DAY 2 – June 19
Anchorage to Talkeetna
We were all up early, not sleeping well due to the long daylight hours, cold air, and the time zone change. We walked to McDonalds for breakfast, then had our RV orientation and check-out. The orientation film was somewhat intimidating – they want to be sure you take care of their property.
Tina's friend Dean stopped by to say hello, and we planned to spend more time together later in the trip. We took some time to get familiar with operating the RV, then drove to Fred Meyer to stock up on groceries. From there we drove to the Alaska Native Heritage Center (ANHC).
At the ANHC, we spoke with some Natives displaying their crafts, saw a demonstration of games from the Eskimo Olympics, and saw a song and dance demonstration. We also toured the outside displays of different types of lodging and other cultural items from all the Native groups of Alaska.
We drove on to Talkeetna. It took a while to get comfortable driving the RV, but traffic was not bad and the weather was fine. No views of Denali, though. We did see a moose and calf alongside the road. The kids fell asleep on the way. The morning had been tiring for them, with the orientation and grocery shopping both taking longer than we expected.
We checked into the Talkeetna Camper Park, where the manager was very helpful. The camper park is not very big and it is wooded, but the sites are crowded close together. It is also adjacent to the train tracks. We were fortunate to get a pull-through site. Tina cooked rice and chicken for us, eggs for Julianna, and a hot dog for Noah. We showered and watched a movie on the DVD player.
I had thought about staying up late to see if there might be some good light on the mountain. But that would have required a 0.6-mile walk into town without knowing if the mountain was even out, and I was much too tired anyway.
Next: Day 3, Talkeetna
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