Pre-Cruise Tour - Fairbanks, Denali, Talkeetna

We spent two nights at the Wedgewood Resort which was lovely - the suite was huge, set on a large resort which also housed a Vintage Car and Vintage Clothing Museum. As part of the Royal Carribean Cruisetour we had a tour of Fairbanks Town (which we already knew quite well by now), the University of the North, the Alaska Pipeline and panning for gold at Gold Dredge No 8. Trev and I managed to find $27 worth of gold between us, and Ruhani and Gary ended up with around $36. I had the gold set into a little necklace which actually looks quite good.

Next up, all aboard the Wilderness Expess Dome Train to Denali National Park. This train journey is definitely a pleasant way to travel. Luxury leather seats, plenty of leg room, clear-domed carriages so you get a good view of the surroundings, and first-class food in the dining car below. I loved it. After several hours of travelling through mountainous, changing scenery, we arrived at Denali - we stayed in the Grand Denali Lodge, perched high on the mountain overlooking the town. The room was very good, with excellent views.

Next morning we boarded a coach to take us into Denali National Park, hopefully to spot some wildlife and enjoy the scenery. Well, we were very lucky. We saw Bald Eagles, Caribou (Reindeer), a porcupine, a couple of tiny ground squirrels, two separate sightings of grizzly bears, and finished with a sighting of mother grizzly and two cubs playing in the water. Other tours were not so lucky with their sightings.

Next morning, it was back on board the Wilderness Express to take us to Talkeetna, the town where the TV Series "Northern Exposure" was partially filmed. Talkeetna Wilderness Lodge was beautiful, with views (on a clear day) of Mt McKinley (Denali), the highest mountain in Alaska. Unfortunately, we didn't get one of those magical clear days, so we are yet to actually see Mt McKinley. But we watched the sunset, around 11.30pm from the balcony, and that was good.

Breakfast next day was at an interesting and very popular place called the Salmon Bake - not one of the walls or floors was straight, and you felt like you were drunk without having a drink! And of course, the meals were huuuuge! They don't know how to have a small meal here in Alaska. I had a breakfast burrito, and Trev had a standard breakfast and they really should have seen us through till dinner time. But, of course, they didn't. After breakfast, it was back on a coach to take us through to Anchorage.