Talkeetna, Palmer and Moose Pass (Thursday 5/23 - Friday 5/24)

Leaving Denali National Park a day early allowed us with more flexibility and time to enjoy sights driving down to the Kenai Peninsula and our pre-booked campground at Moose Pass.  It was late afternoon on Thursday when we headed south on the Parks Hwy.  We had no real idea where we might land for the night, but I felt Talkeetna might be in play.  Things worked out perfectly when we found the Talkeetna Boat Launch and RV Park right along the Talkeetna River. 

Arriving early in the evening, this was our first opportunity of the entire trip to do a campfire and cook dinner outside.  It was a delightful evening with steak & potatoes along with a bottle of our favorite fruity wine from Wisconsin!  Not too bad for a couple of city girls.  LOL

Relaxing after dinner around the campfire.  It really was a most enjoyable night!  We went to bed around 11:00pm and slept like babies . . . it must have been the wine . . . as we didn't get up and around until close to 8:00am.

I really wanted to have breakfast in town at the Roadhouse, but when we arrived there we learned they had not yet opened for the season.  Known for the delicious (and huge) cinnamon rolls, we needed to figure out something else to do.  Most of Talkeetna still seemed asleep, unlike the night before as when we arrived there were a lot of people milling around along the street and in the outdoor bar areas.

We did spend some time at the Walter Harper Talkeetna Ranger Station and visitor information center.  This is where those mountain climbing in Denali National Park stop for their safety briefing and are subsequently monitored during their mountaineering adventure.  A daily statistics board is maintained on the current season's progress of climbers and those who successfully summit Mt. Denali and the other mountains inside the park.

We also walked around a little of the historical buildings area of Talkeetna, before heading out of town.  This photo is of the inside of a railroad era cabin built in the 1920's.  Its most recent resident Harry Robb lived here until his death in 1975.  The cabin looks exactly as he left it nearly 50 years ago.  In the 1990's the local historical society acquired it for $1 and has done minor restoration.  The strawberry patch Robb planted in the 1940's still produces fruit annually.

Before reaching the Parks Hwy to continue on south towards Anchorage, we found our breakfast stop.  Having seen signs for the Flying Squirrel Cafe the night before, we thought it might be the perfect place to eat.  It did not disappoint!

To be honest, there were simply too many choices, so both Pam & I ordered something to eat now, plus hot beverages . . . and a little something "to go" for later on in the day.

 

I thoroughly enjoyed my baked cherry apple french toast casserole, with a side of black current apple crisp and a hot tea.  Pam had a toasted anything bagel with salmon & cream cheese and a cafe latte frappuccino something or another, which she said was delightful. As you can tell, I'm not a coffee drinker but I'm really happy she enjoyed it.

After breakfast, we stopped at the Kahiltna Birchworks birch syrup shop.  Expecting to see a little of the manufacturing process, it was a bit of a disappointment as they only had samples being offered in hopes of enticing purchases from their store.  Birch syrup is VERY expensive due to its limited syrup production and short season, so we both passed on the shopping experience.

 

As I contemplated "what next" as we headed for Anchorage, I threw a bunch of options out to Pam.  After taking a pass on the Iditarod Headquarters & Museum in Wasilla, we headed up to Hatcher Pass and the Independence Mine State Historical Park.  Our initial GOOGLE search indicated the historic area would be open, but when we arrived, it had clearly not been dug out for the upcoming summer season. Never the less, it was a lovely drive high up into the Talkeetna Mountains.

From there, we headed towards Palmer for a stop at the Musk Ox Farm.  David & I had done it before, and Pam was interested, so it was next on our early afternoon's agenda.  We learned about their lovely farm in the Matanuska Valley, raising these prehistoric looking animals in a preservation effort dating back to the 1960's.  Today tours and the sale of the hand-combed qiviut used for garments such as hats, mittens and scarves, help to support this 501(c)3 organization's mission and operations.

Our visit was extra exciting as Osprey went into labor with her first born.  Because this was all taking place out in the pasture, our tour had to be detoured to allow the new momma the space and comfort without a lot of people milling around her.  We were excited to read this past week that she in fact did give birth to this lovely little calf.

As we continued south, we ended up reaching Anchorage right about rush hour.  Traffic in the "big city" is nothing like what we're used to in the lower 48, so we just kept moving through the downtown area until reaching the other side of town and the Seward Highway.

On a past trip to the Kenai Peninsula, I wanted to check out the historic village of Hope.  But because David & I were in the 29' "beast" we didn't feel comfortable driving the narrow two-lane road down to the little waterfront town.  With the campervan, however, I felt it was a safe option so we took it.

There really wasn't much about it to see, and as the start of the Memorial Day holiday weekend, folks were arriving to their summer getaways and campgrounds.  We drove through town to the waterfront, and turned back around.  I did get out and took a look around at a couple of the restored historical buildings.

We headed back out and to the Seward Hwy, where we stopped for ice cream at Summit Lake Lodge.  It was a nice place to stretch our legs and enjoy a snack since we knew we were probably half an hour from Moose Pass and our campsite for the weekend.

We rolled into camp at around 8:30pm and set up for the night as we had an early morning ahead in Seward for our Northwestern Glacier Tour with Major Marine.

TO BE CONTINUED