Talkeetna, about 1.5 hours north of where we are staying, was where we caught the Jet Boat. It rained some on and off during our ride but it didn’t interfere too much with our experience and the boat had a closed cabin with huge sliding plexi-glass windows. Denali wasn’t visible, but I know we will see it eventually!
 |
Rafting tour we passed on the river…
looks a bit crowded to me…lol |
 |
| Our Jet Boat |
 |
| Just awesome flowers in the sky |
 |
| Our captain, Tommy |
The tour covered an area where three rivers converge…the Talkeetna, the Susitna and the Chulitna…all of which are glacier fed. The Jet Boat stopped for us to take a guided tour of an Indian encampment of the Dena’ina’s…the earliest Native settlers…and an authentic trapper cabin. It was great being able to see how the natives lived back in the day…such ingenuity. If you just stood there without saying anything for a little while, you could almost feel their energy…their courage, their drive, their tenacity, their love for this land.
 |
| Animal hide drying rack |
 |
In the background is the storage
area for food…up high to deter any
large animal thieves…lol |
 |
| Hugged by a Grizzly!!! |
 |
| Carl leaning on the ‘lean-to’! |
 |
| Moose Me! |
 |
| For drying fish |
 |
| Bald eagle nest |
 |
See the tiny speck on the upper right
lone branch…the eagle!!!!
|
The tour guide pointed out a beautiful bald eagle nest and then down river a bit, we spotted an eagle perched high in one of the trees…so statuesque!!! It was great!
After our tour, we walked around historic Talkeetna. At a local craft tent, I purchased a small handmade birch basket and a pair of flip-flop earrings with the sole made of coconut shell. Afterwards, we had a picnic lunch at the Riverpark along the Talkeetna River. It was amazing how rapidly the flow of water was! I had a sweet thing happen on our way back to the main part of town…there was an area where we had to cross some shallow water by walking carefully along stepping stones. A young boy approached me, and holding out his hand, he offered to help me across. He was so adorable and I’m guessing about 9 years old. He made my day!
 |
| My sweet little helper! |
 |
Bear paw print seen right where
we had our picnic!!!
Oh my…those claws!!!! |
 |
Cool shop…there are decorated wooden
moose all over the place here! |
 |
Fun!!! This was at the
entrance to the craft area! |
 |
| Super mushroom |
 |
Carl used to fly one of these…
in bigger proportions of course
LOL |
 |
| Awesome chair |
 |
| Trapper’s cabin model |
 |
Wooden post card…
Signed by Carl… |
 |
This is the walking stick the info card
refers to…it is made from a willow tree. |
 |
Being the willow tree lover that I am…
this was very exciting information! |
 |
| Look at all those antlers!!!! |
