Motorbike Mike

Talkeetna Air Taxi

After waking up in Anchorage one final time, we’re headed North to uncharted territory on our tour of Alaska. We were all looking forward to some new topography, including Benz, he has peed on every bush/tree from Anchorage to the Kenai and is looking forward to a change.

We rolled out of Anchorage after another Costco run, headed North on highway 1, and thirty miles later we were at the Fairbanks junction and highway 3 North. Our destination for the early afternoon was Talkeetna, which is close to world-class salmon fishing and Denali (also known as Mt. McKinley). Tourists travel to Talkeetna each summer to fish, raft, and go flightseeing. Products from local artists, musicians, and craftspeople are available in area stores.

“The Beaver”

Once in the town of Talkeetna, we found some lunch at the Wild Willow Cafe on Main street. Their specialty, yes, Halibut! We all had the burger…

After lunch Mert and OB perused town, Mert found her Moose charm, OB found some ice cream and I went down and booked a 3-hour flight tour of Mt. McKinley that included a glacier landing. I can’t begin to tell you how incredible it was to land on that glacier with my father (Mert wouldn’t go). The view of Mt. McKinley from the glacier was simply spectacular. We could see base camp (for the climbers) from the air and were able to get close enough to see the color of the tents each climber had.

Mt. McKinley

McKinley has a summit elevation of 20,320 feet (6,194 m) above sea level, making it the highest peak in North America. Measured from base to peak, it is also the world’s tallest mountain on land. McKinley sits atop a sloping plain with elevations from 300 metres (1,000 ft) to 900 metres (3,000 ft), for a base-to-peak height of 5,300 to 5,900 metres (17,000 to 19,000 ft). (Mount Everest, on the other hand, sits atop the Tibetan Plateau at a much higher base elevation. Base elevations for Everest range from 4,200 m (13,800 ft) on the south side to 5,200 m (17,100 ft) on the Tibetan Plateau, for a base-to-peak height in the range of 3,650 to 4,650 metres (12,000 to 15,300 ft). However, McKinley’s base-to-peak height is little more than half that of the 10,200 meters (33,500 ft) of the volcano Mauna Kea, which lies mostly underwater.)

Me and OB on the Glacier

Full View Glacier Landing

Here are a couple of shots of OB and me on the Kahiltna Glacier, just to the South of McKinley. The plane is a DeHavilland Beaver.

Mt. Hunter

Here is a really cool late afternoon shot of Mt. Hunter, just 8 miles south of McKinley.

What a fantastic day, Mert got to shop and OB and I had an awesome adventure with Talkeetna Air Taxi Company! http://www.talkeetnaair.com

I can imagine it getting any better than this…

MM

Homer Spit

After we picked up Mert we drove back out to Homer Spit to explore a little further. Homer Spit looks a little like a fishing community that has seen its better day but from March through October it’s a finely oiled machine.

The Homer Spit is a geographical landmark located in Homer, Alaska on the southern tip of the Kenai Peninsula. The spit is a 4.5-mile (7.2 km) long piece of land jutting out into Kachemak Bay. The spit is also home to the Homer Boat Harbor. The harbor contains both deep and shallow water docks and serves up to 1500 commercial and pleasure boats at its summer peak. Additional features and attractions include The Nick Dudiak Fishing Lagoon, which is an artificial “fishing hole”, campgrounds, hotels, and restaurants, and the Salty Dawg Saloon, which is constructed out of several historic buildings from Homer. Hundreds of eagles have gathered there in winter to be fed by Jean Keene, the “Eagle Lady”. The Spit features the longest road into ocean waters in the entire world, taking up 10–15 minutes to cover by car.

Spit, from the air

Two different theories postulate that the spit originates either from the tidal swells and currents of Cook Inlet and Kachemak Bay over millennia of sand buildup or that it was pushed into place by now-retreated glaciers. In 1899, the Cook Inlet Coal Fields Company laid a railroad track along the spit, connecting the docks to the coal fields along Kachemak Bay. The resulting business led to the development of what eventually became Homer, Alaska. In the 1960s, several hippies, known as “spit rats”, traveled from all around to camp on the Homer Spit, many of them becoming successful commercial fishermen over time. The 1964 Alaska earthquake shrank it to 508 acres (2.06 km²), and killed most of the vegetation, making it today mostly gravel and sand.

“The Salty Dog”

Inside Salty

The Salty Dog Saloon was my favorite spot on the SPIT (for obvious reasons) and as you can imagine is a local favorite and a tourist must-see. Once inside you will see the entire landscape covered in dollar bills with each one telling the drunken tale from patrons past. Oh, if only those walls could talk!

After walking the full length of the boardwalk and finding some hidden gems we focused on getting some lunch. We ended up at Captain Patties, highly recommended by the locals.

Captain Patties

Captain Patties serves up copious amounts of fresh Halibut every day and it doesn’t get any fresher than this. I saw a delivery boy walk the fresh fish over from the filet table just 10 minutes earlier. Tomorrow it’s back to Anchorage for a day and then on to Denali and Mt. McKinley State Park!                          MM

Today was a lazy day at the Golden Nugget Campground in Anchorage where we have been parked all week. We have been going so hard for so long that we just wanted to spend the day doing absolutely nothing so I decided to post some fun facts about Alaska.

Here goes;

Ten fun facts about Alaska

Fact 1:
There are more than three million lakes in Alaska.

Fact 2:
Dog mushing is the official state sport. The Alaska Legislature adopted it in 1972.

Fact 3:
Alaska’s name is based on the Eskimo word Alakshak meaning great lands or peninsula.

Fact 4:
17 of the 20 highest peaks in the United States are located in Alaska.

Fact 5:
The first settlement in Alaska was established by Russian whalers and fur traders on Kodiak Island in 1784.

Fact 6:
The Alaska Highway was originally built as a military supply road during World War II.

Fact 7:
In 1867 United States Secretary of State William H. Seward offered Russia $7,200,000, or two cents per acre, for Alaska.

Fact 8:
In America, Alaska is also called the ‘Lower 48’.

Fact 9:
Southwest Alaska is popular for its stormy weather, tundra landscapes, and large populations of marine mammals.

Fact 10:
Nearly one-third of Alaska lies within the Arctic Circle.

Tomorrow we will move the camp to the Kenai Peninsula!

MM