch of a tree. This was taken during the Discovery Boat Cruise we took in the morning.
Riverboat Discovery Cruise Scenery
View from the riverboat during the three hour cruise along the Chena river. Here, the residents have three modes of transport - bush plane, car and boat. You will find all three in some of the compounds along the river!
Riverboat Discovery Cruise Scenery - Susan Butcher Kennels
During the cruise, the ship would stop at the Trailbreaker Kennels, which was the home and kennels of the late four-time Iditarod champion Susan Butcher. Here Dave Monson, Susan’s husband, or a senior handler at kennel will share stories of life on the trails as puppies play in anticipation of joining the team. They even have a dog mushing demonstration!
Riverboat Discovery Cruise Scenery
As part of the cruise itinerary, we were given a guided walking tour of an Athabascan Indian village. There you will find cabins made of spruce logs, a cache used for storing supplies, a primitive spruce bark hut and fur pelts. Guides are stationed around the village to give more information on the Athabascans life and how they adapted and survived for thousands of years.
Riverboat Discovery Cruise Scenery
The native guide at the Chena Indian Village explained how, in the old days, the Athabascans would clean and sun/air dry the fishes that were caught.
Caribou
One of the three domesticated caribou found in the Chena Indian Village.
Moose
You will find this moose in the Chena Indian Village, next to one of the cabins. This will be the closest anyone can get to a moose without any worry of being poked by their antlers.
Noticed any difference with the moose at Denali National Park?
Riverboat Discovery III
Riverboat Discovery III, a 900 passenger vessel, was used for the cruise tour. This was taken during the stop at Chena Indian Village.
El Dorado Gold Mine Tour
After lunch, the next stop was the (now defunct) El Dorado Gold Mine tour. Here we learned about the history of Alaska's gold mining with some staged sets, and got our hands-on experience of gold panning.
Forest Fire outside Fairbanks
As the bus pulls out of Fairbanks, other than the pipeline, we were greeted by the forest fire that was ragging for a few days. It was the same fire that we saw when we arrive in Fairbanks.
Scenery from Fairbanks to Coldfoot - Alaskan Oil Pipe
Just outside of Fairbanks you can see the Alaskan Oil pipe that stretches from Prudhoe Bay to Valdez. This pipeline will be the constant companion for our 2-day journey from Fairbanks to Prudhoe Bay.
General Store at Joy
First stop along the way is this general store at Joy. This is the last store we would see on this bus trip and the mosquitoes that we encounter are huge!!!
Dalton Route Details
Inside the General store we can find a hand drawn route of the Dalton Highway along with an interesting remark - "Not a single mosquito in Joy... only married with large families!".
Dalton Highway Sign
At start of the Dalton Highway is this signboard. I was told that it has recently been changed because there were just 2 stickers on the signboard. It seems that there is this trend of pasting stickers on the signboard so much so that it covers the signboard makes it difficult to see it.
Scenery from Fairbanks to Coldfoot
Part of the scenery while traveling from Fairbanks to ColdFoot. This section is around mile 110 near the other area which the IRT has given name to - beaver slide.
Scenery from Fairbanks to Coldfoot - Yukon River
At mile 55.6 we cross the Yukon River Bridge. We cross from the west side of the bridge to the east side of the bridge where there was a Yukon Crossing visitor station.
The dots in the picture are mosquitoes, not dust!
Dalton Highway Info
At the Visitor Centre, just after the Yukon bridge, at the Yukon Camp, you can find this information paste on the outside of the visitor centre.
Hot Spot Café
At mile 60, we stopped for lunch at Hot Spot Café, which sells trucker's burger - huge size burger that 3 of us could share 2 of these burgers.
Scenery from Fairbanks to Coldfoot - the "Rollar Coaster"
Anyone familiar with the TV reality show, Ice Road Truckers, would have heard of this section (mile 75.8) of the James Dalton Highway. It's a rather steep descending hill, with the same equal amount of steepness in the climb, which is similar to a roller coaster ride, thus it was given this name by the truckers.
Finger Rock (at Finger Mountain)
Finger Rock at Finger Mountain. Finger Mountain is not a mountain, more like a hill, but the name sticked as a topographical formation in that area.
Scenery from Coldfoot to Prudhoe Bay - Alaskan Oil Pipe
Another on the road and another reminder of the Alaskan oil pipes that lined the road as we head toward Prudhoe Bay.
Scenery from Coldfoot to Prudhoe Bay - Furthest North Spruce Tree
This was supposed to be the furthest north spruce tree in the area. However, it was killed by a vandal in 2004 at an estimate age of 273 years old.
Luckily, there were signs of new spruce trees growing just a little further west of this tree, thus making those young spruce trees, the furthest north spruce tree.
Scenery from Coldfoot to Prudhoe Bay - Atigun Pass Summit (Panoramic)
Atigun is the only pass in the Brooks Range that is crossed by a road, and is the highest maintained pass through out the year in Alaska. This is the highest point on Dalton Highway, and you are crossing the Continental Divide.
Scenery from Coldfoot to Prudhoe Bay - View after Atigun Pass Summit
View of the area as we head down from Atigun Pass summit, into the North Slope area.
Scenery from Coldfoot to Prudhoe Bay - Near Philip Smith Mountain (Panoramic)
A panoramic view of the area near Philip Smith Mountains. Taken during the lunch break, on the way to Prudhoe Bay.
Scenery from Coldfoot to Prudhoe Bay
A timely reminder that we are traveling on "haul road" - the road was built as a supply road and intended for large tractor-trailers.
Scenery from Coldfoot to Prudhoe Bay - Caribou crossing (near Franklin Bluffs)
As we were heading toward Prudhoe Bay with Franklin Bluffs on our right view, these two Caribou decided to cross the road in front of the bus. The bus stopped and the photographers started snapping away at the Caribou.
Scenery from Coldfoot to Prudhoe Bay - Franklin Bluffs
Franklin Bluffs is a mountain cliff, along the banks of the Sagavanirktok River, in North Slope County in the state of Alaska.
Prudhoe Bay
These pipelines can be seen all around Prudhoe Bay, and the content in the pipeline is why anyone would make this their work place.
Dipping the feet into the Arctic Ocean waters
The temperature that day in this area was -7 deg celcius (with wind chill factor included). Only the driver/security officer was willing to dip his feet into the water, none of us (the visitors) were willing to try.
According to him, the water is warmer than the air temperature.
Arctic Ocean (Panoramic)
A panoramic view of the Arctic Ocean along the Prudhoe Bay shores. Even as we are in the early summer period, this area is still frozen.
