Views from Talkeetna, Alaska

(This photo of the Talkeetna Chamber of Commerce is for Mary, my sister-in-law, who works for a slightly larger chamber in Park City, Utah.)

(worn out LL Bean boots get recycled in Alaska)

Downtown Talkeetna is a tiny community that gets a big boost from the bus tours on their way to Denali National Park. Just outside the town center is a brand new (HUGE) beautiful lodge that is only open from May to September. (we stayed just one night there...it's very nice and when McKinley isn't hiding behind the clouds, the lodge apparently has an amazing view) You can see the entire town center from just next to the 'welcome' sign (shown above) ...and Mark & I took a walk by all the choices of where to have dinner before we made our choice. The deciding factor...a big sign saying they had fiddleheads, Mark's favorite. This 'restaurant' was a covered deck with plastic tables & chairs, a kitchen that might have started life as a shed that now has wheels under it and an outdoor grill for cooking the very best tasting salmon I've ever had. We had just spent 7 nights on a huge Royal Caribbean ship, where each night we had dinner in a formal dining room, but the salmon I had at this little outdoor restaurant was far superior to anything I ate on the ship. I wish I had taken a photo of the place....although, the boot & bear sign were photos taken at this 'restaurant'...unique Alaska atmosphere. (Seeing the LL Bean boot planter made Maine feel not so far away.)

Ohhhh, I forgot to mention this....Talkeetna is the town that the tv series 'Northern Exposure' was based on...