“Welcome to Alaska! Sorry about the mosquitoes. Would you like something to swat them with?” Our taxi driver put our luggage into the trunk and offered us what looked like a cross between a pickleball paddle and a badminton racquet. “No thanks.” I laughed, and immediately regretted my choice. Alaska has monster mosquitoes and at least some of them hang out in taxies to ambush unsuspecting visitors. Ouch. Our 40th Anniversary trip was off to a bang complete with an insect welcoming committee.
We arrived in full daylight, never mind that it was 1:15 am. We were staying the first few days with our youngest and she was working nights. She told us to make ourselves at home, she’d see us in the morning. “It’s warm upstairs, but use the fan with the filter taped to the back. We’ve had lots of wildfires, so we can’t open the windows and the filter helps with the smoke.” Wildfires during the summer cause such bad air quality in Fairbanks that one resident told us her mom used to send her to Anchorage every summer during her childhood. Also, with it being July, daylight lasts most of the night and Alaskans don’t usually have air conditioning. We put down the blackout shades and crashed. Welcome to Alaska.
Next day, it started to rain. Bad news for our planned canoe trip down the Chena River, but good news for all the areas affected by the fires. We decided to spend the day around Fairbanks learning history at Pioneer Park and eating salmon. It rained the entire time we were in Fairbanks, but we got to take a riverboat cruise, see the Iditarod kennels run by the late Iditarod champion Susan Butcher’s family, and visit an Athabaskan village to learn their history and culture from native Alaskan guides. We also got to see a bush plane take off and land.
A two-day stay in Denali National Park was next up, but due to wildfires the park was closed. We opted for an extra day in Fairbanks and to go to Talkeetna a day early. Our last night in Fairbanks, a group of smoke jumpers came into the restaurant where we were eating. If we hadn’t seen the logos on their shirts, we’d never have known who they were. They quietly made their way to the back to eat their dinner. It takes a brave soul to do the dangerous job they do every day. Heroes, all of them.
On our way to Talkeetna, we stopped in Healy, just outside of Denali National Park, for lunch. We got to watch a helicopter scoop water from a lake behind the hotel we were supposed to have stayed in and dump it on the scorched mountainside. More brave souls. Since the fire was close to a populated area, helicopters and two crews of hotshots had been called in. They got the fire under control, but we missed Denali altogether. It wasn’t visible with all the smoke and clouds, so we didn’t even get a glimpse of it. Welcome to Alaska. Only about a third of visitors actually get to see the mountain.
On to the tiny quirky town of Talkeetna, one of my favorite parts of the trip. It has one main street and was the inspiration for the nineties comedy-drama Northern Exposure. Ironically, the show was actually filmed in Washington state, but one of Talkeetna’s resident bush pilots, Kitty Banner, is often named as the inspiration for bush pilot Maggie O’Connell in the show. It’s easy to see why this small eccentric little town has inspired so many stories.
Talkeetna is a cluster of historic structures, artsy shops, restaurants, coffee and ice cream establishments, and places to stay. It is also the starting point for expeditions to Denali, flight-seeing, fishing, and lots of other adventures. Nagley’s Store is on the main street and is the residence of Talkeetna’s mayor. Meeting her was near the top of my list, so I stopped by the store every chance I got.
Alaskan Birch Syrup Wild Harvest is a family-owned business in Talkeetna that Youngest had toured and wanted us to experience. Birch trees around Talkeetna and Denali are tapped each spring and the sap is boiled down into three grades of syrup, with some being made into caramel and brittle. They also have blueberry and lingon berry products that are locally sourced. The tour of their facility was worth the price just to get to taste their products, but we bought some to bring home as well.
The rain stayed with us, so Kent’s planned fishing trip got cancelled. The outfitter called and said the rivers were up and rushing and the smaller streams were muddy so the fish weren’t biting. He was disappointed, but was able to plan for fishing for Anchorage later in our trip.
So far, we’d been rained out of canoeing, prevented by wildfires from visiting Denali, and Kent’s fishing trip was cancelled. Welcome to Alaska where flexibility is a way of life. Our 40th Anniversary trip, a year in the planning, had provided us opportunities to get creative with our plans and spend more time with our youngest. I’d say that was a good trade. We were having a blast.
We still have a week in Anchorage coming up and another couple of days in Talkeetna. More about that in Part 2. Meanwhile, I’m still looking for Talkeetna’s mayor. She’s been out of the office the whole time we’ve been here and I really want to meet her. Oh, did I mention, she’s a cat?
Hope your summer has been fun!
Blessings!