Talkeetna_Anchorage

7/6 – 7/8/2016   - We actually stayed outside of Talkeetna about 2 miles as the crow flies, but in Alaska that translates to 30 miles by road, in a quiet little town called Trapper Creek at Trapper Creek Inn & RV Park, a nice little campground right on the Parks Highway.  Talkeetna is certainly a quaint little tourist town with pubs, eateries, art galleries, shops and many adventure tours from rafting to flight-seeing.  It is also a train stop for all Alaskan cruise passengers who also do the land tour, so the town is very active both day and night.  Located at the confluence of three major rivers, the town keeps its mining history alive with renovated miners' cabins and gold panning all over town.  Talkeetna is also the staging area for over 1,000 climbers who attempt to climb Denali each year, where most climbers take a plane to the base camp at 7,000 feet to begin the ascent to the summit (20,320 ft).  This is also one of the best areas to see this mountain without having to climb it.  During the climbing season of May and June climbers must make their way to the ranger station where they are required to submit to a battery of planning considerations before they are issued a permit.  The ranger station is decorated with the flags and banners of successful climbers, since 1903 there have been over 40,000 attempts to reach the summit but only about half have been successful, with about 125 deaths, many whom the bodies have never been recovered.   

 

 

 

Wow we finally saw Denali, albeit in our rear view mirror today while leaving Talkeetna on our way to Anchorage.  Even over 100 miles away it looks huge.

 

Anchorage

7/8 – 7/10/2016 - Didn’t do any tourist stuff in Anchorage, stayed at Bird Creek Campground in Chugach State Park on Turnagain Arm in Cooks Inlet and the setting was beautiful, surrounded by water, mountains and glaciers galore.  Just did some shopping for supplies and fishing gear on our way to Kenai Peninsula where we are going to meet up with Dominic and Ronnie Sue whom we met at the information center when we were visiting Smithers BC a couple months back and they are willing to give us some fishing lessons to catch Sockeye (Reds) Salmon when we get to Soldotna AK.  We will stop in Anchorage for a few days on our return this way.