Sitting on the back porch I listen to the train

Wish it were daylight so the smoke stack could be seen

From blocks away I hear the whistle blow

Warning some fool they are in the way of the speeding demon

Knowledge that this time of night its passengers coming back from Denali

National Park

Excited visitors come to Alaska to see the great land

Memories of a vacation taken

Once in a life time thrill for many

Foreign as well as domestic view the landscape slipping by

Icebergs captured on shiny film from decks of ships

Bears, moose, otters and whales wanting to be pictured

One thing kept running through my mind

When the camera's shutter snapped; did the victim remember to smile?

Tourists come by the thousands

ask directions to the wilderness

They bring their trash

for us to dispose of

Litter the highways with bits of paper

leave empty soda cans in our rivers

Tramp over the tender tundra

without a care

Clog the single freeway

on sunny days

Complain of rain

say it's so cold for July

Make dumb jokes about Eskimo's igloos

state how shocked they are when viewing rural life honey pots

Moan and groan at grocery prices

ask for discounts when buying cheap trinkets

One thing keeps running through my mind

why the heck did they visit?