I love rail travel. So I am looking forward to an all day adventure as we travel from Denali Station to Anchorage on the McKinley Explorer. It is a glass domed excursion train. The top level is full of comfy seats and a full service bar. The 360 degree views have us hopeful for wildlife sightings.

The lower level of the train is a full service dining car where we have a lunch of reindeer and chili. There is plenty of time to sip a specialty coffee and watch the world go by. It is so good, I am already planning to have another.

The scenery is magical, but the train is noisy, so wildlife sightings are rare. I did manage to spot a bear in the edge of a field, but he quickly made his escape as we sped past. More reliable are the water features. Rivers, lakes and waterfalls dot the landscape. There can never be too many waterfalls.

Towns are nonexistent for the first part of the trip. A 90 year old woman waves at the train as it passes. She lives out here alone. The train brings her supplies, and she is somewhat of a legend among the conductors. Her nearest neighbors are 100 miles away. People say I am self-sufficient and head strong, I will never be that level of tough.

The hours go by quickly as we swap stories and sample tasty treats. The journey is relaxing. I think about how our young conductor has already told us lots more information than we got from the Denali Park guide. He is bright, personable, and a wealth of information. Maybe more importantly, he clearly loves his job.

Sometime after our lovely reindeer lunch, the fatigue sets in. We were up very early. And as much as I don’t want to miss a single moment, the trees and rivers are all starting to look alike. Without towns to break up the trip, it is starting to get a little monotonous. Beautiful, but monotonous.

As we approach Talkeetna, we begin to see planes and other evidence of civilization. By Wasilla, there are shopping malls and gas stations. Now we pass farms and boat docks. There is significant suburban sprawl across this part of the last frontier.

By the time we get to Anchorage, I am more than ready to disembark. The train is a great way to see the country side, but there are no pit stops. And even though there is plenty of room, I was still confined to a small section of seating. I am more than ready to freely roam. The long journey has ended just in time for the rain to set in.