June 21 - Denali to Talkeetna and Palmer

We woke up to heavy, dark skies - huge saturated clouds just waiting to dump rain on us as we packed up. We scurried around, trying to get organized as quickly as we could while watching the rain creep it's way towards us. It arrived about 10 minutes before we were finished but we managed to get our camp stowed away and out of the rain. 

We decided to head back up north of Healy to Rose's Cafe for breakfast because dinner was so good the night before. We got there and it was PACKED. We sat out on their covered patio and had a fantastic breakfast. We really can't say enough about Rose's. Just go if you're in the area. You won't be disappointed, we promise!

By the time we left, the rain had let up a bit. We hit the road and, several miles south of Healy, there was some road construction, a 2 mile section of it was an orange, clay-based dirt that, when mixed with rain, turned into a slimy red grease. It was BRUTAL especially on a motorbike - absolutely zero traction and it was a bumpy, pot-holey run. A couple of times, my 950 lb. bike just slid into a hole and pulled me off course. All I could do was go with it and *gently* brake until I came to a stop, redirect myself and try again. Meanwhile, I had a huge line of vehicles behind me but there was no where for them to pass me so we all just had to be patient. It was the closest I've come to dumping my bike but I'm so GLAD that I was able to make it through without mishap! That behind us, the road was in good shape and the sky gradually cleared as we got further south. 

When we were at Rose's, the folks at the table next to us suggested we take the time to detour off the main highway about 14 miles and take a quick run into the historic town of Talkeetna. At the junction, we waffled a little bit but decided we'd better check it out and we've very glad we did. Talkeetna has a long history of being a supply base for many of the adventurers in the area going back to the turn of the century. The town also has a significant aviation history in Alaska as well. It has revived itself into a significant tourist stop and now, many of the cruise ships offer bus excursions to Talkeetna which has allowed it's tourist trade to boom. Many of the old buildings have been resurrected and the main street is now a vibrant, bustling mix of adventure tour companies, excellent eateries, inns, art galleries, museums and gift shops. For those of you who know BC at all, it reminds me of Crawford Bay (outside of Nelson) only a bit bigger. Very artsy, funky and cool little town with a fun vibe... We spent a couple of hours there, had some of the best pie this side of somewhere and then carried on...

From Talkeetna, we continued on through the town of Willow. It was here, a week ago, that a huge wildfire was buring out of control and was uncontained with high winds and a lot of fear of the town being burned to the ground. People were evacuated and the major highway was closed. Fortunately for us, the weather had cooled, we'd gotten some rain and they winds backed off enough for the firefighters to get it sorted out. As we drove through, you could see that the highway went right through a major section of the fire and there were still hot spots smoldering on the sides of the road. Firefighters were still on the scene and we were escorted along several miles by pilot cars. We had heard that the fire was started by fireworks and, sure enough, just before Willow, there is a section of road where suddently there were at least half a dozen ENORMOUS fireworks outlets (all closed up of course!) From Willow, we made our way through Wasilla and then on to Palmer. We just skirted Palmer (so we didn't really see the city at all) and found a camp on the northeast side of town.