My travelogue to the Last Frontier, Alaska

English short version

[Map of Alaska]
Places shown in the black figures and red figures are where I visited on '96 Sept. 1 - 6 , and '97 Mar. 7 -14 , respectively.

The following pages have the detail travelogues.
Related page

Travelogues on '96 Sept. 1 - 6

Anchorage -> Denali Park (Alaska Railroad) (Sept. 2)

(Details in Japanese)
The train ran slowly and I enjoyed the autumn scenery from the dome car.
To my very lucky, Mt. McKinley could be seen even from Anchorage since it was very fine. There were several fine spots to see the mountain around Talkeetna.
The pretty stream of the Susitna River, the breath-taking scene of Hurricane Gulch were most impressive.
I could find lairs of beaver, flower of fireweed, however could not meet animals such as bear or moose.

Denali National Park (Sept. 3).

I approached Mt. McKinley through the Denali National Park meeting animals such as moose, grizzly bears, dall sheep, etc. The fine weather allowed me to see the full shape of Mt. McKinley from Stony Hill as shown above.

Anchorage - Valdez (Sept. 4)

(Details in Japanese)
Bus trip through Glenn HWY and Richardson HWY by 9 hrs seeing the Matanuska Glacier, Mt. Wrangell, the Worthington Glacier, Thompson Pass, etc.

Columbia Glacier (Valdez - Whitter) (Sept. 5)

(Details in Japanese)
Cruising the fjords and passageways of Prince William sound from Valdez to Whittier. I enjoyed the Columbia Glacier, which is one of the biggest glacier in the world, and met sea otters, sea lions, etc.

Whittier - Anchorage (Sept. 5)

(Details in Japanese)
The train loaded my motorcoach crossed a 13,090 ft. long tunnel under the Chugach montains. Since a new tunnel through the mountains will open in June, '00, the transport of cars by train will disappear.

Barrow (The most northern settlement in Alaska) (Sept. 6)

I reached to the Point Barrow, the northernmost point of the United States, with only a T-shirt :-). I enjoyed the native dance (blanket toss) in the community. Some troubles visited me; my motorcoach went wrong in the tundra, the airplane was cancelled ...

Troubles at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (Sept. 7 - 8)

(Details in Japanese)
The engine trouble of the airplane delayed the departure by 18 hrs and forced me to stay at a hotel.

Travelogues on '97 Mar. 7 - 14

Alaska railroad (Anchorage - Fairbanks) (Mar. 8)

(Details in Japanese)
The scene in winter was very different from that in summer. Snow covered all the ground.
Many passengers got off the train by "flag stop". A snowmobile ran after the train for a long time.
Students exercised the guide of the scene along the railroad from Denali Park to Fairbanks. They kindly explained the power plant by coal, Clear missile early warning station, and northern light.
Dall sheep looked for their foods at a steep cliff around Moody.
Mears Memorial Bridge across the Tanana river at Nenana was impressive.

Northern light at Fairbanks (Mar. 8 - 9)

(Details in Japanese)
My first northern light was a small one at Skiland, a ski lodge nearby Fairbanks.

Chena Hot Springs 1st night (Mar. 9 - 10)

[northern light on 1st night]
(Details in Japanese)
Relatively big rays were appeared just before I would return to my lodge because of a bitter coldness.

Chena Hot Springs 2nd night (Mar. 10 - 11)

[The Hale-Bopp and the cabin at the summit]
(Details in Japanese)
I went to the summit by a snow-cat vehicle, however, could only watch a small northern light. The Hale-Bopp commet could be seen clearly.

Chena Hot Springs 3rd night (Mar. 11 - 12)

[Northern light and the Hale-Bopp][Northern light at 03:00]
(Details in Japanese)
The corona, a large scale of the northern light, could be seen directly overhead !, however, the I used up my film before it appeard.

Review of places to watch the northern light

More detail description
(Details in Japanese)
(Details in Japanese)

Digression

Valuable pages about Alaska

Many Japanese enjoyed Alaska

(Most of the following pages are written in Japanese.)

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Most Recent Update : Apr. 8, 2001