Day 12: Fairbanks to Talkeetna (284 miles)

Up and at ‘em!

Our day began with taking advantage of being in a “big” city by running a few errands. We ran into Walgreen’s to get some facial masks (hey, we’re girls!), gummy bears and finally RainEx! Then we headed to REI to purchase freeze-dried food for our yurt experience in Homer (a surprise for Vanessa!) and ear-warmer headbands for our kayaking adventure in Seward in a couple of days. Next was a quick stop at McD’s for breakfast, then Vanessa took the wheel for about 150 miles, at which point we switched. It was a pretty uneventful drive until just outside of Denali National Park. We started getting into some mountains and went through a few towns catering to Denali tourists. We continued south toward Talkeetna and the road flattened out again.

Having reserved so many hotels so long ago, I had forgotten what our lodging conditions would be like in Talkeetna. We stayed at a place called The Roadhouse, and most of it is hostel-style accommoda-tions. We checked into the very charming hotel, that had been servicing guests since 1944. Dawn was our innkeeper and she was super friendly. She helped us book our flight-seeing adventure for the following day, and we had a long conversation about fishing. She had her waders on and was ready to hit the river with her coworker, Maggie, as soon as her shift was over!

Pleasantly to my surprise, I had reserved the Museum Apartment, which is located above the local historical museum. It used to be a one-room school house and as many as 15 school teachers would have been boarded in the facility upstairs. It felt huge for Vanessa and I, but I cannot imagine 15 people living in that same area! We had a little kitchen, a living area complete with a bed and a futon, not to mention a TV with a VHS player and a very large library of VHS tapes!!! There was also a private bedroom, where I slept, along with a full bathroom.

We had dinner at a very mediocre restaurant. The most entertaining part of the evening was when a little boy, about 5 years old, asked our Russian waitress if she could call him sometime! That little guy was quite the charmer. Vanessa and I had quite a laugh over that one. And the grandparents the kid was with were equally amused.

We bought some souvenirs at a cute gift shop owned by the cutest older man and his wife. I bought myself an ulu, which is a native piece of cutlery used to skin animals (and can be used for other things). In our western culture and culinary supply stores (Williams-Sonoma, Sur la Table, etc.), the tool looks a bit like a mezza luna, used to chop herbs. Except the one I got is way cooler and the handle is made from a caribou antler.

After dinner and shopping, Vanessa was content to touch base with her Michigan friends, and I hung my eno outside and read for a bit until the mosquito population got the better of me. Then it was off to bed, to rest up for the following day’s adventures!