Moose of the Wooden Kind…and Mines

In amongst the puddles in Talkeetna.

The rain abated a bit so we walked around downtown Talkeetna (all two blocks of it) and ate dinner at the Talkeetna Brewery.  Maybe you have seen the painted cows of Chicago and the painted angels of Los Angeles.  I put a picture in one of my blogs of a painted buffalo in Great Falls, Montana. These projects are usually fundraisers for the public arts councils of the cities.  Well, in Talkeetna, they painted wooden moose.  They were everywhere – some with dreadlocks, some with CDs for earrings, all were unique.  We bought a pattern so Russ can make me my very own moose once we get home. I think I will put painted quilt blocks all over him.

Most of the buildings date from the early 1900s. 
It seems that, in order to be a resident of Alaska, one must have at least one pooch, preferrably two or three.

The Talkeetna Roadhouse where we had breakfast two days in a row. Everything is served family style so we sat with a family from Virginia and another from Australia. 
They also have a great bakery with cinnamon rolls and cookies.

This inn has been around since 1927 and is still popular with fishing groups and hikers.

One of the many moose around town.  I love the dreadlocks on this one!

This moose was outside an flying service shop.

Built in 1969, the Bartlett Earth Station was Alaska's first satellite communication station with 15 and 30 meter dishes.
The site is abandoned. It was kind of weird, seeing space age stuff decaying in the Alaska wilderness.

One of the many small lakes that dot this area of Alaska.

The clouds did not go away, so we left Talkeetna a little sad that we did not get to see Mt McKinley in all its glory.  But we have a few more weeks in Alaska.  If the weather clears up significantly and we happen to be in the Anchorage area, I am sure Russ will be able to get his flightseeing trip.

Decided to stay in Wasilla rather than Anchorage on our way down to the Kenai Peninsula, just to stay in a different place.  Wasilla, about an hour north of Anchorage, has all the standard stores, so we got the van serviced and did some stocking up on supplies.  All of this in the rain, of course. Even washed the van and trailer, though we had a little mishap with the trailer.  Russ thought the 10 foot, 4 inch high trailer would fit in an 10 foot high washing bay.  So, after letting air out of the tires so he could back the trailer out, we sat in the McDonald’s parking lot eating lunch while our little air compressor reinflated the tires. We were lucky though, just some cracks on the existing vents of the air conditioner cover. We have been fortunate in that we haven’t had any major mishaps (knock on wood!)

Yesterday we finally had a nice day, so we set off for Hatcher Pass and the Independence Mine State Park.  Quite an adventure as, once again, we got to experience the thrills of a pot-holed, washer boarded gravel road. Beautiful drive though and the mine was very interesting. It had fallen into almost total disrepair after it was closed down around World War II.  It became a State Park several years ago.  They have done a lot to restore it and tell its story. On Hatcher Pass, we drove by several old mines and a couple active ones.  Also beaver ponds and glacier lakes as well as lots of rushing streams.

The Little Susitana River, on our way up to Hatcher Pass.  This is a gold-bearing river and you can pan if you wish.  Russ thought the water was too cold to be worth it.

A view of the mountains on our way up to Hatcher Pass.  This part of the road was paved.  Little did we know how bad the gravel part was to be.

A view looking down into the Mat-Su River Valley and the Chugach mountains on the other side.  You can see a little glacier just on the left of the far moutnains.

The Independence Mine State Park.  This mine was active in the 1930s and 40s and was shut down with the onset of World War II.

A view of the two bunkhouses and the mountain which had the mine tunnels behind. You can walk around the grounds, but you need a guide to go into most of the buildings.

You can see some of the mine tailings here as well as the cookhouse.  The company had a reputation for treating the miners well with good food, warm accommodations and first run movies twice a week.

Much of the working parts of the mine have fallen apart, including the 22 story equivalent set of stairs that the miners had to climb to get to the tunnel entrance.

An Alaskan marmot.  In Alaska, they don't have Groundhog Day on February 2nd, they have Alaska Marmot day.

Russ thinks Walt Disney must have been inspired by this for part of his Thunder Mountain ride.

Hatcher Pass Summit, about 3500 feet.

A close up of the tundra around the summit.

Hatcher Pass Road, the gravel part.  You can't see the pot holes from here, but they are there.  Lots and lots of them.

My intrepid photographer, risking life and limb (or at least, wet feet) to get just the right shot.

After our adventurous drive, stopped for lunch at a mini-mart on Parks Highway which had a deli/short order kitchen in the back.  One of the best hamburgers I have had in a long time.  Sat at a table next to the Fram oil filters and duct tape.  By the time we got back to Wasilla it was raining again, surprise, surprise. The forecast is calling for sunny skies by the middle of the week.  Can’t wait for it.  Too much rain for this Southern Californian.