Seeing a bear
I happened to be down on the open air platform when I heard the shout of “bear” and could hear the shouted directions that he was at 9 o’clock. Sure enough the bear was climbing out of the river and going back into the forest.
The train stopped briefly after we had passed the bear leaving the river. The conductor decided to try his hand in the undergrowth at the side of the track.
On the train a unique gin was available exclusively from Princess Cruises and we had a special G&T to celebrate seeing the bear.
Jeanette, our bar Steward, divided her time between Hawaii and Alaska. She gave us a description of catching salmon and told us about the five types of salmon that w are in Alaska. Trout were also one of her favourites to catch. They follow the spawning salmon to gorge themselves on the roe. The rivers turn orange with the roe when the salmon are laying. Fishing for salmon is done by using a line rather than a hook as the salmon were no longer interested in eating.
We learnt that the Denali Princess Wilderness Lodge was the largest hotel in Alaska. It had 632 rooms spread across its many buildings. Next door was the sister hotel for Holland America passengers. We had been recommended to walk there to sit in its square or to try one of their restaurants.