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| Picture Stop while Driving Up to Hatcher Pass |
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| Driving Up to Hatcher Pass near Palmer, Alaska |
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| More Scenery on the Way to Hatcher Pass, Alaska |
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| View Stop from Hatcher Pass, Alaska |
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| Hatcher Pass in the Direction of the Old Gold Mine |
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| Amazing Views from Hatcher Pass |
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| Stop on the Way to Talkeetna, Alaska |
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| Gift Shop Near Talkeetna at the Birchworks Farm |
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| Spring Flower, Talkeetna, Alaska |
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| View Stop Near Talkeetna, Alaska |
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| This Cutie, Owen, Grandson on Call in Alabama |
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| This Cutie, Esther, Granddaughter on Call from Alabama |
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| Our Cabin/Airbnb in Talkeetna, Alaska. |
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| Inside Our Talkeetna Cabin |
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| Darrell is Busy Making Pancakes! at Talkeetna |
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| Views at Talkeetna |
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| Talkeetna is Full of Historic Cabins dating from 1800's -1940s |
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| Walking Around Our Talkeetna Neighborhood |
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| Views Driving Up Hwy 3 from Talkeetna |
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| Tall Ferns on Our Wooded Walk at a Denali State Park Trail |
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| One of the Many Similar Planes at the Talkeetna Airport for Touring and Flying Over Denali |
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| In Talkeetna at the Museum |
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| Amazing Carved and Painted Display at the Museum |
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| More of the Carved Scene |
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| I Love This Old Picture |
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| Learning About World Class Climbing on Denali |
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| Probably as Close As We Will Get to Denali |
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| Denali Climbing Facts |
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| Original Store in Talkeetna that Was Moved 3 Miles from the River to Closer to the Railroad, and Remained Open on Moving Day! |
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| Original Talkeetna Hotel, Now a Restaurant. Might Have Rooms for Rent. |
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| A Crafted, Historic Cabin Corner. In Talkeetna There's a Variety of Cabin Craftmanship to See! |
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| The View at the End of Main Street in Talkeetna. A Clear View to Denali, the big fully white one, isn't Guaranteed. The Locals Say it is Fully Visible about 30% of the time. |
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| We Got to See Denali Often!! |
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| Flowers in Talkeetna |
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| Another Cabin Crafted Corner |
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| All of the Historic Cabins in Talkeetna are Used. This One is a Business |
Saturday. 13. Today we drove 30-40 minutes up in elevation to Hatcher’s Pass. The two roads at the top were closed still waiting on a complete thaw of the icy patches. We weren’t in the mood to walk any further. We enjoyed our scenic drive and a few pictures together. We drove back to our apartment and made lunch. I texted a local, now friend, who had walked up the West Butte trail with us yesterday along with her three children. She and her husband and kids were planting a vegetable flower garden today for a couple at their church who have a newborn. She would later text me and we coordinated a time for her to come over and visit me for a couple of hours together. Once we got finished with our visit together, she suggested that her family and us go for dinner together at the local diner, The Noisy Goose. We accepted and spent the next couple of hours eating and visiting together. We said goodnight with plans to see them at church in the morning. We went back home and I had a bit of a meltdown of loneliness. I so wanted to stay up and visit without an end with this lovely family. I wanted to learn about each one of them, but my time is limited here as I have enjoyed their company and kindness. It is enough and it is good! I slept with gratitude and appreciation for their kindness and time with us.
Sunday. 14. This morning I felt better and so enjoyed meeting with the church for a good Bible lesson and a great lesson from the Word of God. There were several visitors along with all of the local members. One couple we met have a 6 week old son. They have lived here about a year. They are the recipients of the planted garden and they were so happy for the help. It turns out that the last place they lived was Minnesota and we have friends who they worshipped with there in Minneapolis. We enjoyed getting to know each other in a few minutes and knowing we had mutual friends. They even asked us if we would be back to Palmer and that we could call for our open calendar days in August and they would find us housing to come visit them again. Wow! That’s unexpected hospitality that felt so nice.
We said our goodbyes and went to our apartment and made lunch. The day is about 60 degrees with heavy wind and sunny. The chair on our deck keeps blowing over and off the one step up deck. We left it laying down and tried to hook it to keep it on the deck. So far, so good.
Monday. 15. Our check out is at 11am. Moving to Talkeetna Cabin. Our kind of roughing it is not a ‘dry cabin’, but a cabin with running water.
Nomad Notes. Last week we got some good and surprising prices on some of our staple foods at Fred Meyer in Palmer. I bought pork tenderloin for 1.49 a pound. I bought at least a couple weeks worth, cooked it and froze it in smaller pieces. We thaw one piece at a time and then slice and pan sear it as a part of our protein breakfast. We also bought sirloin steak for 6.99 a pound that has grilled really nice and been delicious. We will buy a few items on our way to Talkeetna for our food stock. We may drive back here for church again, but we are going to wait and see how our week goes.
Talked to the ranger at the Talkeetna ranger station.
Tuesday. 16. 10am online Bible class with English church and other preachers. After lunch we go for a scenic drive to Denali State Park about 45 minutes away. It’s not a straight drive. This little town of Talkeetna is basically the end of a road with a tourist railroad stop, gift shops, an airport for climbers and mountain tourists, restaurants, cabins, and small hotels. There is a US Ranger station in Talkeetna that I learned is where the mountain climbers for Denali must go through to go on their mountain trek. From Talkeetna we drive 15 miles south to the turn to go back north again on the main road or highway going to the the gate of the National Denali Park and on to Fairbanks. At this turn off to Talkeetna, there is a gas station, a couple restaurants and an IGA grocery. Our drive was mostly smooth highway with trees on both sides of the road. We drove about 30 miles, maybe more to arrive to a parking area with an overlook for the Denali mountain range. We are probably still 100 plus miles away from the mountain. It’s huge! It’s a clear day and our vantage point is excellent! We thought our walk would be longer, but it wasn’t. We drove onto the next parking area and took a hike back into the woods. The fern was as tall as me! The trail said it went to the river. We didn’t ever get to the river. The trail was getting tight and the plants were overgrowing the trail, and there wasn’t any different view, so we turned around and went back to the car. We had also seen moose droppings and felt like moose could be in those tall ferns and we wouldn’t see them. Another great reason to turn around! Lol. We drove to one more parking area and trailhead, but we decided that we weren’t into any more hiking today. We drove back to the IGA, got a few pricey groceries and went back to our cabin in Talkeetna.
Wednesday. 17. We enjoyed sleeping in until 6:30! Lol. We did our morning exercise routine as usual. We had our ‘regular’ morning breakfast. We stayed around our cabin drinking coffee, and discussing a couple of articles that Darrell shared with me. One was on finding meaning in retirement for the author that was well written. The other article was from Veg-out magazine and was about the emotions and transition to eating on your own after your family is gone. We meandered through the ideas of the article and onto side issues of our own and how we are eating now versus how we ate in decades and situations in our past. With our foods and meals we are still learning, changing and willing to change now. After lunch at our cabin, we walked downtown and went to the Talkeetna museum. We enjoyed it’s 3 small building display. The buildings themselves are on the historic district register and there were also two films to watch. One was about the building of the Alaska railroad and the other was about Mount Denali and climbers. Both films reinforced to me things that I’ve heard but really didn’t think much about until now that I am here. One is that Denali is the highest mountain peak in North America! We were downtown until about 3pm. That is afternoon ice cream time and there were lines at 3 or 4 ice cream shops. Most of the ice cream is made here and they display it proudly. Darrell got some ice cream while I visited with the vendors until I needed to stop and let them tend their line. We walked back to our cabin. Later about 6pm we walked back into town for dinner. We had a blackened salmon pie. We both ordered the same thing. We enjoyed it but would choose something else next time. It was good, but not spectacular (like some we had in New Zealand that is a spectacular memory! lol!). We enjoyed relaxing in the evening at our cabin and getting to bed around 10pm. The sun is still shining brightly at 10pm. We put on earplugs and eyemasks and go to sleep.
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| One of My Favorite Places, 3 Miles out of Talkeetna |
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| Trailhead Near Talkeetna with Instructions and Parking |
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| Flower in the Woods |
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| One of These Tiny Flowers with Water Drops |
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| Another White Flower in the Woods |
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| View of Denali and Reflection on Our Lake Walk |
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| Enjoying Our View |
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| Looking The Other Direction with Some Cool Tree Roots |
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| Forrest Flowers |
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| More Flowers |
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| More Clear Views at Our Evening Walk to the End of Main Street in Talkeetna |
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| We are Loving This Evening Viewing Time. Often Talk to Someone Else at the Beach in Talkeetna |
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| A Regular House in Our Talkeetna Neighborhood |
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| A Fancy New Cabin in Talkeetna |
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| Talkeetna Flowers |
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| Love These Little Beauties |
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| Walking to Downtown Talkeetna and See the Mountain Down the Railroad |
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| Railroad for Many Tourists |
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| Cutie Grandson, Quinn, on Call from Moscow |
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| Pedestrian Crossing Bridge Next to The Railroad Bridge. |
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| Beach Rocks and Us in Talkeetna |
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| Beautiful Woods in Talkeetna |
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| Reflective Lake and Storm Clouds in Talkeetna |
Thursday. 18. The sun is also high in the sky when we wake up. Today we both woke up about 5:30 and were ready to get up and begin our day. We did our regular morning work out routine. Darrell made pancakes today that will last us through 3 more days. After breakfast we spend time still drinking coffee, reading, and chatting about various things. I got a couple of cute grandkid pictures texted to me from Owen and Esther’s maternal grandmother, Nan. Around 10am, I told Darrell that I’d like to go to ‘Flying Squirrel Bakery’ for a cappuccino and pastry. He agreed this was the morning to go. We got ready and went. It was a lovely little shop with seating about 3 miles outside of Talkeetna in the woods. Darrell got a piece of coffee cake and I had sourdough toast with butter and homemade strawberry jam. We sat and visited over our mid-morning treats. Then Darrell found a couple of hikes for us to choose from. I chose the 2 mile, shorter hike. I’ve been dealing with a toe on my right foot that gets inflamed and sore, then relents and gets better overnight. It bothered me a couple of weeks ago, and now it’s bothering me again. I’m on and off with my decision whether to seek treatment or not. This is to be continued until it’s all clear or I do seek treatment. We did the two mile wooded trail around a small lake. Then came back home to our little cabin. Darrell fixed his lunch and I’m not quite ready to eat.
In our cabin at 4:17 pm we felt and heard a long rumble. Decided it’s likely an earthquake. Yep. Listed online at 3.4.
Friday. 19. After breakfast we walked into Talkeetna to see the mountain view of Denali. It was a clear, non-clouded view. We found the trail to the train trestle bridge and crossed the bridge to a beach with rocks along the river. We walked back to town. Darrell had a burger for lunch. We walked on back to our cabin. Today is our son Jeremy’s birthday. He’s currently living in Moscow with his wife and 5 year old son. It’s their 2nd State Department assignment. Darrell and I recorded singing Happy Birthday to him and sent it on Whatsapp. We had sent a personal birthday gift a month ago since we didn’t know how long it would take to get there. He got the gift pretty quickly, and he enjoyed our singing to him. Our time difference is such that we are going to bed on Friday about the time that they are up making breakfast on Saturday morning. We enjoyed talking to our grandson Quinn and hearing about his weekly school awards, swimming lessons, his Dad’s pineapple birthday cake, and some farewell parties for others in their community. We had a stormy afternoon. We went out for a walk but kept it short with the impending thunderstorm.
Nomad Notes:
We’ve gotten a couple of pre-check-in notes from our next week’s stay at an airbnb camper 17 miles north of Healy, Alaska, next week. These notes are reminding us of what we signed up for months ago when we were planning this Alaska adventure. There is no wifi. We have a 3-5 minute walk from where we park our car to the hard-side camper with a built-in shower and small deck and separate outhouse. We can charge cell phones, but there’s no promise of strong cell phone coverage. We will be 30 minutes north from the Denali National park entrance and about 2 hours to Fairbanks going on north. Remembering our reduced amenities and rustic camping stay is settling in. I’m calling it our adventure and trying to embrace what it is. Darrell is coming around too, and I thought he was always easier with this camping thing than I have been. He is getting used to the idea of ‘what were we thinking’ when we booked this?, and other remarks about our impending camper stay! Ready or not, here we come on Monday.
Alaska reminds me of a large, improved campground. There’s a lot of wooded lots with houses that look as if they are struggling to be kept up. Aside from those kinds of properties, there are a lot of modern and beautifully kept places. There is a variety of economic abilities and incomes, etc.
(Obligatory) retirement “bucket list” touring. (Darrell’s grandparents drove up to Alaska in the 1960’s in their VW camper van….I wrote this from what I thought I remembered about his grandma telling us, but now I’m not sure. Darrell couldn’t remember them coming to Alaska. They did get to Montana.) Darrell’s parents have been to Alaska at least twice to do some touring. Once driving with Shirley’s sister, Sue and husband Ron, and twice on cruises. They came on one of those cruises with us.
Boredom: I’ve faced some boredom trying to transition to our living tempo here in Alaska. I’ve overcome and rested up and gotten into my Alaska rhythm.
Lonely and homesick: I’ve faced loneliness and missing our grandkids visits in Alabama. I’ve come through this pretty well and been able to accept where I am today and find my rhythm for rest and activity.
I wondered if I would LOVE Alaska. At this point, my love affair with Alaska has been growing, but not a fast infatuation. This is a good kind of love to have, embedded and deep with complex relationships. I’ve been enjoying our time together. We’ve come through the cold spring and thaw into the long summer-time hours. We will continue with long summer hours of daylight through July. I’ve been learning and appreciating the recent history of Alaska and its becoming part of the US.
I've enjoyed our slow down in Talkeetna. I'm always enjoying our traveling adventures together. Even with our challenges of slowing down our pace and being still for a few days in a very small, end of the road place. We have amazing views of Denali and the mountain range from the end of Main St. We've had all clear days to see Denali from our distance. I want to see it every day and see the changes in the sky. The more I learn about Denali; the more I want of it! I didn't know it would draw me in and make me want to know more about it. It's the tallest peak in North America at just over 20,000ft! World renown for top tier mountain climbers bucket lists. But why Talkeetna? We went into the Talkeetna ranger station on our Monday arrival. I got some local things to do from the ranger: look at the board at the post office for live music in town, plays, etc; go to the museum that has some indoor exhibits and old cabins to see throughout town, take some hikes or canoe here, etc. She has lived and worked here for 30 years. I asked her about the bear situation, etc. She was so informative and answered my questions. On Wednesday we walked .7 miles into town from our cabin, passing the busy airport of small tourist planes. We went to the 3 historic buildings housing the museum. One thing we learned was that all Denali mountain climbers come to Talkeetna to the Ranger station to check in, and go through vetting by the rangers. It's a huge task for the skilled rangers! The rangers also have a rescue and treatment facility on Denali at 14,000 ft. The rangers rotate monthly to that station to be acclimated to the elevation. Wow! I also learned that about 85 percent of climbers go up Denali on the easiest preferred route. It takes 3-4 weeks and only 50 percent get to the summit. This is in summer for a few weeks. I have been enjoying learning about Talkeetna now, and the history here dating back to the late 1800's. The Alaska railroad was finished in 1923. Alaska was a territory then, and became a state in 1959. Now, for us, we are 2nd generation retired folks coming on our tour of this great frontier wilderness. The settling of Alaska has only been going on a few generations longer than the current tourism. All amazing to me!! See less
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