Leaving Denali and Heading to Anchorage

Friday, June 19, 2009 - We left Denali in a pouring rain storm that started shortly after dinner last evening and continued throughout the night. As we drove south on the Parks Highway there were several turnouts for viewing and photographing “the mountain” but unfortunately the cloud cover completely obscured any view of Mt. McKinley. Since we have now moved beyond the area where it is visible we will just have to trust photographs and paintings showing the beauty and grandeur that is Mt. McKinley. As we continued further down the highway the rain stopped and we took the short 14 mile Talkeetna turn-off to the quaint little town of Talkeetna, Alaska. It is very small with numerous historic buildings, cafes, and gift shops. The town was established at a mining and trading post before Wasilla or Anchorage existed. The name of the town is an Indian word meaning, “Where the rivers join.” We walked out on the beach where we could see the convergence of three rivers: the Talkeetna, the Chulitna, and the Susitna. After we left Talkeetna we retraced our path back to the Parks Highway and continued on to Anchorage some 80 miles away. We arrived after closing time so went straight to our sites and then discovered that the campground was hosting a free chili dinner complete with live entertainment. The musician was entertaining but hopefully he won’t give up his day job because he wasn’t a great singer. We had dinner and listened to the music for a bit and then returned home for the rest of the evening.