Alaska - Day 4

Tuesday, August 19, 2008:

We woke up at about 5 am this morning, as we had to have our luggage ready to go outside our door by 6 am. We went downstairs to eat, went back to the room to find our luggage already on its way, checked out, and boarded the bus that was to take us to the train to Denali. Everything was going smoothly until we ran into our bus mates. They had to be some of the most selfish people I've ever seen. We were supposed to leave our hotel by 7:15, but at that time, only three people were on the bus: me, Dad, and some random guy. The other people all came strolling out with their luggage bitching about the fact that they had to carry it. Well folks, if you would have read the simple instructions, your bags would have been on the truck! Then, they had the nerve to tell the bus driver that they were going to go eat breakfast! I have no idea why she didn't put her foot down at that point, but these people were total jackasses. Lest you think it was just me thinking this, Dad was also shocked by their behavior. Finally, after they stuffed their faces, they lumbered on board and we got on our way.

Two of the people were especially obnoxious, and Dad and I kept hoping they wouldn't be on our train car. They spoke loudly about inappropriate things, belched, bitched, complained, and asked questions incessantly. They didn't just ask the tour guide - they asked everyone. So, we get on our train car, and somehow out of 1500 people, they sit RIGHT BEHIND US. At this point, we were quite worried about the upcoming 8 hours. So much so that we actually both ordered a bloody mary. As most people know, I rarely drink, and Dad doesn't drink much either, but these guys were THAT bad.

They complained about the size of the seats, the lack of room for all their crap (they stowed stuff under several people's seats), the length of the journey, etc. The one guy was an absolute baby, whining about how he should never have come on the train, he didn't know how he was going to make it, etc. The other guy, the really crazy one, kept talking to everyone around him, asking them questions over and over, driving everyone around us nuts. Everyone was sort of smirking about it, but honestly, he was horribly annoying. He kept shouting questions at the poor guide in the front, and she couldn't hear him. That didn't stop him though, and he just kept repeating them over and over. Dad and I and others would finally answer him, and then before we could finish, he would ask more questions. He asked all the staff numerous times what the sandwich of the day was and how much it cost. When our drinks arrived, he kept saying, what are those, what are those. We answered, and he said how much did they cost. He was obsessed with food and prices. Non stop questions about that stuff. Also, he would randomly start filming things with his camcorder, and while he did so, he would narrate things super loudly. And often incorrectly. Oh, and he would tell everyone around him, including me, to duck down so he could take pictures. WTF dude - we are all going past the same scenery, and you will have the same view in 10 seconds. Patience. He also kept yelling, "is that McKinley? Is it? Do you know if it is? I can't see it. Which one is it? Is that McKinley?" On and on, over and over. Most of us kept saying, we are not sure - it's definitely one of the taller mountains, but we aren't positive. He just kept on asking, like we were the tour guides. The ultimate - he kept talking about how soon, the US would need to make a choice: war or live in Alaska, and also something about the Iranians wanting to send 1,000s of people to live in AK. He kept telling this to the guy across the aisle, and when that guy wouldn't answer, he would say, "did you hear me, or are you listening?" Finally, the poor guy said, "I don't know what you are talking about." This didn't really stop the man, and he kept muttering on. That's probably only half of the stuff he did - it was a nonstop barrage of oddness when he was around.

Now, at one point, it crossed my mind that he might be mentally handicapped, and then I felt bad for a brief second for not being more patient and kind, but I don't think he was. Instead, I think he has some sort of mental illness...I wish Sarah had been there to diagnose him. If he didn't have a mental illness, then he's just a seriously selfish, fucked up guy. He was seriously crazy, and everyone on the train seemed to experience him the same way. When I really sit here and think about it, I realize it was quite sad - if he has any clue, his life must suck. I can have some compassion for that - definitely sad. Annoying, but sad. His friend, the less talkative one, was actually worse in some ways though, as he was honestly the most negative person I've ever heard. And, he kept belching loudly behind me. Yuck!

Thankfully, the two of them spent most of the day in the dining car, which provided a great amount of relief to everyone around us. The train ride was much better without them near us. As it was, I had to use my iPod for part of the trip, and who knows if the battery would have lasted the full 8 hours! ;)

A bit about the train: It was called the McKinley Explorer, and it was huge. I think it was carrying about 1,500 people, which is probably half the size of a cruise ship. We sat in spacious, comfortable seats in the upper part of the car, and we went downstairs to eat and use the restrooms. We had a car manager, who acted as a tour guide, and a bartender, who served us beverages. He was the slowest, most forgetful bartender ever - we had to order diet cokes 4 times, and after waiting an hour, we had to ask the car manager for them - but at least we had beverages. We could eat both breakfast and lunch in the car, but since we had hotel breakfast, we just ate lunch. It was expensive, but pretty decent. The ride lasted an hour, and traversed some wonderfully beautiful scenery. Many of the pictures you will see have some glare or water spots - this is because I had to take the pics through the glass window.

Overall, the train was an interesting experience, and not one I'm sure I would repeat. First of all, most of the passengers were basically senior citizens. Both Dad and I are too young for that sort of trip. Further, it was a really LONG time to ride a train. I could have been in London from Mpls in that amount of time. Also, we couldn't just stop when we wanted to take pictures, and the glass caused glare. If we had driven, we could have taken some AMAZING shots of Mt. McKinley (aka Denali - which is the native word for the mountain). Instead, we sort of had to fight our way into window spots (we were on the wrong side of the train for that), and even then, our pics weren't great. It's hard to navigate people, train windows/bars, trees, and glass - all while moving no less. I would have liked the freedom to stop when I wanted, and I would have loved to not been around those people. Basically, I don't think that kind of organized, tour travel is for me, not even a little bit. Maybe when I'm 75, but not now for sure!

Positive things about the train: seats were comfortable, we didn't have to worry about driving, we could have bloody marys, we could zone out a bit, and our lunch mates. We wound up having lunch with a young lesbian couple, one of whom was a law student. What are the odds?! We danced around the gay subject, but I guessed they were gay right away, and after we exchanged many hints back and forth, it came out that they were on my team. Great women - smart, funny, and easy to talk to. That made lunch fun. Also, some of the scenery, including the Alaska Range and Denali itself, was absolutely stunning. For those that don't know, only 30% of all visitors to Denali actually see the mountain. Typically, the weather is bad, and the peaks are covered in clouds or fog. So, we were extremely lucky to see not only Denali, but the entire Alaska range. It was one of the most amazing things I've ever seen, and I feel so lucky we had a clear day! I wish my pictures could capture how majestic it is, but they just can't.

The other scenery was great too - more mountains, streams, forests, marshes, rivers, gulches, you name it. The train went over very high bridges and around mountain corners. All pretty neat. And as we approached Denali National Park, we kept climbing higher and the scenery became more and more beautiful.

Finally, we arrived at the Depot, and then it was sort of an organized chaos. All 1500 of us got off the train, and we all went to our respective buses which brought us to our hotels. We are staying at the McKinley Chalet Resort. Our itinerary classifies the accommodations as deluxe...my first thought upon seeing the room was, "what a crap hole!" The room is tiny, rustic, and has fricking horrifically old and ugly bedding. The walls are crazy thin, have some sort of crappy wallpaper, and are just plain old ugly. I could hear the wind rattling through our room, but it was hot in there. I opened the window, and there was no screen. Also, our heaters are wall units - we have to turn them on by hand. Basically, it's just a crappy northern MN cabin! Of course, there is no WiFi in the room - it's only in the lobby or the nice Chalet Lodge that we didn't get to stay in. This is what I get for letting someone else (a travel agent) make our accommodation plans. Saving grace for the room - it overlooks a beautiful river and some mountains. We can actually hear the river, and I saw some rafters heading down it. Great view to say the least.

Also, the whole place sort of has a carnival, touristy hellhole vibe to it. From my seat, I can see about 1 million gift shops across the street, and there isn't much around besides that. We aren't even in the park! We have to take a hotel shuttle that only comes every half hour, and that takes us to the park to catch the actual park shuttles. None of this was made clear to us, and we had to ask about everything. Oh, our luggage wasn't there when we arrived either, and every time you call the desk to ask about anything, you get put on hold for a LONG time. Dad was on hold for 10 minutes before he could even ask about our luggage. I wonder if this is what cruises are like - everyone being dropped off in some little craphole together, overrunning the place, and enjoying lackluster accommodations. If so, I have no interest in taking one. This sort of travel is just not for me - I'm not a sheep. I don't need to be herded around like this, and I want some independence (and a nice room).

Oh, the Holland America tour operators, or at least the guy we got, were not helpful either. He spelled our name wrong and refused to correct it, he didn't know anything about any of the tours we wanted, and he refused to find the information. Also, most of the things we wanted to do were booked. Our travel agent screwed up there - she should have told us we needed to book things in advance. Oh well.

As I write this, I realize I probably come off like a total complainer and perhaps a spoiled brat. "Suck it up, Lisa - the room can't be that bad, and you are in AK for God's sake." Right? Even I feel that a tiny bit. However, we spent a LOT of money on this trip and were promised certain things...those things are not being delivered, and it's disappointing. If I hadn't expected something grand, I wouldn't mind the place. It's just the overpromise/underdeliver phenomenon at work. Also, the poor customer service seems to continue here in AK (with the exception of a few folks), and that exacerbates the problem as well. Basically, I know I'm blessed to be on this trip, and I know I'm seeing and experiencing absolutely fantastic things...I just wish promises were being kept. I also wish we weren't doing all this organized stuff. We are too young for that!

Anyway, I clearly got off track above. After we found our room and figured out how to get to the park, we went over to the visitors' center and the wilderness access center and purchased our shuttle bus tickets for tomorrow. Single passenger vehicles can only drive 15 miles into the park, but the park road is approximately 90+ miles. So, if you want to see more of the park, you have to take one of the shuttle buses or a tour bus. The tour we wanted was sold out, but we bought tickets for an 8 hour shuttle ride that will take us pretty far into the park. We can get on and off and check out the sights, and it was really reasonably priced. In fact, we left feeling like it was probably a better deal than the tour we wanted in the first place. I'm looking forward to touring tomorrow, as I imagine it will be beautiful. It's a very different system than Yellowstone or any other national park I've visited, but I think it will work out well. I'm also looking forward to escaping this weird mini-cruise ship/train town. I came to AK for wilderness, not a tourist zoo! :)

Oh, to protect the wildlife in the park, they don't sell any food along the way. Thus, we have to buy bag lunches in the morning and bring them and water for all 8 hours. I imagine I will be thirsty when we are done, as that's a long time. We'll see. I like the idea of keeping the animals wild though - it saves their lives. I can suck it up and either carry extra water or go a bit thirsty. Small price to pay.

Speaking of food, it's VERY expensive here. Dad and I had dinner in one of the restaurants, and it was $50. Breakfast is similarly expensive, and the box lunches aren't cheap either. At that rate, we will blow through all of our money. It's nuts! Typically, prices increase as you travel northward, and from what I've read, the prices in Barrow will be absolutely nuts. I think gas is already $6 a gallon here. I've heard it's $10 in Barrow! Good thing we won't be driving!

Okay, it's getting late here, and I should walk back to my room before it gets dark. It's 10:20 pm and it's still quite light here - again, it's because we are farther north. The sun will barely set in Barrow. Should be neat. Weather was fantastic today - sunny, bright blue skies and nice and cool. Perfect. Like I said, we were super lucky - we are now members of the 30% club because of it!

Hope everyone is well, and I hope to bring you less complaint filled posts in the near future. I think travel weariness may have set in now, and that always makes everything worse and more dramatic. Thanks for letting me blow off that steam!

PS: Dad likes our hotel room just fine - he thinks the place is great actually. Either I am really crabby and just can't see that the place is okay, or I've become really spoiled by fantastic places. Or, I'm just disappointed from having higher expectations. I like the latter choice the best. ;)

PPS: I highly encourage anyone to come to AK - fantastically beautiful. It is just awe inspiring every day. My words or pictures can't capture it, and there's just so much of it. Breathtaking and overwhelming. Something for everyone, and the beauty seems endless. Come here if you can!