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Monday, February 22, 2016

Talkeetna, AK

Talkeetna is such a unique and fun town to visit. Located just two hours north of Anchorage it's easy to reach and totally worth the drive. We had never been there before so we decided to take Andrew there while he was here. 

We were blessed with clear skies during our visit which was perfect because the main attraction for us was seeing Denali, the tallest mountain in North America, in all her glory. Denali is so high she generates her own weather, so often the top of the mountain is shrouded in clouds. But we got to see her clearly for two whole days, it was perfect. 

Denali is on the right.

Denali

Talkeetna began in 1916 when the area was chosen as a district headquarters for the Alaska Railroad.
The core downtown area is classified as a National Historic Site, with buildings dating from the early 1900s including Nagley's General Store,Fairview Inn and the Talkeetna Roadhouse.



We arrived in Talkeetna at lunch time and ate at the Roadhouse.
The walls were covered with flag from different countries put there by mountain climbers who have summited Denali. Talkeetna is the base for climbers before and after they climb Denali.

In the summer this town is packed with people headed to the mountains, boating, fishing, flying, camping, and hiking.  


This building used to be the town schoolhouse. It's now a little museum. We rented the apartment above the museum for the night. The apartment used to be the school teachers quarters. I loved it! 


It was a little one bedroom place with a single bed in the living room and a futon couch so we all fit perfectly.



Looking out the kitchen window.
After lunch and dropping off our stuff at the room we went on a walk. Daylight was fading fast.












Trying to get a family photo...Geoff's crazy side coming out and Ethan was getting cold and grumpy.

Jack Frost visited during the night and left us some gorgeous ice art on the apartment windows the next morning.


Sunrise
After breakfast at the Roadhouse and a quick round of Rock 'em Sock 'em Robots we hit the road.
The guys visited the Ranger Station and watched a video on climbing Denali while I walked around town and checked out the few shops that were open.



Heading out of Talkeetna we had to stop once more at the over look. Then we continued up the Parks Highway towards Denali National Park. We enjoyed the views, saw a couple of young moose, and listened to Adventures in Odyssey. Just like we used to do on our many long road trips growing up (well minus the moose). 

Driving in Alaska it's easy to just keep driving. It's so tempting to just see what's around the next curve or over that next hill. We could have ended up in Fairbanks but we eventually turned around and made it home to our own beds in Anchorage that night. I'll have to share about our trip to Seward in the next post!



2 comments:

Becky K. said...

Oh Melissa,
It is too pretty to be real....except it is! Thanks for sharing!

Deanna Rabe - Creekside Cottage Blog said...

Amazing! We must come and visit.