| It was nearly 30 below zero when our NASJA delegates boarded the train for our 11 hour trip through the Alaska wilderness. We traveled beneath towering mountains, above frozen rivers, beside caribou and moose, and through the mid-section of our 49th State. Stopping dozens of times along the route for photo ops and waits for wildlife to cross the tracks, we were graced with a clear cold day for excellent viewing inside the cozy rail coach. We passed within 45 miles of 20000 foot Mt. McKinley, the highest Peak in the US, but the only clouds we saw all day were those that obscured sight of this Alaskan natural wonder. Our host on the trip was Harry Ross who has a 44 year history as an Alaska Railroad Conductor, and the subject of a documentary produced by PBS which aired on KQED. Harry is also a jazz and blues singer, and we'll present his rendition of "Misty" in a future post. Along the way, we passed Wasilla, Alaska...home of Sarah Palin and the headquarters of the Iditarod Dog Sled Race. Ms. Palin was not at home. We saw her the previous night in Fairbanks to greet husband Todd who finished 2nd in Iron Dog Snowmachine Championship which concluded in front of our hotel. About a dozen active journalists of the North American Snowsports Journalist Association will be producing stories on that race, the World Championship of Ice Sculpting, a visit to the University of Alaska Museum and the Alaska Pipeline from our brief stay in Fairbanks. Now in Anchorage, another couple ... |
