Talkeetna - Rest and Rebound

David, 24 hours after our 3 am ER visit! 

Since this Blog is a diary of sorts, our experience in Wasilla must be included. I woke up at 3:00 am one Saturday morning to find David in the bathroom feeling sick to his stomach. When he told me that he was also having chest "pressure" and his arms felt "weak" we recognized the classic signs of a heart attack and... we were off! Our GPS located the nearest hospital which turned out to be the Wat-Su Valley Regional Medical Center, thankfully only 5 miles away.

The magic words in an emergency room are "chest pain".  Within 15 minutes David had IV's in both arms, an EKG was taken, blood drawn, and 3 nitroglycerin tablets placed under his tongue.  He was quickly stabilized and then flown by helicopter to Providence Hospital in Archorage.  With the help of our GPS, I followed him in the RV. By 6:30 am I joined David in the cardiac ICU while he waited to see a cardiologist.  

A cardiac catheterization indicated the need for 2 stents, and in less than 12 hours David was feeling A-OK with his new and improved body parts. Oh, the wonders of modern medicine!!

Behind the hospital there is an RV parking lot equipped with electrical outlets. I stayed there during David's hospitalization and we stayed there the day he was discharged so we could decide our next move. We discussed how we had signed up for this crazy life-style, and since he felt fine, we decided to head to Denali National Park as planned.... but slowly.

 Talkeetna .... Authentically Alaskan.

Located at the confluence of the Talkeetna and Susitna Rivers, Talkeetna began as a trading post in 1896, and grew as a riverboat supply base following the Susitna River gold rush in 1910. The population boomed during the construction of the Alaska Rail Road, and then has declined to today's count of 849 .

We heard about Talkeetna when we told people we were on our way to Denali National Park.  We were told over and over again, that the best view of Mt McKinley was from the shore of the Talkeetna River.

      Mt. McKinley under the clouds beyond the Talkeetna River.

Although we were there for three days and never saw the mountain, we still got the feel of it because Talkeetna is McKinley's mountain town.  Climbers from all over the world use this little village as their jumping off point.  We saw Tibetan prayer flags, Korean banners, historic buildings, old log cabins, companies offering rafting trips, fishing trips, flightseeing trips, and glacier landings, grizzled locals, artisans, and lots of tourists like us, just wandering up and down Main Street, taking in the spirit of the place.

One of the most interesting buildings in town is the Talkeetna Roadhouse. In the Bearfoot Travel Guide I read; "In Alaska's mining and trapping days, every town, every river crossing, and every 10 miles on the trail featured a roadhouse, or a lodge, or a small cabin, or even a tent, where travelers could find food, shelter and companionship."

The Roadhouse was initially a supply station, but meals were served there by 1918 and it earned the official title of roadhouse when it got fixed up with a cafe, bedrooms and indoor plumbing in the 1940's. 

         The Roadhouse .... delicious homemade food in a low key setting.

Another unique building is Nagley's General Store. Mr. Nagley followed the early gold miners and trappers and he opened this store in 1921 at Susitna Landing. When the people moved, he did too.  He disassembled and moved his store twice, by river barge.  Eventually he rolled his store down main street Talkeetna on logs, stopping at night to conduct store business! Mr. Nagley accepted gold and furs from the local trappers and miners, and the owner still does today.  At Nagley's you can buy everything from canned goods and bulk items to bug spray and ice cream!

 Historic Nagley's General Store.

Between 1898 and the 1920's, there was a lot speculation about the need to build railways throughout Alaska in order to carry its resources to market.  Most of them were never built, and some tracks that were laid down didn't last long.  I heard that you can still see abandoned trains in the middle of the tundra near Nome! 

Alaska now has only two railroads, The White Pass & Yukon and The Alaska Railroad.  Talkeetna was isolated from the road system for many years, but when the Alaska Railroad was built it ran right through Talkeetna. 

The Alaska Railroad, the lifeline of the interior.

Prior to 1917 the best method of reaching Talkeetna from the south was by steamer or stern-wheeler up the Susitna River, a journey of over 100 miles. Now the cruise line passengers come up from Seward by rail, and then continue up to Denali National Park.

Population centers have grown up along this railbelt and will probably continue to thrive  as long as there are enough of us who are captivated by the history, beauty and adventure of Alaska. 

I think this is the only state that is often written with an exclamation point after its name.  Alaska!