Talkeetna and Denali by Air

In a very welcome change of weather, we’ve had three wonderful days of sunny skies. Our drive south on the Parks Highway afforded more fantastic views of Denali and the surrounding wilderness.

Talkeetna, Alaska, is home to the National Parks Ranger Station where would-be Denali climbers must register for their climbing permits. Thus it has become the staging area for trips to the mountain with numerous companies offering flights to the base camp. Hoping that the nice weather would hold out for one more day, we decided to book an aerial tour of the mountain for Sunday.

Talkeetna calls itself, at least according to bumper stickers, “A quaint little drinking village with a climbing problem.” When we arrived on Friday evening we immediately sensed a laid back hippy vibe in the town. We headed for the Denali Brewing Company for dinner, which turned out to be the best restaurant meal we’ve had on the road in a couple of months. The beer was good too, and we left for our camp site full and happy.

The next morning dawned clear, and we headed for the airport for our flight. Words can’t really do it justice, so we put together a little video to give you a glimpse of what we saw. It’s in HD, so be patient while it loads! Our trip included a landing on the glacier in our ski-equipped plane. Landing in the foot of fresh snow felt a lot like powder skiing! We got about 15 minutes to tromp around in the snow before it was time to board the plane for the flight back to Talkeetna.

A cat basks in the morning sun on the tail of a plane

A cat basks in the morning sun on the tail of a plane

Quinn enjoying the plane ride

Quinn enjoying the plane ride

On the glacier

On the glacier

Two ski planes ready to take off

Two ski planes ready to take off

We liked the town so much that we decided to spend another night. That afternoon we did a jet boat tour up the Susitna River, and enjoyed another good meal at the brewery. On Monday, before leaving town to head toward Anchorage we stopped at the playground to let Quinn run around. The park was entirely funded by the local community and is one of the best we’ve seen!

The Talkeetna community playground

The Talkeetna community playground

2 Responses to 'Talkeetna and Denali by Air'

  1. henry t says:

    The flight over Denali must have been a flight to remember. Hope you didn’t forget to remove the cat.

  2. Amanda says:

    This is something we wished we could have done while we were there! Would love to pick your brain about your travels. Our road seems to be going a lot faster than yours (http://awesternroad.com) When did you leave? When do you expect to end up in Argentina? What do you do for a living?