Talkeetna, Alaska: A Wild Wilderness Jet Boat Trip

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Yesterday was rainy and cool; perfect weather for curling up with a good book. Mary Lynn and I love to read, especially about the history and people of the area we are exploring. We stop at almost every visitor center we see; they are packed with lots of great information and displays plus they always have the obligatory gift shop/book store.

Given the high cost of books multiplied times the number of books that appeal to us, you could quickly break the bank buying them brand new, especially at visitor center prices. Instead we take note of the titles/authors and then look up on-line at www.amazon.com and www.half.com.

Amazon is a tremendous resource and they have 1000's of book sellers as their partners. Whenever you do a search for a specific book they show you the price of that book from all the resellers, both new and used copies plus any shipping. Amazon stands behind these book resellers if there is a problem; we have never had a problem. No problem other than our obsession with books, not the best habit when you are trying to travel light in an RV.

Another great resource is Half.com. These folks have great prices on lots of items including books. In fact our kids use Half.com for hard to find (and expensive) college text books. The savings can add up pretty quickly.

Both of these booksellers will try to aggregate your purchases and use

media mail, which lowers your cost. You just have to be patient as media mail takes a week or so to make it to your door. Expedited shipping, always a tempting offer, will kill you in high shipping costs. Patience wins the day! Always tough when you are visiting a location/area a book is about...

Today Mary Lynn and I took a Jet Boat Tour organized by Mahay's Jet Boat Adventures. They organize wildlife viewing and fishing trips throughout this area on Talkeetna, Susitna & Chulitna Rivers.

We were originally scheduled to go our our trip yesterday however at noon it was still rainy and misty so we called and rescheduled for today (Sunday). Wouldn't you know it; yesterday it quit raining in the afternoon and by the 3 pm departure time the weather was beautiful. This morning we woke to beautiful weather and by 3 pm it had changed to overcast and cloudy -- go figure. Locals say weather predictions can't be trusted; just schedule and go...

Anyway, our trip included all three rivers, ending with the beautiful Chulitna River Gorge. The Jet Boat is probably the only way to see the Chulitna River since it is a multi-braided river with lots of shallow areas.

In addition to lots of birds, mostly Bald Eagles, we saw an Athabascan native village and an old fur trapper's cabin. The Athabascan villages were small, the land would only support a small number of people in any one area. Whenever the tribe reached a population of 25 or so they split into two tribes and went their separate ways.

It was interesting to note that our naturalist/guide strapped a shotgun over his shoulder -- another reminder that we are in a very wild part of the country. Sometimes all the attractions & exhibits start to take on a Disney like feel and then you notice people carry guns as casually as people in the lower 48 carry cell phones. Definitely not your everyday Disney experience...

The trapper's cabin was one small and dark place. A small door you almost had to crawl through and no windows. Trappers spent a lot of time outdoors running the trap lines and working the skins they harvested and I can see why. You would spend a lot of time outdoors too rather than spend a whole (9 month) winter in one of those cabins.

As usual, the cabin had a cache located high up on poles. The cache was were you stored your food, furs, etc. Basically anything you didn't want animals to get into. The ladder was removed and stored against another tree -- never on the ground. In a place that gets snow frequently and in large volumes, anything left on the ground would quickly get covered and 'lost' until the spring thaw.

We also saw a 'Beaver Deadfall' trap, which is basically a large log balanced on top of a small pole. The beavers cut through the pole (in about 3 minutes) and the large log falls on them -- instant beaver pelt. And since beavers in this area get upwards of 100 pounds, some mighty fine eating (so I'm told). Any excess meat the trappers had as a result of trapping went to feeding the dogs. Beaver meat is actually high in fat content and is a favorite of Iditerod racers to feed to their dogs.

The boat ride was a lot of fun as the driver really put the speed and turning ability of a jet boat on display for the return trip. Definitely recommend taking this tour.

In fact, our bus diver is the General Manager for Mahay's, a fella named Mike. He moved up here with his new bride in 1971. Great guy. He tells the story of how he came back from Vietnam, swore he would never touch another gun, moved to Alaska, staked out ten acres and began building a log home. No experience -- no knowledge -- just the determination to make it work. He and his wife lived in that cabin until she became pregnant for the second time, and in a time before Pampers, declared she wanted a home with running water. So they moved from the bush 20 miles into the 'big city' -- Talkeetna, with a population of 300. Today the population is 800. Just a different view of the world. Mike was a delightful guy to talk with. Made you feel as if you had known him all your life -- or wished you had...

Tomorrow we pack up the RV and head south to Palmer, Alaska to re-join our friends, Dave & Mary Anne.

Along the way we will pass through Wasilla, Alaska which has a Super Walmart Center. Good thing since we need to re-stock on a few basics... Who knows -- maybe we'll see Alaska's Governor, Sarah Palin out shopping -- she lives in Wasilla, Alaska. Can't wait to see Russia from her front doorstep...

Regardless of what folks in the lower 48 think about her, they love her here in Alaska. Everyone you talk to simply refer to her as Sarah and then they launch into a long lecture about all the good things she has done/is doing for Alaska -- who knew?

As you know I'm mostly interested in Alaska wildlife sightings however its my duty to report any Sarah sightings should they occur...

See Ya!