MT. DENALI & TALKEETNA Talkeetna, Alaska

Expedition Team:  Dave Miller, Rosie Miller                                                                                      Expedition Date:    July 3, 2018

Our G Adventures group drove 375 miles north from Seward  past beautiful mountain and glacial scenery (Photo#1) to the town of Talkeetna (population 800).  Before we hit town we pulled over and saw Mt. Denali in the distance for the first time (Photo#3).  Talkeetna is the last stopping point for mountain climbers wanting to climb Mt. Denali.   The five street town had restaurants, shops and a National Park Office.  Rosie & I hiked one mile on the flooded Talkeetna River Trail  (Photo#5) with Mt. Denali lurking in the distance.  We stayed the night at the Swiss-Alaska Inn.

At the edge of town I explored the Talkeetna Cemetery Photos#6-#8).  In lieu of regular headstones it had the most unique, creative memorials I have ever seen such as a house with a cat on the roof, a propeller for a former pilot & part of a backhoe for a heavy equipment operator.  There was also a memorial to climbers who died trying to scale Mt. Denali.

Every July at the Talkeetna Moose Dropping Festival they hold a contest where participants compete to see who can throw a moose poop nugget the farthest distance.

For dinner at the Denali Beer Pub and Brew Garden, I enjoyed for the first time reindeer meatloaf  (Photo#9) with mashed potatoes, gravy and an Alaskan agave gold beer.  For breakfast the next morning I ate a delicious Swiss concoction called roesti  (Photo#10) consisting of three pounds of eggs, potatoes & reindeer sausage mixed together.

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