Talkeetna and Denali State Park
I guess this was the official first day of vacation. In 1867 Secretary of State, William Seward,
bought Alaska from Russia for two cents an acre – the
public labeled the vast empty land, Seward’s Folly. Today, more than 14 billion barrels of oil
have gushed through the Prudhoe Bay pipeline, and Alaska’s wilderness and wildlife attract visitors
by the thousands! We were happy to be
one of the thousands!
We certainly couldn’t beat a trip beginning right at the
start of the day. Planning to fill our
two weeks to the max, Dave listened to the blurb about the RV and we were ready
to drive. The Scarani’s had landed after their long flight from PA about
an hour after us, so they were also ready to move our wagon OUT!
We started out encouraging the kids to sit in the four seatbelt spots - two on the sofa, two at the dinette - that lasted less than two hours! They all wanted to be together or laying down sleeping on the beds, bench, or sofa!
We started out encouraging the kids to sit in the four seatbelt spots - two on the sofa, two at the dinette - that lasted less than two hours! They all wanted to be together or laying down sleeping on the beds, bench, or sofa!
The day was glorious, what a welcome, we couldn’t have
ordered more perfect weather. Towering
snow-capped mountains surrounded the area, and, as we drove by, small planes
took off from a number of little local airports – well more like parking lots
(plane parks!) really. Our excitement,
already pretty high, was escalating!
We made our way slowly along Parks Highway, stopping for picture
opportunities, roadworks (unfortunately a common sight in Alaska at this time of year as it’s
challenging to fix roads when they’re constantly covered in snow), and groceries. We just couldn’t stop commenting on how lucky
we were to have clear blue skies and gazing in awe at the beauty all around
us. Everything was stunning.
On our way to Talkeetna, following the Scarani camper, we spotted moose drinking by the
water’s edge – I realized this was going to be a trip of emergency stops (photo
ops!)! A short drive off Parks Highway took
us to Talkeetna (from the Alaska Activity Guide (AAG)), a town began at the turn of the century as a supply station for miners
and trappers. This pioneer town has
maintained its rustic spirit. Historic
buildings line the one-block main street, and many locals still live in log
cabins. Miners and trappers who live in
the bush without running water or electricity come into the village for
supplies and messages.
We enjoyed meandering in and out of the artisan shops along Main Street,
purchasing a couple of keepsakes, and chatting with the artists. After wandering around the Village Park
of artist tents (loved this incredible birdhouse), Karen and I tried some delicious spinach bread most of which
ended up in the mouths of the kids!
As we continued northwards up Parks Highway, the sun shone
down which meant stopping at the Mount McKinley viewpoint afforded us
incredibly fantastic views of this magnificent mountain, also referred to as
Denali – an ongoing battle between those who would prefer the original name is
used. This is the highest mountain in North America and also the Northern Hemisphere, towering over
20,000ft.
We felt so incredibly lucky to have had this spectacular
view of this famous landmark, only one in every three visitors has this
privilege as it is most often shrouded by cloud. Chelsea and Nate had more fun with the scope than actually standing in awe of the mountain!
A little further along close to Beyer
Lake campground in Denali State Park
was the Veterans Memorial overlook. This
gave us a perfect head-on view of the peak.
One of the local tour guides was telling her group that during May and
June there are usually about 800 climbers on the mountain at any given time –
they have to pre-plan for permits about a year in advance.
The Veterans Memorial was also impressive.
We drove into the campground and found a couple of close
spots. We realized we’d have to have a
greater awareness of how level sites were as we weren’t provided with any
leveling blocks. At just $10/night, we
were happy with our choice. Without
doubt, an absolute advantage of the driveable RV was the great battery life,
large water and gray tanks, and simple convenience of driving into a site and
being ready to ‘live’! We are all
tempted to rethink our camper choice……if only there were funds to support the
thought! The downside of something this
size though is that each night and morning we had to make and then ‘un-make’
the dinette bed for the girls.
The kids had a blast running around while we cooked. Happiness abounded!
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