February 20, 2022

So where was I…Oh yes, I remember. Dave and I had just disembarked after a breathtaking 12-hour train ride traveling north from Anchorage to Fairbanks. And while we thought our adventure was over for the evening, apparently it was not.

After leaving the train station, we hailed an Uber™, climbing into the backseat of a gruff stranger’s pickup truck. A short, silent, and awkward ride later, we arrived at Fairbanks International Airport where our rental car was supposedly waiting for us. As the truck came to a rolling stop, our driver all but opened the door, booting us out with a less than friendly, “Good luck.”

Now let me set the stage. By this time, it’s roughly 11p.m. and a “chilly” -26ºF outside. Now I’m no stranger to winter, but because we had been sitting on a cozy train all day, I was not exactly dressed weather-appropriate. A coat, gloves, and hat are great at keeping the upper half of you toasty, but leggings and tennis shoes don’t quite get the job done when it’s bone-rattling frigid outside. So while I was standing in the mostly empty parking lot guarding our luggage, Dave began searching for the rental car. Because of the time of night, the rental agency was closed and the directions emailed to us earlier on the Jeep’s exact location were vague, at best. Meanwhile, I kept seeing taxis, etc. pull in and drop off their passengers, making sure their patrons found the correct car and it started/warmed up before driving away. Clearly we had drawn the short straw with our driver!

By this time, the loss of sensation had settled into my toes and was slowly creeping half way up my knees. As what I can only imagine frostbite sprinkled with a bit of hypothermia feels like, eventually I was numb from the waist down. As I began thinking I was going to succumb to the elements (or have to walk into the warm airport lobby), my hero of a husband located our rental. Cranking the heater on full blast, I had mostly regained feeling back into my lower half by the time we arrived at our vacation rental home. So far this anniversary trip was not turning out to be the relaxing escape I had envisioned.

K2 Aviation-Talkeetna

Way too early the next morning, we dragged ourselves out from underneath the snug down-filled comforter and back into the unsympathizing, teeth-chattering cold. Why?, because adventure waits for no one and neither do planes! Our agenda for the day included a scenic flight over the Alaska Mountain Range, a 5-hour drive south, to the quaint little town of Talkeetna. Turning onto Route 3, a 323-mile stretch of highway connecting Anchorage to Fairbanks, we set our course for K2 Aviation, a flightseeing concessionaire and our tour guides for the afternoon.

Traveling parallel to the railroad, we watched as the sun gracefully ascended overhead, causing the icy roads stretching before us to sparkle like crystal chandeliers. Braided rivers and glacier-garbed mountains left us thinking we’d found the ultimate dramatic landscape, right up until we approached the next bend in the road. Distracted by the beauty of America’s Icebox, (one of Alaska’s many nicknames) we soon found ourselves pulling into the parking lot of a two-story lodge with a few small planes poking their noses out from behind.

Greeted by friendly staff, we checked in, signed our waivers, and headed out to meet our pilot. We had booked the Denali Flyer, which is the route highlighted in yellow. As you can tell, this is an outdated photo, since Mt. McKinley was restored to the name Denali, which means “The Great One” in Koyukon (a traditional Native Alaskan language), back in 2015.

With the paperwork complete, ourselves and the other passengers were led outside for formal introductions to a 1958 de Havilland Turbine Otter, considered the quintessential “bush plane.” Now I’m not gonna lie, for a moment I was a little concerned about putting my life in the hands of a 64-year old plane. However, this aircraft was in pristine condition and had clearly been meticulously maintained, right down to its gleaming fire-engine red paint.

After a quick photo-op and safety briefing, we climbed into the 10-seater Otter and prepared for takeoff. Also, not gonna lie here either. I was a little nervous, having never flown in anything other than a monstrous jet airliner, that our flight would be by definition from Merriam-Webster…”har·​row·​ing, adj. : acutely distressing or painful.”

Sitting at the yoke (steering wheel) of the plane, the pilot began flipping switches and pushing buttons. The turboprop engine came alive; the propeller whirled. With a gentle whoosh we were down the runway and into the air. I hadn’t expected such a short, smooth transition. There was no getting slammed into the back of the seat as the thrust of a jet engine forces your organs into your backbone. Instead, it was how I would imagine riding the back of a kite climbing into the air would feel.

For the next hour, we flew high above The Last Frontier, The North Star State, Uncle Sam’s Attic, and my personal favorite, The Great Alone. Stretching as far as the eye could see was vast wilderness, snow encrusted pines, and mountains gracing the horizon. Cabins with smoke dancing from the chimneys and moose meandering near icy rivers could be spotted as we peered below us. Soaring through the Alaska Range, the plane performed a series of aerobatics as it glided, dipped, and soared past ancient glaciers, rocky ledges, and jagged mountain peaks.

Review of K2 Aviation: While this is the only flightseeing tour Dave and I have taken, I would highly recommend K2 Aviation. The staff was very professional, and the pricing was reasonable. They do offer glacier landings as well, but during the winter months that option is not available. As mentioned previously, the planes were clearly meticulously maintained. I felt safe during our entire flight and our pilot did an outstanding job at delivering a history/geography lesson and pointing out landmarks. I would love to go back sometime and take our kids!