Wednesday, August 3, 2022 - We drive from Cantwell to the Montana Creek Campground near Talkeetna, Alaska. The drive took about four hours and could have been shorter, but we stopped several times to admire the views of Mount Denali. The mountain was free of clouds and majestically stood out above all other terrain. It is truly an amazing mountain and is one of the main reasons that we wanted to come to Alaska. We were very lucky to see the mountain since it is only available about 30 days each year due to clouds. It is so high (20,308 feet) that it generates its own weather with lots of clouds. It is the highest point in North America and lots of climbers try to reach the summit in the months of May, June, and July. Also, Denali starts with its base very close to sea level, so you view nearly a complete 20,308 feet of mountain rising from the plain. It is actually a taller mountain than Everest when viewed from this point. Mouna Kea is the highest mountain in the world from its base to its peak, but the bulk of it is under sea level.

We drove into Talkeetna an walked up and down the streets looking at the buildings. We also spent about an hour and a half at the Talkeetna Community Museum. It was fun to learn about the history of the community. We had dinner at the Mountain High Pizza Parlor. They food was food and plentiful; a little pricey, but we are in a strictly tourist town.

After getting back to the area of our RV, we stopped at a grocery store called Cubby's. We bought some supplies and food along with an angel food cake and ice cream so that we could celebrate Bob Capp's birthday. We went back to the RV and had a small party.

Thursday, August 4, 2022 - We relax around the RV in the morning since we do not have to be in Talkeetna until 12:45 for a tour of the town of Curry. We will ride the train from Talkeetna to Curry, Alaska and then return to Talkeetna via jetboat on the Susitna River.

Before going to Talkeetna, I went to Montana Creek to do a little fishing. You could see the salmon in the creek, but they were not biting. Salmon do not feed once they begin their journey up river to spawn. There are rainbow trout and other fish in the creek too that do eat and could possibly be caught. On this particular morning, nothing was biting.

We drove to Talkeetna and checked in at the Mahay Jetboat Tours office to let them know that we were there for the tour. Before getting on the train, we were greeted by Holly, our environmentalist guide. Holly is a very nice lady with lots of experience in the area. We boarded the train and were able to sit in the elevated viewing car. This was especially set aside for our tour group. The train is a "Flag Train" where anyone along the rail line can flag down the train and it will stop for them. Many people live in very remote areas with no services, so the use the train to get into town for supplies and such. These boarders can take dogs, supplies, and even building materials. We also would stop if we saw any animals, which we did not see. We were heading for the town of Curry which is essentially gone at this time. It is a location with a history that is quite powerful of this region. Curry was about half way between Seward and Fairbanks. Since the trains of the day used coal for power, they needed to be serviced at some point along the route. Curry was the place for the trains to stop. During the mid 1900s, Curry had a Five-Star hotel, golf course, swimming pool, and many other luxuries for the travelers on the train. It was quite the travel location to view Mount Denali too. In 1953, there was a big fire that completely destroyed the hotel. Also, trains transitioned from coal to diesel, so the trains could make the entire trip from Seward to Fairbanks without stopping. Curry was abandoned, and what was left of the community was bulldozed into the Susitna River. It is now a location for the tour providers to offer a train ride for tourists followed by a jetboat ride downriver back to town. After getting off the train, were were introduced to the history of Curry. Then, on the jetboat ride down river, we stopped at a location where the tour company had set up a trapper homestead and an Indian village. They then talked about the natives of the area and how they lived and also why the trappers were (and still are) important to the development of the region. We then returned to Talkeetna. After the tour, we traveled to the Mountain High Pizza Parlor where there was supposed to be live music beginning at 6:00pm. As we arrived, it began to rain and there were no covered seats for us. We ordered pizza and then went to sit under an umbrella during a break in the rain. It then began to rain again and were were lucky to find seating inside. We enjoyed our pizza and other foods and then returned to the RV for the evening.

Friday, August 5, 2022 - We depart the Montana Creek Campground for Anchorage. Heavy rains overnight and in the morning are delaying our departure for Anchorage. We waited for the rain to slow some, but it did not stop. I had to walk in water about four inches deep under the RV to raise the stabilizers and stairways into the rig. We were boondocking, so we did not have sewer, water, or power to disconnect. Also, once we had the rig hooked up, it was very easy to get out of parking spot. Off, again, to Anchorage.