Sunday morning we returned the rental car to the Anchorage airport and met up with representatives of Holland America for our week long cruise from Alaska to Vancouver, British Columbia. But first we had to take a bus from the airport to the train station. Along the way we passed the Alaska Statehood Monument which marks President Eisenhower’s signing of Alaska as the 49th state on January 3, 1959. 

From the train station we took a train to Seward to board our cruise ship, the Noordam. 

This blog will describe our five hour train ride through the beautiful Alaska countryside and Chugach National Forest. We had driven from Anchorage to Seward by car our first day in Alaska a week earlier see Seward, Alaska June 17, 2018. But seeing it by train felt entirely different, and much more relaxing than driving. Even better, Bill’s college friend Peter and his wife Beth had flown in from Florida to join us for the cruise. The train was comfortable with a table where the four of us could sit together and chat. 

I will let pictures describe the train ride. Some of these pictures are courtesy of Beth. Many thanks Beth for sharing your pictures and allowing us to use them in the blog! 

An Icefield or Glacier

The Glaciers are Getting Closer

The Eagle’s Nest

A Zoomed View of a Pretty Glacier

The Train Followed This River

Another Pretty Glacier

The Train Went Through Several Tunnels and Here we Circled Back Over Our Own Tracks

This is a Pedestrian Bridge Built For Hikers to Go To The Glacier

Our Train Comes Into View on the Many Curves

This Is a School For Training Pilots to Land on Water

About 5:30 pm we arrived in Seward and boarded the ship for this second half of our exciting Alaska adventure. 

Panoramic View of Seward Waterfront and Mountain Range

Our First Glacier We See As We Sail South