Tarrying in Talkeetna, AK Day 1

Thursday, July 26th, I arrived in the quaint little town of Talkeetna. It's located 14 miles off the Parks highway on the Talkeetna Spur road that dead ends at the town. Three miles before you get to the town, there is a pull off to view Mt. McKinley/Denali on a clear day. As luck would have it, it was a gorgeous day and I can now count myself as one of the 30% who got to see Denali! That's what the natives prefer to call it instead of Mt. McKinley. Even though it was named after McKinley, he never actually ever visited Alaska, so they don't recognize that name for the mountain. And it was gorgeous! :)

I got a site nestled in the birch trees at the only RV park with hookups and wifi and headed off to check out the town!

It's a very quaint, old rustic town that started off as a mining town, then the railroad came thru followed by aviation and a mountaineering heritage followed. This is the starting point for climbing Denali.

Most of the buildings here have a historical significance, such as this General Store.

There are trappers pelts on display

And an old mushing sled

Some of the old cabins have been re-purposed into gift shops or museums.

The brewery

I'm dying to try out the pizza here. I understand the owners are from Pittsburgh, PA and are great Steelers fans. So they've got to make great pizza! :) 

The chef at the Wildflower was formerly the chef for George Bush Sr., so I bet that food is great too! 

But my first choice so far goes to the infamous Roadhouse. You just walk in and set down at any table with soon to be met friends :) 

I was hungry and their cinnamon buns looked great! So I indulged of course ;)

But the real draw here is their infamous sourdough pancakes! I'll be back in the morning for that ;)