Today we went to Talkeetna, a tiny village about 2 1/2 hours north of Anchorage. It is a great tourist spot with little restaurants and tiny shops selling Alaskan crafts, t-shirts, sweatshirts, books, etc. Most of the businesses are devoted to outdoor excursions like float trips and plane rides into Denali National Park. It is a main stop for tour buses on the way to Denali as well as trains.Denali is another 2 1/2 hours away. I hope someday to get there, but it's not a quick trip and we would probably need a good 3 days to make it. Mt. McKinley, the highest peak in North America, is in Denali.
One of the cool facts about Talkeetna is that it is the village that the town featured in the TV show, Northern Exposure, was modeled after. Walking the main street I can see the resemblence. 700 people live there year round. We stopped in Mountain High Pizza for lunch and had a great pizza and flatbread sandwich. We noticed a huge Pittsburgh Steeler logo on the back of the drink dispenser. Larry happened to be wearing his Steeler sweatshirt. As we were leaving, the owner ran out calling to us. He saw the sweatshirt and wanted to say hi. Turns out he is from the town 7 miles up the road from our house. He has made Talkeetna his permanent home, but still has his season tickets to the football games. He only goes home for the playoff games and sells the other ones.This year I didn't really come to Alaska to shop, but there is one sweatshirt I hope to find. It is a chocolate brown one with some Grizzlies on it. Underneath is printed "Homeland Security". I saw it last year and never bought it. This year I'm on a hunt and hope to get one. I got my first lead at Talkeetna. As I asked in different stores each owner said "Oh yes, 'so-and-so' has it. I finally found the right store, but 'it hasn't come in yet'. She asked where I lived and I said Pittsburgh. "Oh, great", she said. "If it fits it ships! Email me when you get home and we'll send it when it comes in." Even from Alaska to the Lower 48 "if it fits, it ships"!
However, I didn't go home empty handed. I found a really cute light blue sweatshirt with a moose on it. My wardrobe has changed from my days as a working woman in Florida. Sweatshirts in Pittsburgh are great winter wear for this retired lady.
As we left Talkeetna I couldn't help but marvel that this state that is 2 2/3 times the size of Texas still proved it really is a small world.
