The railroad bridge over the
Talkeetna River had an interesting structure to protect the center pier
from ice and debris flowing by. In the below right photograph, a
paralled walkway on the far side of the bridge is visible. A
pedestrian trail leads from town up the railroad as seen in two views
on page 7.
On another exploration I found this
old Alaska Railroad flat car still in use. I also worked my way
to the Talkeetna cemetary. It was interesting to check out the
headstones with birth and death dates. Some people had been there
for many years. Of most interest to me was the memorial to
climbers of Denali. Climbers who expire on Denali above a certain
elevation usually remain there for eterenity. Even before the
establishment of the memorial, climbers had died on
Denali. The memorial states the year, climbers name, age and
country of origin. I have a lot of respect for people who would
brave the elements of Denali. Even though I have never done any
climb more difficult than Bloody Mountain (mountaineers route) and Mt.
Whitney in the Sierra Nevada mountains, I did want to pay tribute to
those who never returned from Denali.
People in Alaska have a sense of
humor. The sign in the lower left photograph is not too close to
the tracks. For my last day in Talkeetna, I had booked a silver
salmon charter fishing expediton through Sandfish Tackle, located on
Talkeetna Spur Road. In town in the late afternoon, I was
consuming beer and food at the West End Pub and overheard a couple at
the bar talking about fishing. I wandered over and started a
conversation with the woman and she told me that she and her husband
were owners of Sandfish Tackle. I told Dave Fish that I was
booked through his service for the next morning.
On Wednesday morning, August 1,
I checked out of the Talkeetna
Roadhouse and hauled my belongings away. While walking down
Talkeetna Spur Road, the driver of a pick-up truck stopped to offer me
a
ride. Even though I was close to my destination, I accepted the
ride. I put my stuff in the truck bed and climbed into the
cab. The driver asked my how was my trip going? I gave him
a somewhat astonished look before I realized this was one of the
guys I spoke to at the Talkeetna FAA Flight Service Station.
While waiting for my fishing guide at their business location, I heard
a train horn. I grabbed the camera and walked out to the
Talkeetna Spur Road and photographed the southbound train. I gave
no thought to who might be crew on this train.
Within a
few minutes, Dave Fish showed up to open Sandfish Tackle and then the
guide
arrived. Before we left town, I needed to purchase a fishing
license. We went up the road to Mahay's Riverboat Service and one
of
their guides was in the office. He looked familiar and turned out
to be the emcee from the talent night show at the Fairview Inn.
After this, my guide took me up Talkeetna Spur Road 6 or 8 miles and
parked off the highway. Someone had built a dirt berm blocking
the dirt road. The guide complained about this and announced that
we would have to walk to the fishing spot. I asked "how far?' and
he replied "not far." Our walk eventually took us across the
Alaska Railroad
track. At the track, the guide said we would have parked
here. I am in good physical shape and within half an hour, we
arrived. Later, I realized that the railroad must have been the
one to block the road. Silver salmon were at our fishing
location, but the only person to land a fish was the guide. On
the way back, I photographed these mushrooms. The fishing guide
gave me his pink salmon.
The flightpath for ascending aircraft from Talkeetna Airport crosses
over the tracks. This turboprop is capable of landing on a
glacier.
Alaska Railroad Denali Star
Talkeetna to Anchorage
August 1, 2007
I was returned to the Sandfish Tackle store, picked up my belongings
and wheeled everything over to the Alaska Railroad Talkeetna Depot.
The prior afternoon I had visited the
depot and spoke with the ice cream lady. She is involved in
establishing a pre-school or park for young children. The Alaska
Railroad Conductor bought his crew some ice cream during the Talkeetna
stop. On the return to Anchorage, I noticed the Conductor's name
was Warren Redfearn, which, even though I had never met him before,
sounded familiar. I immediately remembered that I had seen
Conductor Redfearn's photographs on John Combs' Alaskarails web
site. I complimented Conductor Redfearn on his photographic
skills and he replied that my chat with him was the first time anyone
had ever said this to him on the train. In the below right
photograph
the Conductor is talking to the Fireman Bill Bivins. Before I
boarded the train, I walked up to the Fireman and asked him if he was
the Engineer on the Glacier
Discovery train in 2005. (Go to the Blackstone portion
of the story.) Fireman Bivins replied yes and remembered me from
the trip I took on June 24, 2005.
On the return to Anchorage, I was less
occupied with photography and more interested in realxing.
