Talkeetna

After introducing the Woods to the marvelous "Moscow Mule" (a delicious and dangerous cocktail served in a copper mug) at Simon's we made them get up early for a road trip to Talkeetna.  Nick was super happy about that for most of the day.  I was just happy that we didn't get a call from someone in Talkeetna letting us know that the town was evacuated like the last time we tried to take this trip.

Here was my view from the backseat for the two hour or so trip:

After winding north from Anchorage through Wasilla, which has nothing worth taking a picture of, we got up to Talkeetna.  It's about the closest town to Denali and it's adorable.  Here's the view from the road into town:

That's the base of Denali...you can't really see the top of the mountain in this picture.  We got better ones later.  The mountain is ginormous.

Andy and I dressed alike for the trip.  Isn't that cute?

Miranda wore a shirt we bought her for Christmas as a joke.  It was pretty incredible.

Shortly after checking into our cabin, we headed into town for lunch.  From our seat at Denali Brewing Co., you could see the whole town.

Here's the other half of town:

A perfect day to eat on the patio.  No clouds!

  
Ripley was pretty much over it once we sat down.  About 30 seconds after we took this picture, he noticed those curly fries just out of reach and then he was on a mission.  Good dog.

Pretty much all of Talkeetna is historic.  You know because they tell you on the signs:

This is the Talkeetna Roadhouse.  It's famous for its food.  We tried to eat there but there were no seats.  On the bright side, it's mostly known for its breakfast and we weren't really there at breakfast time.

So after we tortured Ripley by keeping him away from the discarded curly fries, we headed out to do some hiking.  We finally found a trail that seemed only sort of closed due to breakup and went exploring.  Ripley was happy about that.

And then he tried to run onto the semi-frozen river!

After we got to the river we quickly discovered that mosquitoes love Miranda's greek blood.  She almost got carried away by them!  We doused everyone in Off (and let Miranda lead the way back to the car) and went back to our little cabin to relax a little.

The ADORABLE cabin:

The inside was surprisingly (and awesomely) un-rustic.  We'd stayed in these little types of cabins before, but none of them was decorated.

It even had satellite tv, which we didn't really need or want, but still pretty nice.

Even the bathroom was fancy!

Andy did a great job of picking out the spot.  If you're ever in Talkeetna, go check out the Talkeetna Chalet Bed and Breakfast.  In addition to the cabins, they have a main house which was beautiful (very chalet-like indeed) and came with the friendliest host and an excellent breakfast, complete with a great view of Denali.  We absolutely loved it and will definitely be back!!  If you're ever in Talkeetna, go give them your money!  Here's their website: http://www.talkeetnachalet.net/

After playing some board games and relaxing in the cabin, we went back into Talkeetna to check out the beer garden at the Denali Brewing Co.

They make some tasty beer in Talkeetna!

It was so nice to sit and enjoy the 70+ degree weather and the sun in the beer garden.  I found a cloud!

Andy found some kind of crazy blueberry beer that was amazing:

and Ripley found a friend.

Her name was Tally and she was only 8 months old.  All she wanted to do was wrestle, which Ripley loved.

On the way back, the clouds had cleared up at the mountain.  What a day!

Andy even caught a picture of one of the zillions of little planes flying around the mountain.  Someday I'd like to go on one of those flightseeing tours. 

We ended the day with dinner at the Flying Squirrel Bakery, where they do wood-fired pizzas on the weekends.  It was probably one of the best pizzas I've ever had and I promise that's not the beer talking.

Another great day! Don't you all want to come to Alaska so we can show you around?  Just promise us you'll be nice like the Woods and bring all the sunshine with you.

More of our fun trip tomorrow!