Saturday, July 11, 2009 – Talkeetna, AK
This was one of the most amazing days of my life. My wedding day, the days my kids were born, that day Delaney and I got up early in Yellowstone, Christmas Eve at Volcanoes National Park, and there are others, but enough of all that – this is about the great day in Talkeetna.
My brother Andy and I got up early and went downtown to get our entire party of ten registered for the Moose Dropping 5K. Even with our last-minute registration we were all able to get T-shirts, which we were pretty excited about. How many Floridians would have a 2009 Moose Dropping 5K T-shirt? Ten, I think.
After a light breakfast we all proceeded to the starting line for the run. It was a beautiful route – about ½ on the road and ½ on trails through the woods. Neither Andy nor I were runners yet at this point (that obsession started a few years later), but Andy finished first out of our group at 27:39 and I came in exactly 9 minutes later at 36:39. Aaron was a few minutes behind me, then Delaney and Chrissy finished together, followed by the rest of the family who walked and came across together.
The finish line was right in the middle of the festival, so we went straight into festival-wandering mode. We looked at all the arts and crafts being displayed and sold. We ate spinach bread and berry-rhubarb crisp with oatmeal (delicious!), roasted corn-on-the-cob, and homemade ice cream. The festival took up the entire town. It just doesn’t get any better than small-town America festivals, and what festival would be complete without a parade? There were bagpipers, local floats, a classic Mustang and GTO, the town ambulance, and a snow plow.
After a while we had to break from the festivities to take our glacier flight. Chrissy, Delaney, Aaron, Andy, and me. It was absolutely incredible. The sheer size of the mountains, valleys, and glaciers is unbelievable. We flew around and over glaciers, valleys, and a base camp for hikers. Then we flew over the landing area, through “747 Valley”, and circled back to land. Everything was so immense that my depth perception was really off. It looked like we were flying very close to rock faces, ledges, and so forth, but they were thousands of feet away. I’m so glad we did the glacier landing because getting out of the plane really helped with the depth and size perception.
Our pilot was named Dale and he was a great pilot and tour guide and Andy got to ride in the copilot seat with him on the way out to the glacier. We landed on the Ruth Glacier at Mountain House. With the typically bumpy ride and constant smell of aviation fuel in a small plane, we all felt a little queasy when we landed on the glacier. However, only Aaron made a contribution to the glacier’s mass by puking on it. Pilot Dale reminded him that his puke would come out the bottom of the glacier in about 300 years. We didn’t spend long on the glacier, but long enough to take a good look around and take some great pictures. When we left we flew over Ruth Glacier all the way out of the valley – it was a beautiful ride back to Talkeetna.
After flying came the main event – The Moose Dropping Dropping. The entire festival went over to the VFW to watch the drop. A sack with the glazed and numbered moose turds was lifted high in the air with a crane and carefully positioned over the target painted on the ground. The rip cord was pulled and each person’s chances at riches, fame, and glory rode on their numbered turd all the way to the ground. At least I assume the winners achieved riches, fame, and glory. I don’t know because no one in our group won anything, but it was a great experience. Again, it doesn’t get any better than small town America.
Dinner was at The Roadhouse. The reindeer chili was incredible and the ambiance was great. It’s an old boarding house where a lot of Denali climbers will still go today before or after their assault on the mountain. The tables were in a room that had a living room area with a fireplace, piano, and guitar. We played for a bit and had a good time.
After dinner Andy and I went to the Denali Brewing Company and picked up a growler of beer. That in itself was great, but then we came across a bluegrass band called Bathtub Gin playing on a street corner. I stood for an hour and watched them play. They had a guitar, mandolin, banjo, and bass. They were fairly young, but good. Just watching them play and sing together was good for my soul. The rest of the family stayed with me for a while, but they left before I was ready so I stayed alone. Just me watching and listening to bluegrass and holding my jug of beer. Something just seemed right. When I finally made it back to the campground Dad and the kids were sitting around a fire with some other campers, so I plopped down with them. It was a great end to an epic day.
Where Are We Going Now? 
Lots of great pictures from this trip. Any day starting with a run and ending sitting around a fire is a good day. Everything in between was icing on the cake.
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