End the Day in Talkeetna

Part III of today’s story. Which didn’t really end in Talkeetna as we needed to get back home to Anchorage from there. But that was a boring drive, with considerable traffic in the Palmer/Wasilla area. Nothing exciting about that portion of our day ... except that we were grateful not to be heading north as the traffic in that direction was horrendous.

Heading south from Denali State Park, we took the spur road to Talkeetna. Some of you may know it as the town on which the 90s TV show “Northern Exposures” was based.

After parking the car, we stopped at the ice cream shop for a sweet treat. Fireweed ice cream — yes, made from the edible flowers of the iconic Alaskan plant — was quite tasty. Afterwards, we strolled around the town ... which, unlike many places we’ve been to so far, seems to have opened up for the tourist season already. I’m not one to take photos of shops and such unless there is something of real interest, so no images of the town to accompany this footprint.

Down by the river, the Susitna was flowing fast and furious, carrying along small chunks of ice. Talkeetna means “where the rivers meet.” An appropriate name as the Chulitna and Talkeetna Rivers merge here with the Susitna. The demarcation line where the Talkeetna “weds” with the heavily-silted Susitna was quite obvious and interesting to see once again. In the far distance Denali and the Alaska Range added interest to the scenery.

We drove some 324 miles today ... much of it not very exciting. But just seeing Denali uncloaked ... well that was priceless and well worth the miles.Read more