Talkeetna, AK

Well, the plan we came up with last night was an easy one. We will sleep in a bit, stock up at Costco, do some laundry, and drive until we feel like stopping. That turned out to be the small, historic, town of Talkeetna, which is 14 miles off the Parks Highway, 99 miles north of Anchorage. We had lots of traffic through Anchorage, then a bit less as we left Wasilla, and almost none after we passed by Willow. The Iditarod Trail runs through this area and the landscape is dotted with sled dog kennels. The trail can be seen from the highway. It must be much more scenic with snow in the winter.

The RV park we chose, Talkeetna Camper Park, is nice and located near town. It has 30-40 sites and is filled to capacity tonight. This is the first full campground we have encountered. Denali is a popular destination and the season starts early here, I guess. We enjoyed our walk to town. We checked out the gift shops and walked down to the river. The river is known for the large number of King Salmon caught in the early summer. The town is also known for the many planes that fly climbers to Denali. 

Talkeetna has a rail station for the train to Denali. Even though the town is small, it is filled with tour buses dropping people from the cruise boats. I found out at 4:00 am that the same tracks are used by the freight train from Fairbanks. Charlie and I bolted straight up thinking the world was ending and Karen continued to snore with no indication of any noise. It reminded me of a scene from “My Cousin Vinny”.  

This is a very nice town. When I pictured small town Alaska this is what I saw. Karen thinks we could easily live here but I only think of what winter must be like. I think I’ll stay in Poulsbo or opt for the southwest in my dreams.  

Tomorrow we hope to get our first view of the mountain. It is cloudy tonight but the weather changes quickly here. 

Downtown Talkeetna

Notice Charlie peeking around the side.

Home for the night.

Seward to Anchorage, AK

This morning we worked on a time plan for returning to Anchorage. Stacey checked out hotel rooms and found them very pricey. After some thought, she decided it would be cheaper to pay for a flight change. She found a flight at 5:00 pm tonight and called the airlines to make the changes. We drove to the newer part of Seward near the cruise ship docks. We found a bakery for breakfast and a few shops to visit before leaving. The wallet was a bit lighter as we returned to the RV and set off for Anchorage in the sunshine. Yesterday was cloudy as we drove in so today we were able to see the mountains and the gleaming white snowfields that surround Seward. It was a beautiful drive out of town. We all wished we could have stayed longer. The ride was uneventful and I enjoyed driving with less traffic to contend with. 

We arrived in town a bit early so we decided to visit Earthquake Park to study the events of the Good Friday earthquake that hit this area in 1964. It was a 9.2 quake and did a lot of damage to all of Alaska. It seemed like a nice way to pass a couple hours before dropping Stacey at the airport. One small problem. The park is near a wetlands area and the mosquitos love the water. We were immediately attacked by a horde of them and again beat a hasty retreat to the safety of the RV. Charlie hates bugs in his face so he tugged us back to the RV.

We dropped Stacey at the airport a bit early and chose to return to our home away from home, the Golden Nugget RV Park near the Costco in Anchorage. Karen and I plan to regroup, clean, and plan our trip northward to Denali and Fairbanks.

                   Views along the way:

The designated driving team!

Being photo bombed by Charlie

 

Seward, AK

We left early today so we could stop at The Two Sisters Bakery in old town Homer. The food was as good as advertised. Quiche, Cinnamon Rolls, and a Fruit Danish were all a big hit. 


Today was a work day for Stacey so we planned our drive to be in Soldotna (good internet and cell service) at the correct time for her phone conference. Karen and I shopped while Stacey turned the motor-home into her mobile office. We all finished our chores and set out for Seward with heavy clouds in front of us. 


We arrived in Seward about 2:30 pm and found the two campgrounds near town that had electricity and water. The first was located about two miles from old town Seward. It would have been OK except for the swarm of ugly, black flying bugs that engulfed the motorhome as we neared our destination. We beat a hasty retreat and chose a site in Resurrection Park, only a short distance from downtown. The ladies had a plan for dinner already in mind. On their boat trip in Homer another couple had told them of a place in Seward that had great halibut and chips. We walked into town and found the place easily. The food was ok but we were overcharged for our dinner and all in all it could have been a lot better. Earlier in the day we came across a woman we had met earlier in our trip. She joined us for dinner and we had a good time comparing stories and events from our travels on the Alcan highway. She is a volunteer working at the Marine Science Center in Seward. She is retired and winters in Mexico and travels throughout the US working as a camp host or volunteer in parks and campgrounds. She had many stories and tales from her travels. After dinner Karen and Stacey chose a chick flick for the DVD player. Charlie and I headed for bed early to rest from another strenuous day of doing very little. Tomorrow we return to Anchorage. Stacey has an early flight back to Seattle on Thursday morning. Her days of fun in the Alaska sun are nearing an end.
 
All these pictures were taken from our campsite downtown Seward - it is a beautiful town.

Our Campground

Each year they have a marathon race to the top of this peak - enlarge picture to see their path!