Talkeetna July 10th - 13th


July 10th
Road to Talkeetna, AK from Byer Lake (Alaska State Park)

July 10th
When arriving in Talkeetna we booked a flight seeing tour through K2 Aviation.

We are planning on doing a glacier landing pending weather
July 11th 
Today we walked through Talkeetna, a blend of old-time Alaska small town and modern tourist destination with a lot of shops and restaurants. We ate at the Mountain High Pizza Pie and it was delicious. Our pizza had reindeer sausage, smoked salmon, bacon, and mushrooms.
A look down Main Street

High Expeditions cannabis dispensary on Main new to the village in 2017

Where the moose where sombreros  (look at the sign)

Another view of Main Street
July 12th
Around Talkeetna in the sun on the motorcycle.

We saw this camp spot on the Sustina Riverbed but could we get to it
We took the road to the riverbed, nope...only accessible by Jeep it appears

Time to enjoy the sun and Denali Brewing Company
Today's temps in the mid 60's but still chilly on the motorcycle

Denali in the distance from the Talkeetna Alaskan Lodge viewing deck. If you get to see Denali you are considered a 30 percenter. Only about 30% of visitors see Denali because it makes its own weather. 
I feel small. At the  Talkeetna Alaskan Lodge next to the grizzly

Next stop, the Denali Brewing Company Pub where they serve food to go with beer. 
Only from the drone pictures did we see the top of the elusive Denali

The view and powerful sound of  The Hurricane Turn Train from the RV. This attraction is a 115 mile round trip route ride that parallels the Sustina River and traverses the Indian River Canyon. When we have more time we will need to take this scenic ride. 
July 13th
K2 Aviation Flight and then onto Denali via the Parks Highway
It’s not every birthday that you get to walk on a glacier, but this year Lars did. We boarded a small plane to see Denali National Park in a different way. In 2009 we took the bus tour into the park but seeing the vastness of the mountains and glaciers was definitely an epic experience.  



We landed on what they call the amphitheater where the forks of the Ruth Glacier come together. This glacier is approximately 28 miles long and about 1.5 miles wide.
Other glaciers were also in view such as Tokositna and Kahiltna (base camp for hikers). These glaciers are thought to be about 39 miles long and two miles wide with a depth in some parts of 3800ft of ice and gravel.

We also flew by Mt. Hunter (14,500ft), near Denali (20,310ft) but could only see the first 16,000 feet.  There is also a base camp at 7,000ft to hike up to Denali from about May 1st to July 1st and hikes will traverse about 13 miles to get to the summit.

Back before Denali became a National Park it was a state park and the state of Alaska sold 5 acre lots to the public. Can you imagine landing on a glacier to get to your vacation cabin?
Back behind the plane up on the cliff there are two cabins...zoom in.
Once finished with the flight we continued onto Denali State Park where there is a view of Denali from Byers Lake. We still have not seen the very top with our own eyes, but Lars did capture it with the drone when we were Talkeetna. 



Location: Talkeetna, AK 99676, USA

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