Page 60 - Winterling's Chasing the Wind

ship. One of my friends stayed in his bunk for two days, unable to keep any food in his
stomach.

On the morning of the fourth day, I awoke to notice that the ship was not rocking. I
eagerly jumped off of my bunk and climbed the ladder up to the main deck. I saw that
the ship was on glassy smooth waters cruising slowly past the massive rock islands of
the Passage Canal.

Soon we docked at Whittier,
Alaska and boarded a beautiful
blue and yellow train. As the
train pulled out, we could see
the front half of the train as it
ran on the winding tracks.
Looking to the right through
large windows, we were
dazzled by the brilliantly white
snow-covered mountains with
a background of vivid blue
skies.

Occasionally, we passed a few
greenish colored glaciers, frozen rivers that were trapped between the mountains. The
train went only about 30 mph, but it helped us take in all the majestic scenery.

When I got off the train and set foot on terra firma, it didn’t feel so firm because I still
felt the rocking sensation as if I were still on the ship. In fact, it took three days for my
mind to stabilize that feeling. Anchorage was a small town with only two or three tall
five to ten story buildings. The rest of it consisted of small buildings. Most were just
bungalows but were also some very modern homes.

A nice highway followed the railroad where I saw everything from new Fords and
Cadillacs to dump trucks. I liked the music on the radio stations in Anchorage. They
were playing songs like “Pistol-Packin' Mama”, “Don’t Fence Me In” and “Cool, Cool,
Cool of the Evening”. I heard on the news that Eisenhower had won the election against

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