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| From the Dome Car on the Alaska Rail Road |
We finished our Monday in Seward with a new experience. Our hotel, the Alyeska Resort, is located in Girdwood which is about half way between Seward and Anchorage. There were several options available to get us the approximately 75 miles to Girdwood. We chose to take the Alaska Railroad Coastal Explorer. This passenger train runs daily between Anchorage and Seward in the morning and returning to Anchorage in the evening. It took close to three hours to cover the distance. What the train lacked in speed it made up for in scenery. The route passed along the shores of several pristine lakes that were so still the surrounding mountains reflected on the surface of the water. There were also glaciers, glacier rivers, dense green forests, eagles, trumpeter swans, a brief glimpse of a moose and salmon spawning in the streams. The railroad plays a key role in moving both people and goods around Alaska. It was our first experience on the train and we're already looking forward to our return trip on it in a few weeks when we take it from Anchorage back to Seward.
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| A Glacial Lake along the route |
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| Chugging through the forest |
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| This looked like the perfect place to spot a moose. Somebody forgot to tell the moose. At least there was a glacier in the background to enjoy. |
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| It had been kind of a rainy day but it ended on a high note. |
The Alyeska Resort is actually a ski resort, the only one in Alaska. Suprisingly the ski season doesn't start here until around November but once it does they can get up to 1,000 inches of snow annually. We're catching it at a good time of year. The summer season is rapidly coming to a close and the ski season is still a few months away. The rates are much lower at this time of year and thanks to Hotwire we were able to secure a significantly discounted rate off the already discounted rate. There are numerous services out there like Hotwire, Expedia and Trivago to name a couple. We will check multiple sites but have generally had the most success on Hotwire. Even though the name of the hotel isn't revealed until you pay it's pretty easy to figure out when you use the various filters such as location, trip advisor rating and amenities. Beth is a master at this game. She gets us great rates at nice hotels with no unwanted suprises.
Today was a sunny day with temperatures reaching into the lower 60's. Perfect weather to explore one of the many trails near the hotel. During our pre-hike hot tub session we met a super nice local couple. They live in Girdwood and have a membership to the hotels fitness center, pool and mountain tram. They shared with us some tips on the best local restaurants, which we are looking forward to trying over the next few days, as well as some hiking recommendations. After hearing all the choices we chose the Winner Creek Trail. There were a couple of things about it that made the choice rather easy. It was fairly flat, there seemed to be some points of interest along the way, the trail was popular so the chance of running into a bear was low and there were wild blueberries growing along the trail.
Although it was a little muddy in a few places due to the recent rains it was a great recommendation. The scenery through the forest and along the creek was amazing. There was a bridge that is used primarily in the winter to move snow equipment that made for a perfect picnic spot. The most interesting feature was a hand tram where you get in a small basket and pull yourself across a gorge that looked to be about 50 yards wide and 30 yards deep. Thankfully there were a few other hikers at the hand tram at the same time we were there so we all helped pull each other across.
The promise of blueberries along the trail was also true. While most of the ones you could reach from the trail had been picked, a short diversion of ten yards or less off the trail and you were surrounded by blueberries. We picked 2-3 pints in no time at all which we enjoyed with our picnic (it was the first time we had ever had peanut butter and blueberry sandwiches...…..not bad) as well as for a post hike treat. We have plenty left over for breakfast in the morning.
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| Now that the salmon are running the bears have switched their main food source to fish...…….and hikers who take their blueberries |
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| The bag could have been filled up quicker if I hadn't have been eating while picking |
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| Winner Creek |
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| Peanut Butter and Blueberry Sandwich on the Snow Cat Bridge |
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| Winner Creek |
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| Along the Winner Creek Trail |
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| The Winner Creek Gorge Hand Tram. It was a pretty good upper body workout! |
We finished off the day doing something pretty unusual for us, eating at a high tone restaurant. The Seven Glaciers Restaurant is located at the top of the ski area. You can get there one of two ways, a long uphill hike or by the Alyeska Tram. As much as we enjoy hiking, we prefer our hikes to be on relatively flat ground, so like everyone except for a few extreme hikers we took the tram to the top. The best deal on the tram tickets was a "ride and dine" package so that's what we chose. Very nice food served with a little different atmosphere than our normal "cheap eats" places. Beth even ate her first raw oyster. Actually she claimed that she ate two oysters at once...…….her first and last!
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| Passing the other tram car on our way up. Thankfully this wasn't a "hand tram" |
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| Upper Tram Station with a few of the Seven Glaciers in the background |
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| View from the top with Girdwood Valley at the base |
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| Even on a day without much wind it was windy at the top! |
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| Alyeska Resort is on the left side |
