Tim and I
left Wasilla on a rainy Sunday afternoon.
The forecast for the next week or more is for more rain and cloudy
conditions, not what we want to hear as we make our way towards Denali National
Park.
Our plan
for today was to go as far as Talkeetna, a quirky little town that reminded us
of McCarthy. Talkeetna is a popular
destination for vastly different groups of people. Every spring, the town is the starting point
for mountaineers who are planning to climb Mt. McKinley, which is known as
Denali in Alaska. The National Park Service
has a ranger station in Talkeetna, and all climbers must start their journeys
there.
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| Welcome to Talkeetna |
We
stopped by the visitor center and watched the excellent film that follows the
climbers as they make their preparations for, and then climb, “The High One.” It’s daunting just to contemplate what is
involved and how determined someone must be to attempt a climb. Just over 1,000 climbers registered to climb
the mountain this summer, and 57 percent made it to the summit.
Flight
services based in Talkeetna ferry climbers to the base camp at 7,200 feet. We had hoped to take a similar flight and
land on the glacier there, but the weather was just not cooperating. Although we had built several extra days into
our schedule to allow for inclement weather, the forecast for the next week
doesn’t look any better. Sadly, this is
one adventure that Tim and I will have to forego this summer.
I can’t
be too disappointed, however, because we have been so unbelievably fortunate in
virtually every other day trip we have taken since arriving in Alaska. For the most part, the weather has been very
good, and when it hasn’t been, we still had amazing experiences. Although a flight to Denali was something
that Tim and I were really looking forward to, we just can’t control the
weather.
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| Tim Finally Caught Some Fish! |
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| Let's Mush! |
We had
fun walking around Talkeetna and taking the obligatory cheesy, tourist
photographs. I mentioned earlier that
vastly different groups end up in Talkeetna.
One group is busloads of cruise ship passengers on the land portion of
their tours. I’ve read that the numbers
of people can overwhelm this small town, but the throng of tourists was
manageable by the time we arrived in the afternoon. After the Alaska Railroad pulled in and picked
up the tour groups around 5:00 pm, the town was even more pleasant.
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| Historic Log Cabins on Main Street |
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| Eclectic Means of Transportation |
We had an
excellent dinner at The Roadhouse.
Originally built in 1914 and established as an official roadhouse in
1944, it’s one of the most popular cafes and bakeries in town. We also wandered into the Nagley’s Store in
hopes of seeing the town’s mayor, a cat named Stubbs. Stubbs has been the honorary mayor of
Talkeetna since 1997, and he usually hangs out around the store. Unfortunately, he was nowhere to be found,
and I was sad to leave Talkeetna without meeting him.
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| Great Food at the Roadhouse |
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| Where's Stubbs? |
Tim and I
had originally thought we would spend three nights on the road before arriving
in Denali on Wednesday. We thought this
would give us time to wait out the rainy weather and hope that the mountain would
make its appearance. The long term
forecast for continued rain, however, makes that prospect unlikely, thus prompting
us to rethink our options. We have now decided
to scratch our original plan. We’re
spending tonight in a pullout just outside Talkeetna and will head directly to Denali
tomorrow.
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| Fun in Talkeetna |
That's too bad about the weather. I think Hector and Brenda sucked up all the sunshine...haha:) Weather can change quickly, so I am hoping you get at least one peak at Denali. Good Luck:)
ReplyDeleteI think you are right! It must be Hector and Brenda's fault! However, just to be fair, their flight from Talkeetna was also cancelled due to weather. Since we will be spending a fair amount of time in the park, I have my fingers crossed that Denali will show her face.
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