Sunday, May 29, 2011

Talkeetna

We spent the day in Talkeetna, a little tourist town a couple hours north of here.

 

This first picture is a panorama stitched together from seven shots taken along Main Street. I thought the colors were interesting. If you click on the picture, you can see a larger image in my PicasaWeb Alaska album.

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The menu outside Nagley’s Store

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Note: Did you ever notice that in a candid picture of ten or more random tourists, at least one will be picking his nose?

 

The ATV/Walkway along the Alaska Railroad bridge over the Susitna River just outside of town.  I thought the shot looked more interesting in Black and White.

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You can tell an Alaskan bush plane from its oversized tires.  Talkeetna is the gateway to interior Alaska, all expeditions to Denali start here.

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The Great One itself, Denali, the highest peak in North America, and one of the most deadly in the world.  Four people have already died on its flanks this climbing season.

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Hope your Saturday was as enjoyable as ours. 

15 comments:

  1. Thanks for the nudge. I will get outside with the camera today. (My Saturday, being spent at work, was interesting only in work-related ways.)

    Such gorgeous color.

    Mary Anne in Kentucky

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  2. Denali: 6194 meters or 20320 feet

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  3. This is very strange. I read two bloggers from Alaska, and both of you have blogged about Talkeetna in the past two days.

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  4. Not strange at all. By Alaskan law, all Alaskan bloggers are required to blog about Talkeetna at least once per summer. It's a fact, you can look it up.

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  5. Did you ever notice that in a candid picture of ten or more random tourists, at least one will be picking his nose?

    Dude! I'm 4500 miles away. That's one hell of a long lens you've got!

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  6. I live in Central Pennsylvania. Our mountains, the Appalachians, are the oldest mountains in the contiguous United States. So old, in fact, that they've shrunk from Osteoporosis. I wouldn't mind seeing something younger and taller. Denali: What a concept.

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  7. I grew up in the Appalachians and now have Alaska's immense peaks in my backyard. Both are charming, but in different ways. However, coming from a rural area of the Shenandoah Valley to Wasilla was not at all shocking population wise. It never ceases to amaze me that the Mat-Su Valley People are the same as the rural Shenandoah Valley people. Very red, very conservative. The Mat-Su Valley is much like the Shenadoah Valley, except with bigger mountains!

    Thanks for the photos, that is an awesome shot of Denali. My brother was a climber and just moved South to WA state. I miss hearing the tales from him and his buds after going on their epic adventures in the Alaska and Chugach ranges. I lived an adventurous life vicariously through them.

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  8. Beautiful shot of Denali.

    I had a bad night and irritating morning at the Talkeetna Roadhouse a couple of years ago. Also took some friends on an expensive river float where we could see nothing because of the clouds and drizzle, and I was bored by the river. I prefer the rivers in the Cascade Mountains. Fortunately the guide was young and good looking, as well as knowledgeable about things like fish and rivers, so he entertained me even though the river didn't.

    After growing up at the foot of the Cascade Mountains, I'm not easily impressed.

    I'm also grumpy because I missed most of the sunshine this weekend, glued to my computer hunting lodging in Cornwall, UK. Why don't those people cooperate and use our lingo, and our standarization for things like bed sizes and bathrooms, and what's with the small beds?

    Glad you had fun this weekend, Jim.

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  9. Thanks for the pics. Brought back memories of the two nights my wife and I spent at the Talkeetna Roadhouse in June of 2008. We had a great time the week we spent in Alaska and want to visit again.

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  10. I really could have done without the notice that two climbers have died on Denali already this year--my cousin is climbing in June.

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  11. If you took the picture of Denali, may I have permission to use it in a painting?

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  12. Great picture of Denali. I like the way it seems to rise out of the clouds.
    "...candid pictures..." What you're saying is that there is a downside to intelligence training. Have a great summer.

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  13. ~sigh~ It's been so long since I've been to Talkeetna.

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  14. ~sigh~ I haven't visited Talkeetna in forever.

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