Talkeetna Airbnb

Justin's birthday happened while he was working in Talkeetna. We didn't get up there on the day, but we managed to get up a few days later, leaving Aunt Geri in peace to get on with painting without kids touching or asking. 

This is Denali. Talkeetna has a great Denali overlook, so we had hopes of a good view of the mountain. Remember me talking about how sunny and clear that first week was? Well that was that. The rest of the time we were in Alaska, Denali was playing peek-a-boo in the clouds. It IS here. Right in the middle. The peak is sticking up above the cloud. 

A float plane from the airbnb they were staying at. 

And look at the sun on the docked floatplane! So cool!

Bunchberries 

Up close

The floatplane docked at the airbnb. 

See how shallow the water is? Well it isn't. Elsie asked me to step off the dock with her, and since it is only about 6 inches deep I stepped right in. Up to my thigh. It isn't a solid bottom you are looking at here--there is about two feet of sludge and muck underneath. 

So tricky, pond. 

All this sludge and muck made the kids rather scared of touching bottom. Can't say I blame them. I wasn't a fan of it for the whole 3.4 seconds it took me to fall in up to my thigh and jump straight back out. 

But the sunlight was rather sparkly and nice! 

The muck churned up from Elsie walking around

Orianna got the paddleboard out for a non-mucky experience. 

Everyone was pretty excited about the paddle boards. Aunt Lindsey squired them around because she is nice that way. 

The redness of the wing against the blueness of the sky

I am a big fan of this red plane

Small planes are such a major part of Alaska. They are everywhere. No matter how many we saw every single day, Elsie was still excited to see them. 

Two kids trying to not touch the bottom by making poor Aunt Lindsey touch the bottom for them. 

Aunt Lindsey is brave. 

Lily with the paddleboard and the airbnb in the background. 

This guy who owned the airbnb had a pretty great place. The floatplane wasn't available for use, but there were paddleboards, a canoe, snowmobiles, a cool house, and...

.... a hot tub! 

Don't worry, we hosed everyone off before they were allowed in here. No pond muck allowed. 

Eating dinner and cheesecake with the crew--Alex, Cat, Clay, and Scott.

It was so lovely! 

A floatplane getting ready to take off

So cool! 

As we were driving home around 9:30 at night, I told the kids to be on the lookout for moose, since this was the time of day when they are the most active. (I think.) Seriously, less than a minute later, we saw this little guy. 

We stopped for a chat while he had his supper. 

He couldn't have been very old--such tiny antlers and tiny size overall. 

Construction on the Parks highway. 

Rather extensive construction--Justin and crew were occasionally sitting and waiting for the pilot car for over an hour in the morning before they could get to work. 

#Alaskatrafficjam

Gorgeous sunset mountains around 10pm, just before coming Wasilla I think.