Talkeetna - Stepping Back in Time

We arrived late in the quaint 1910's town of Talkeetna to find very little RV space available. Bob & Joy had mentioned the "town square park" which we found at the end of Main St nestled against the banks of the Talkeetna River, which is part of the Susitna drainage. Although reserved for tent campers only, we saw other RVs boondocking in the area, found us a quiet corner near the River, and bedded down for the night.

The town was truly established in the early '30s with the construction of this dirt airstrip, which served as the main street for many years. Along with the strip, the Fairview Inn was built at one end to serve the incoming gold prospectors, and now serves as the town bar. The town is now the primary launch point for climbers flying into McKinley basecamp. The local motto is "we're a drinkin' town with a climbing problem". Both the airstrip & the Inn remain today, an essential ingredient in serving up the uniqueness of this historical setting, now turned tourist town. http://www.talkeetnahistory.org/

The airstrip is litle used today, replaced with a modern center for flying just on the outskirts of town. It's interesting to see & hear the rumble of those Pratt 985's on the Beavers overhead, glance up, and see a plane with skis on it (for landing on the glacier at Denali basecamp) when the weather is in the 70's!

Adding to the charm we were met next morning by this reminder of the past.

As we strolled down what is now Main, Kim found a colorful example of the town maskot, the decorated moose.

I was particularly intrigued by the ability of the local culture to adapt to modern tourism, noting that almost every shop in town had some connection to a flightseeing service.

The street is lined with historic buildings, bustling with tourist, and loaded with good smells from the local bakeries and cafes. We managed to sample just about all the goodies in town, from breakfast rolls at the Lodge to Alaskan Ale on tap at the Inn.

As with most of Alaska, we saw many signs and truck/license plate combinations that are very familiar thoughout the State, and a few that were a little unique.

Walking back up Main to our rig, we bid farewell to a fun little place and a couple of new friends!

Tangle Lakes - Bob & Joy Celebrate July 4th With Us!

No sooner than we had planned to return to the Denali Highway, we were in contact with the Loudon's again. With birding & kayaking in mind, we agreed to meet up with them at the Tangle Lakes Campground for a week of fun & to celebrate the 4th.

Arriving before the holiday crowds, we luckily grabbed two nice spots near the lake's edge,
Bob & I decided to put up the ham radio antenna pole and as tribute to our independence we got out the same flag that Kim & I flew on the 4th in Duluth last year!

Although we had arrived a few days early, that didn't stop us from breaking out a few Alaskan Ales and celebrating. Joy was especially cute in her Independence Day headgear! (Ooops, I guess I'll really catch it for putting this pix in here...)


It wasn't too long after we arrived that we were joined at the site by some of those common shorebirds....


It was a treat to see all of the family activity in the area. I must say that the Alaskan's are very quiet & courteous, and really seem to enjoy the camping. We saw severasl groups along the highway that had set up camp for the weekend, taking advantage of Alaska's "open" camping policy along the many pullouts on the Denali.


One of the prime reasons for staying in this area were reports of Smith Larkspur sightings, a very rare bird indeed, and usually here in their breeding grounds in very small numbers. Numerous notes in local logs, and reports in a couple of books that Kim & Joy had picked up on birding in Alaska spoke of sightings being most probable between Mile 12.9 & 13.1 To our surprise, some birders or tour groups had appropriately marked them for us.

To elaborate on the many disappointing times we drove past these signs and hiked along this stretch of road that week would bore you to death. The fact that I finally just photographed the signs (never having seen "the bird") gives one a clue as to how desperate we were at week's end.

One of those "searching days" we made a hike along a ridge that reportedly the Smith's had been seen on in previous years. The trail stated on and old gravel pit road. As we crested the first rise Bob took this great telephoto shot compressing the far snowcapped mountains into the scene.
We saw plenty of Savannah Sparrows and Wimbrells, Bob just snapping away!


Nearing the top of one of the hills, we spot the Golden Plover, which is a new bird for us all. As I line up to get that perfect shot, Bob documents my efforts, along with a tack sharp image of the Plover. You should note that he managed to fulfil Joy's request of making sure to include flowers in the photo!

Although the area was void of the highly prized Longspur, we did enjoy a host of colorful wildflowers,

and spent a good bit of time getting more pictures of those birds & animals that did cooperate.


BUT, at the end of the day, and end of the week, no Smith's!!!

There were still other enjoyable activities besides the birding. The Lake offered some great paddling, so off we went with Bob & Joy leading the way in their matching Necky Manatou kayaks that were acquired last year in Stowe VT (yes, on the trip with us!).
Kim paddled ahead while I stopped at every good looking opportunity to wet a line. The fishing was a bit slow, but a few other things on the Lake were quite fast....can you believe it?? out here in the silent wilderness a couple of guys are out makin' a bunch of racket. Oh well, I guess one expects to see a little of that on the weekend of the 4th even here in Alaska.

Later in the day, the fishing paid off with this 22" Lake Trout, which we baked Louisiana style that evening for supper (Delicious!!), and fed a few others with the carcass. Bob captured the feeding that followed in this remarkable series.....

Our second to last day was spent wandering further eastward on the highway, to an area that demonstrated the dynamic terrain & topography that Alaska is noted for. We all fell in love with this stunning overview of the Paxson valley featuring endless rows of glacier laden mountains in the background.
In the same area Bob took a few more great photos of the local wildlife....

What a fabulous week we had! And your probably wondering about that Smith's Larkspur? Well, leave it to Sam to go out early on our last morning, trudge true the tundra, and find "the bird". In fact, also found another sought after "lifer", the Lapland Longspur. By the time I had located them, Bob & Joy had shown up....good thing, because I had left my camera gear behind. Bob saved the day with these two great shots of the elusive sets of feathers.

I guess all good things must come to an end, and so this terrific week at Tangles Lakes was over. Along with the end of the stay came the end of the sunny weather. As Kim & I prepared to leave that afternoon, storms loomed over the Lower Lake.
The ensueing rain made the driving pretty messy, and proved that these Alaskan roads can deteriorate quickly. It was getting late, and we had a flat shortly after this picture was taken. We stopped at the first pullout and quickly dropped into deep slumber listening to the patter of heavy rain on the trailer's roof.

Denali Highway Revisited

After our wonderful four days at the National Park, we decided to return to the Denali Highway to explore, bird, hike, paddle & fish this wonderous 135 miles of tundra, lakes & mountains.

Opting to bypass Brushkana River CG this time and enjoy some new location for the first night we pushed on. Boy oh boy! What a great decision... we found this single camping space down a 4WD road located on a premier example of Alaska's pristine wilderness lakes.
Arriving early in the afternoon, we really hit a hot spot on the birding. The lake above was accompanied by some smaller feeder lakes to it's east, all coupled with creeks. Across the "highway" was another entire string of similar lakes, loaded with swans, ducks, shorebirds and loons. Those tundra swans that seemed so hard to find a few days ago were dotted across each lake.
Although we didn't see any Artic Loons, Commons were nesting in the lake to the south.
And along with them, a playful group of five young otters. It was interesting to see the male loon's protective reaction to the frisky critter's approach. One would think that a single bird would be easily twarted by five otters, but not the case, as the loon persisted violent thrashing, pecking & attacking, eventually driving the threat away!
It seemed strange to see shorebirds that are so common in Louisiana way up here in Alaska!

The numerous ducks on the water looked quite familiar, along with the typical Alaska sign (those signs in Louisiana seem to be made out of the same "holy" material).... But a little further down the road we enjoy the crossing of the glass smooth lake by a lone waterfowl, heading home for the night....
The next morning we are off to Tangle Lakes, another fifty-some miles east on the Highway. As we pass though another stream laden area, we're greeted by another of Alaska's common residents, moma moose and have new calf.
Out in the distance is that continuous reminder of how beautiful this place is, along with just how far north we are.