DAY 3 – June 20
Talkeetna
We woke up early after a chilly night with little sleep. We had breakfast in the RV, then at 7:50 a van from Talkeetna Air Taxi picked us up for our flight around Denali. Tina's voice had recovered, and she enjoyed chatting with our driver. There were clouds above us, but the mountain was out and we were told this was the clearest day in several weeks.
While waiting for our flight, the kids were entertained by the resident cat, "Beaver." Our pilot, Tom, met us with lots of energy and silliness. He was also very informative during the flight. We flew with a family of three in a DeHavilland Beaver. Tina and the kids sat behind the pilot, while I got the rear seat – the best seat for photography. (We were supposed to all have window seats, but that would have required putting the two kids in the back by themselves.)
There were a few small clouds blocking the southern view of Mt. McKinley, so the pilot altered his plans a bit to give us all a better view. We ended up going around the mountain and seeing the Wickersham Wall, and spending more time than our purchased tour. We flew by Mt. Hunter, Mt. Foraker, and Moose's Tooth. We flew through 747 Pass, which seemed really tight but was really plenty of room. Everything was so massive, it was difficult to judge distances.
Landing on Ruth Glacier was a treat. We landed going uphill and bounced around a bit. We could see Don Sheldon's mountain house and a few other planes. We saw and heard an avalanche, too. The scenery was just incredible.
Noah was not feeling well, and was upset at us for not bringing snacks. I think he was mistaking motion sickness as hunger. He perked up after throwing a few snowballs. (Even though we had all taken Bonine in advance, I was feeling a bit queasy on the plane too.)
On the return flight, I had the co-pilot seat. We took off going downhill, and when the slope dropped away we just glided off into the air.
We were driven back to the camper park by a young man who had grown up in the Alaskan bush, and reminded us of Tina's nephew Brandon. We had lunch in the RV, the walked to "beautiful downtown Talkeetna."
We visited a number of shops, and walked to the river (although Denali was not visible by now). At the ranger station, we picked up Junior Ranger booklets for the kids and saw a film on mountain climbing. I was disappointed not to run across any information in town regarding the Moose Dropping Festival; I might have purchased a chance in the "lottery." We all enjoyed ice cream from Nagley's store, then walked back to the camper park. We rested and played around for a short while, then walked back into town for a fun dinner at Mountain High Pizza Pie.
Next: Day 4, Talkeetna to Denali National Park
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