In Search of the Northern Lights

Alaska Railroad

1.7.23 - 1.7.23 0 °F

Today we got up early and boarded the Alaska Railroad at 8:10am for the 353 mile, 11.5 hour ride to Fairbanks. This trip has been on my list for some time - to see Alaska interior by train in the winter. I have done the summer trip several times. The weather was spectacular and we watched Mt. Denali in all it's greatness for several hours with not a cloud in sight.

Denali, also known as Mount McKinley, its former official name) is the highest mountain peak in North America, with a summit elevation of 20,310 feet (6,190 m) above sea level. With a topographic prominence of 20,194 feet (6,155 m) and a topographic isolation of 4,621.1 miles (7,436.9 km), Denali is the third most prominent and third most isolated peak on Earth, after Mount Everest and Aconcagua. Located in the Alaska Range in the interior of the U.S. state of Alaska, Denali is the centerpiece of Denali National Park and Preserve.

The Koyukon people who inhabit the area around the mountain have referred to the peak as "Denali" for centuries. In 1896, a gold prospector named it "Mount McKinley" in support of then-presidential candidate William McKinley; that name was the official name recognized by the federal government of the United States from 1917 until 2015. In August 2015, 40 years after Alaska had done so, the United States Department of the Interior announced the change of the official name of the mountain to Denali.