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I
was told not to miss Talkeetna for a variety of reasons: Number
one, it's the departure point for people climbing Mt. McKinley and
affords a great view of the great mountain when he's not hiding
behind clouds. This he does at least 70% of the time as he creates
his own weather and he seems to prefer it cloudy. So this prospect
didn't look too good on the day we arrived as it rained pretty much
the whole day and we saw nothing cute about the pothole filled streets
with mud puddles everywhere.
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Number
two, I was told it was a funky little hippie type Alaska town
that was just cute as could be. I'd been told that about at
least 2 other towns, so nothing new here. |
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Number
three, I was told that it was the town that inspired the TV show
"Northern Exposure." Of course, I've heard that about
at least 3 other towns through the years, so who knows what the
show's true inspiration was? It depends on which chamber of commerce
you speak to, but I was intrigued enough to at least want to drive
through Talkeetna anyway. We stayed at a woodsy city campground
within short walking distance of the river.
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The
next morning was bright and sunny so we decided to go into town
and shop for souvenir t-shirts. As we drove down the street, we
both looked over at one point and exclaimed "what in creation
is that!!!???" It was this huge white marshmallowey looking
gargantuan beauty just sitting on the horizon holding court over
the land like a great king. Even though we'd been told we had less
than a 30% chance to actually see the mountain, here he was in all
his splendor!
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That
evening I walked to the river, which is a prime viewing spot, and
watched the sun go down over the horizon to his right and cosmically
kissed him goodnight. There were no clouds around him at all, even
around the base, and everyone was talking about how rare that is
for this time of year especially, traditionally the rainiest and
cloudiest time for Alaska. It seemed inconceivable that he is over
150 miles from where I stood and he still looked so imposing and
impossibly high. Again, none of the pictures even begin to show
his majesty or beauty, but they will at least remind me of what
I have been so privileged to witness.
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My
excitement made it hard to sleep that night, so pretty early the
next morning, I walked back down there. As I approached the river's
edge, I saw a golden eagle take flight from the banks of the softly
flowing river and suddenly all of my senses seemed so intensified
I could hear the sound of his wings, hear each drop of each wave
of water as it flowed, and could see brilliant stars in the shimmering
sand. At that moment I knew I was connected to this beautiful earth
in important ways that I usually don't even begin to comprehend
and it certainly was a moment I will never forget. The book I have
that tells about the earth's "magical places" describes
Denali as the place big enough to leave all your troubles and negative
thoughts, so I just piled mine up on that big mountain's shoulder
and left them for him to worry about. Now if I can only find a way
to keep from picking them up again.
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Flightseeing
above "The High One"
Denali!
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