4th of July

After much debate about whether or not to go back to Seward for the 4th of July (to see the famed Mount Marathon race & associated festivities), Vince and I decided to dodge the crowds and head up to Talkeetna- a small town up towards Denali. The weather was supposed to be great, and I had wanted to go there for years, so it seemed like a winning plan. We packed up on the 3rd, filled up the gas tank, and hit the road :)

Fireworks are legal once you get far enough out of town,

so we stocked up on some for later...

The next stop after the fireworks stand: Denali Brewing;

we're always up for checking out new craft beers!

We did a sampling of the offerings and got some

good Talkeetna tips from the bartender...

We pushed on driving for a bit more and finally

made it to the B&B I reserved near town; SUPER charming

Time to check out the town! We dropped off our things,

got acquainted with our hosts, parked the ride, and started walking

As you can see, the weather WAS great! Almost 80!!

The town wasn't busy per se, but there were plenty

of people out enjoying the weather; such a cute little town

This place caught our eye, although we thought it was closed at first...

...but after a little fact-checking on our phones, we realized

it was an old Roadhouse that now serves as a bar & lounge

So, we stepped inside for a look around

A drink bell- don't ring it unless you're buying ;)

Interesting pics of some of the old timers...

An old piano and cash register; this place could

almost be a town museum hehe

Time to walk a little more...

Some craft stands near the river... This is about it; there

were some cute gift shops that we checked out before having

a bit to eat and then we set off to find the XYZ Lakes Trail

It took us awhile, but we finally found where to go

I wasn't surprised to see this; glad I brought bear bells!

(You don't want to surprise a bear!)

Following the leader...

One of the lakes; it was truly serene (other than being a

little freaked out about running into a bear...)

...I guess bear do ____ in the woods ;)

Happily, we made it back to the safety of the car and 

headed up to a nearby lodge for a cocktail on the patio- 

made even better by the spectacular view of Denali. It was

a great way to end our day of adventuring in the boonies

The next day, we decided to head up to Denali- the weather was

great, we'd already driven pretty far, and it seemed like an epic way

to spend the 4th of July, so we checked out of the B&B and went into 

town for breakfast at the Talkeetna Roadhouse before hitting the road

The cozy interior...

Holy sourdough pancake! This sucker was hanging off

the plate! It was huge, but delicious :) Glad we stopped in

One more stop to snap a shot of the mountains on our way

out of town- beautiful! Stay tuned for Denali pics!