Talkeetna

Talkeetna

Looking forward and trying to plan seems more difficult this time. As we head north there is just less of everything. The Kenai Peninsula is geographically more compact, making a shorter time frame to drive to each area.

The weather is colder and cloudy; raining on and off each day. We set off for Talkeetna thinking we could boondock. The weather is in the low 50 and it feels cold to us. No sun for days means no solar power, therefore we would be running the generator to keep the power up.

It was raining harder and we decided to find a campground with electric. Getting plugged in seems to be the way to go. We found a campground, Mat-Su RV Park, 20 miles south of Talkeetna.

By late afternoon, the rain finally let up. We drove into Talkeetna to look around, however, the rain started again.  We were able to drive around to check out the layout of the town, including a possible state-run boondocking campground in the event the sun came out for solar use.  We enjoy driving thru some of the areas ahead of a present position in order to scope out other possible spots to set up to boondock.  We are too big just to pull in a driveway and hope for the best.  We always have to be sure we can turn around.

We had made reservations to fly with K2 Aviation several days in advance.  The flight we chose was to take us out to Ruth Glacier and land.  On the way, hopefully, we could see Denali if the cloud cover cleared. The deal is if they can’t fly, they reschedule or refund. We drove back into Talkeetna the next day since they had not called to cancel. There were a lot of people checked in, waiting their turn to fly.  The woman who checked us in said they haven’t been able to fly for almost a week. It was still overcast at the  flight time of 1:00 pm.  The planes were DeHavilland Otters. They hold up to 10 passengers.   Our name was called to board. The plane was comfortable and had a smooth takeoff. These planes are the workhorses of Alaska. This plane was built in the late 70’s and looks like it’s been well cared for. The ride was fairly smooth and as we gained  elevation, the sky began to brighten and we had some blue sky. We flew over great open areas of Muskeg. Muskeg is Alaskan Wet lands. There is standing water and it is swampy and difficult to navigate on foot or animal. The Muskeg gave way to the base of the mountains so we had our first sighting of the glaciers. The mountains are steep and rocky. The glacier has been receding leaving a rocky, gravel surface in many areas. The glaciers are huge and run for miles up, around and thru the mountains. The weather continued to improve as we flew along the edge of the mountains. We landed on the Ruth Glacier. The Pilot, Chris, said that the Glacier could be about 2000 feet in thickness to the bottom.  We landed in a bowl shape area called the Amphitheatre with mountains all around us. The landing was surprisingly smooth. The plane had wheels and skis. We expected it to be rough.  It was surprisingly smooth. The tops of the mountains were covered with fresh snow. The sun was out and it was stunning. The sky is a clearer blue than the Lower 48.  We took the picture of the plane and you can see it turned out to be perfect. We were able to walk around on the Glacier and watch other planes take off and land.  The other 8 passengers consisted of a family with pre-teen children.  It was fun to watch them take in all this experience.  There were 3 planes  on the Glacier.  It is a vast area so they were far away from us. The scenery was spectacular in every direction.  Once again, Alaska on WOW !!!!!  Our journey always works out for us. The weather turned out to be perfect. The return flight to Talkeetna gave us a different perspective with the vast wetlands of Muskeg.  It is very impressive.  The sky was clear and the landing was smooth, giving us an excellent experience.

We went into the town of Talkeetna again since the day was gorgeous. It’s a very small town with gift shops and several restaurants. The Alaska Railroad has a stop here and there are folks on buses here as well. We had a late lunch at the West Rib Café & Pub. It’s set in a pretty, rustic building.  We sat outside, with the sun still shining, and had a great lunch. We like real food and this was real food, not fast food.  Checking thru the menu, we found they had hard cider.  A brand made by Double Shovel Cider Company in Anchorage. The waiter told us the company was new.  Of course, hard cider is gluten free, so we had to order a couple of drinks.  Very tasty, light and somewhat dry.  No too sweet.  Just like we like it.  Brad ordered clams, steamed in wine, garlic, and butter.  Cathy had grilled halibut with a light, yummy sauce, and veggies.  It is easy to pick up a conversation with people sitting close.  And so we did, visiting with two young women sitting over one table over, who were Alaskans. They have been lifelong friends taking a day to have fun together and enjoy Talkeetna.

On the way home, we stopped at Kahiltna Birchworks Birch Syrup.  We have cooked and consumed maple syrup; never birch syrup. It  Sounded very interesting.  We sat thru a quick video of how birch syrup is made.  Obviously, from birch trees tapped like maple trees are tapped in the spring.  They explained the further process of making several degrees and grades of birch syrup after the tapping.  The shop had several samples, which we had to try.  There were candies and syrups for different cooking uses also.  We had to purchase some.  Yummy!!!

We appreciated our time in Talkeetna feeling the need to move on. Our next stop is Cantwell just outside of Denali National Park. We had made reservations.  Since we were a couple of days earlier than we had expected to move north, we hoped Cantwell RV Park would have room for us.  We had decided to continue to stay in another campground for several reasons.  We could get caught up on laundry, there was no sun for the solar collectors to make us power and it had turned colder.  We are into comfort for much of our journey as a choice.  We are glamping, not just camping.