We’ve been told that we should visit Talkeetna on our way south. And here we are, in a town that doesn’t take itself too seriously - it’s mayor since 1997 is a 17-yr old cat called Stubbs. It does take its history seriously, its main street buildings date from between 1916 to 1940.
And, yes, it is a cool little town, centered around climbing Denali which means lots of planes, lots of climbers and lots of hostels and around tourists which means lots of restaurants and people milling around and getting ready for adventures. Note the raincoats. Are they going to have fun or what?
We arrived about 10:00 just in time for a cinnamon roll at the Talkeetna Roadhouse.
A roadhouse has family seating which means that it has about 6 large tables which seat about 8 - 9 people each and you sit where you find a place. Great way to meet others with lots of different interests.
But the cinnamon rolls paled when we saw the Razzies - cinnamon rolls with lots of raspberry jam. A twofer: cinnamon rolls, lots of jam. What more could I ask for? Well, I could have found a table with others who wanted to talk. I sat down at a table with a family of 4, a mother and father and 2 young kids. No talk there and a group of 3 guys who were guides planning the next expedition. Oh, well. We looked at all the flags and paraphernalia on the walls from Denali climbers form all over: Korea, China, Japan, Denmark, Norway - you name a country, they probably have had a climbing expedition here.
Since we had eaten our Razzies and had only coffee, we moved to a seating area rather than take places at a table where the wait personnel were working. Gary sat on a piano bench with this sheet music. Peter, Paul & Mary and Mama Mia?
In this hip roadhouse with all these young people. Do climbers listen to PP&M as they climb up Denali? Do they belt out ‘Mama Mia’ when they reach the top?
The roadhouse, dating from 1917, not only serves superb meals and is a hub of activity but also has 7 private rooms, a bunk room and some rustic cabins out back. Shared dining, shared bathrooms.
I went to use the bathroom before we headed out into the town itself, but realized that they were also showers for those staying in the Roadhouse and, since I was 3rd in line, I might have a long wait. The washers and dryers were in the same room. Hey, Nancy, this is a roadhouse. Deal with it. Yeah, find a bathroom somewhere else.
Cool museum in town. Composed of 3 buildings, one of which is the town’s 1936 schoolhouse, it has lots of relics from Talkeetna history. It has a fully furnished trapper’s cabin, with a trapper in it. I recognized this relic. Yep, a relic holding a relic. (I thought I’d say that before you did.)
Lots of old tools, shop wares, clothing, home appliances like irons, etc. Full and fun to tour. In the final building is a scale model of Denali and at 1:00 a National Park Ranger talked about climbing Denali. But, I’ve put what I learned into another blog.
After we had listened to the ranger talk we wandered around town - along with all the other tourists who had found their way up here today. We found an old home of Harry Robb. When he passed away in 1976, his cabin was boarded up since he had no heirs. Finally, the Talkeetna Historical Society was able to purchase the cabin from the county in the 1990’s. When they they opened it up, it was like opening a time capsule Everything was as he had left it, nothing had been disturbed. His pot to boil water was still on the stove His saws were neatly hanging on one wall and his pots and pans on another. Jam was still in his larder, his table was set for dinner, his glasses by his plate and his tobacco was handy. Just as he had left it all. And, that’s the way we see it today.
We then walked over to the Denali NP VC and saw a movie about climbing, lots of flags on the walls, this cool chandelier and a up to the minute listing of those climbing Denali. When you climb, you must check in and when you return, you must check out.
Our final stop was in the local cemetery where we found some unusual grave stones. This person must have been a pilot.
Here’s a climber from Korea, Sang Don Ko, who had also climbed Mt. Everest.
Especially poignant was the memorial to climbers who had died on Denali. Their names and countries were listed in chronological order by the year they had died.
Obviously many countries are included.
But, although all were tragedies, look what happened in 2002 on Mt Foraker, a peak near Denali.
All from the same family, all in the same expedition. I can’t even imagine the grief.
After paying our respects to the dead, we headed back to our car, passing this unique vehicle on our way.
It all folds up and must lie almost flat on its trailer for transportation.
Time to head back to the RV. Fun day in Talkeetna.
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