Play Ball!

We left Talkeetna and headed south on Alaska route 1 towards Anchorage. Before we got to our campground we stopped in Chugiak, Alaska for a baseball game. The teams were the Chugiak Chanooks and the Mat-Su Miners - teams from the Alaska Baseball League. It was the home opener for the Chugiak Chanooks.

The name "Chugiak" comes from a Dena'ina word meaning "place of many places". Chugiak was first heavily settled in the 1950s, primarily by the homesteading by former military personnel who had served in Alaska during World War II. Mat-Su is shortened for Matanuska-Susitna Valley. The Mat-Su Valley was originally inhabited by Athabaskan people and was explored by Russians in 1818.

A lot of people came out for the home-opener. They even have their own cheering group - 'the horn section' (see photo 5). The game was won by the Chanooks 7 - 1.Read more