Talkeetna, The Northern Exposure Experience, and Wasilla area

We left the pups behind for the 30 mile drive to Talkeetna, Alaska.  Talkeetna was the inspiration for the television series Northern Exposure.  Talkeetna is located at the end of the Talkeetna Spur and is home to a rail stop, museum, gift shops and a couple of drinking/eating establishments.  The museum is located in the heart of town one street from the main drag.  Of course, Talkeetna was formed by the gold mining rush and prospectors poured in by 1896.  They had a steamboat that travelled the rivers to bring supplies to the miners.  A railroad was constructed in 1916 and the towns population grew to one thousand.  The 1918 influenza outbreak and the completed of the railroad decreased the population and only the hardiest stayed on until 1940.  Today's source of income is mountaineering as climbers from around the world come to Talkeetna to hitch a ride on a plane to start their trek to McKinley.  The current population is 896.

The mountain in miniature

Trappers Cabin in Talkeetna.  Only the bare essentials.

Main Street Talkeetna

The museum is located in the old schoolhouse

We enjoyed the walk around Talkeetna and limited our purchases to a book for Ashley about teachers in the outer areas.  We did enjoy a nice lunch of beer cheese soup, beer samplers, and small salads.

It was a beautiful day in the high 60's with lots of sunshine.  After lunch we headed back to Trapper Creek to sit back and watch a little Netflix.

There is a small landing strip right next to the rv park.  Glad there were no arrivals in the middle of the night;)

The park is really quiet as I think most folks go on the Talkeetna.  This is the first park we had trees.  Along with the trees came seeds that were sticky and really bugged the pups.  We had to carry them out to a dry spot with no trees so it wouldn't get stuck in their paws.  

We left Trapper Creek and traveled at a leisurely pace to Wasilla.  We chose Wasilla as our Anchorage area base since they had an inexpensive park, Walgreens and was close to lots to do.   We didn't do much in Anchorage but some grocery shopping, and a visit to Earthquake Park.  There was a display of the effects of the earthquake in the area and a really nice walking trail.

The ground dropped here and created this slope

The mud flats of the inlet

A very nice walking trail that went all way downtown

We enjoyed the day and the ride from Anchorage to Wasilla was a bit rainy.  It created lots of interesting landscapes.

The beast and toad at Big Bear RV park in Wasilla

I will do a separate post for the Reindeer Farm and Musk Ox Farm in Palmer.  Both were fun and inexpensive things to do.