Through Alaska by Bus, Train and Plane : Luxury in Training

It used to be, in the days before mass air travel, that “getting there was half the fun.” A ride on North America’s northernmost railroad brings those days back . . . and then some.

It’s a journey through one of the most remote and scenic vistas in the world, a panorama that will leave your nose flattened from peering out the window.

But it’s not just the spectacular scenery outside. Hitched onto the bright yellow-and-blue Alaska Railroad cars are modern two-level dining and observation cars owned by private tour companies--the Midnight Sun Express operated by Princess Tours and the McKinley Explorer belonging to Westours/Gray Line.

These luxurious coaches are ideal for railroad buffs who reminisce about storied journeys on such trains as the Orient Express.

I made the 356-mile trip from Anchorage to Fairbanks, with a stopover at Denali National Park, as part of a press tour last summer. I rode in the last car of the Midnight Sun Express, which features an open-air observation platform like those of presidential campaign cars of the ‘30s and ‘40s, a perfect vantage point from which to catch all of the great outdoors on film.

The dome cars’ upper levels, with unobstructed viewing, provide comfortable seating arrangements for four people at each of four tables. The cars also have bars and uniformed bartenders who occasionally announce scenic attractions.

Dining salons with big windows seat 38 for breakfast, brunch, lunch and dinner on the lower levels. The menu features seasonal fruits, entrees cooked to order (prime rib, fresh Alaskan seafood) and absolutely decadent desserts (the specialty being a Grand Marnier silk pie).

A guide keeps passengers posted on the flora, fauna and sightseeing along the way.

Most passengers among our group seemed content just watching the wide-open Alaskan countryside flash past the train windows in rapid sequence, scenes so perfect that you think you’re watching a travel agent’s slide show.

This state has become almost a cliche for picturesque phrases: “timeless beauty,” “breathtaking scenery,” “spectacular wildlife,” “virgin wilderness” and “the last frontier.”

It’s all true. And there is no better place to witness it than Denali National Park. Just 250 miles south of the Arctic Circle, the park lies between Alaska’s two largest cities--122 miles south of Fairbanks, 234 miles north of Anchorage.

One of Alaska’s most popular tourist attractions, Denali is the largest protected ecosystem in the world, 6 million acres, larger than the state of Massachusetts. It remains mostly wild and unspoiled, home to about 200 species of birds and mammals.

I can’t think of a better way to get to Denali--if you want to see some magnificent Alaskan countryside, that is--than by taking the state-owned Alaska Railroad from either of those cities.

It takes about eight hours to reach Denali from Anchorage. Most passengers stop off at Denali, then reboard the train to continue their journey. I spent two days there, and could easily have spent two more.

The park enforces stringent restrictions to protect the wilderness and its wildlife. A limited number of permits are available for back-country campers. Private cars are banned from most of the roads, unless you happen to be staying at an authorized campsite.

Visitors get around on shuttle buses driven by park naturalists or by signing up with a commercial tour. Other activities include guided nature walks, horseback riding, trail biking and rafting on the Nenana River.

There are also helicopter or fixed-wing “flightseeing” excursions for an exhilaratingly close look at Alaska’s wilderness.

On our first day at the park, we saw moose, Dall sheep, caribou and grizzly bears with cubs. At one point our wildlife tour bus pulled to the side of the road for 10 minutes to watch two hoary marmots engage in a playful tussle.

We saw a golden eagle soaring along a barren ridge top. He turned in mid-flight, looked back at us and flew off.

We stopped at Stony Overlook for coffee and hot chocolate and, we hoped, a view of Mt. McKinley (it’s obscured by clouds about 70% of the time during the summer).

As if on cue, North America’s highest mountain (20,320 feet) put on a spectacular show as it slipped from behind a swirling cloud cover like some exotic veiled dancer.

We ate box lunches on the bus while driving back to park headquarters that afternoon. It was a boisterous group, reviewing the events of the morning.

Part of the group was obviously from Texas. They had been serenading us on and off all day with songs such as “The Yellow Rose of Texas” and “The Eyes of Texas Are Upon You.”

Suddenly, they broke into “America the Beautiful.” When they got to “America, America, God shed her grace on thee. . .” , everyone stopped talking and began looking out of the windows again.

A strange hush fell over the bus. It was as if we were rolling along the highway in a cathedral, reveling in one of God’s greatest creations.

Too soon, it seemed, it was time to get back on the train for the four-hour trip from Denali to Fairbanks.

The entire rail journey rolls through a green-on-green valley ringed by snowcapped mountains. The train passes through Alaska’s breadbasket, the Matanuska Valley (where a record cabbage weighed in at 86 pounds), and by hillsides covered with purple-blue lupine and fields of brilliant yellow dandelions blanketing the yards of old farmhouses.

A few miles north of Denali, the rails cross above Hurricane Gulch, where you can look 296 feet down to a pretty creek and see white-water kayakers bobbing on rivers in narrow canyons, and the sparkling cascades and waterfalls of Nenana Canyon.

The sights never end. Stands of alder, birch and fragrant cottonwoods march on to infinity. Spindly, stunted black spruce dot the deep interior.