Another early start as I checked out of the Denali Bluffs Lodge to board the charter bus to travel to the small village of Talkeetna. More beautiful scenery greeted me on the ride with the bus driver playing some authentic Alaskan music which had some commonalities with bluegrass. She also played a video entitled “Alaska: The Majestic” that was narrated by Charlton Heston. We arrived in Talkeetna mid morning and prior to my room at the lodge being ready.
I boarded the shuttle to ride down to the downtown area and kill some time prior to the room being ready and my afternoon flight around Mt. McKinley. All of Talkeetna was contained in about 4 square city blocks. 
It was quaint, but very touristy with offices for some of the rafting and aviation tours that operate in the area. An acquaintance had told me that it was an area you could skip and not miss anything, and, after spending most of the day there, I tend to agree. I walked down to the river just south of the confluence of the Talkeetna and Susitna Rivers. 
After getting lunch, I walked down to the K2 aviation office to let them know I would not need transportation from the lodge to the airstrip. From there I walked to the town’s museum, that incorporated some of the original buildings from the finding of Talkeetna. Other than a model of Mt. McKinley, buffalo and horsehair coats, and pieces from the original Alaskan Railroad depot, there was not much that stood out at the museum.
By this time, it was time to head to the airstrip for a flight around Mt. McKinley. K2 aviation did offer some flights that landed on some of the glaciers around the mountain, but were not landing on the glaciers that day. There were some clouds around Mt. McKinley, but once in the air there was plenty of clear skies to see the mountain. I lost a coinflip to sit in the co-pilot seat which contributed to some less than stellar photos being taken because of the overhead wing blocking my view and glare from the window. (Pictures below are of peaks in and around Mt. McKinley.)
Flying on the tenth anniversary of 9/11 was somewhat surreal, especially as the airspace around Mt. McKinley is not controlled in the manner of commercial flights. There was an air control tower at the airstrip controlling takeoffs and landings, but once in the air, the pilots were constantly calling out their locations, intentions, and visually scanning the area around them to prevent collisions. My pilot was constantly switching between communicating with his fellow pilots and calling out to his passengers the names of the glaciers and faces of the mountains we were seeing. He was calling things out so fast I can’t remember what was seen other than to be able to tell you that shots were either of a glacier, Mt. McKinley, or the surrounding area. As with other areas where glaciers were present, it was visible that the glaciers were receding. Locals also noted other little changes that were present in the local weather that left them wondering what was occurring. There was much dipping, diving, and turning of the plane to give us the best view possible of the landscapes, but thankfully no ducking or dodging of other planes. I don’t recall seeing any planes near us while in the vicinity of Mt. McKinley despite hearing the voices of pilots through the headsets.
(While on the Arctic Ocean excursion, Ben, the tour guide, had told our group of what occurred in Alaska when 9/11 occurred. The hunting season for moose begins in early September each year with many hunters getting flown into remote locations. Hunters only carry enough supplies for the duration of the hunt and have pre-arranged meeting times and locations with the bush pilots as the hunters want their preferred spots to remain secret. As cell and satellite phones were scarce to non-existent in 2001, hunters were completely isolated and had no idea of what had occurred. Cell reception is non-existent outside of the major residential areas. All they knew was that their pilots were not arriving and food was getting scarce. The FAA had grounded all planes, but eventually worked out agreements to let the bush pilots back into the to pick up hunters before starvation and/or bad weather set in.)
Once back on the ground, I went back to the lodge to check into my room. After getting settled, I headed back into town for some shopping, supper, and ice cream. My evening riverboat cruise had been cancelled due to the lack of interest, so my evening was completely open. Once back in the lodge, I left a request to be woken up in case the northern lights could be seen. I went to the back patio to take in the view of Mt. McKinley that the lodge had. 
There was also time to admire the lodge’s fireplace which crafted from rocks from the local rivers. 
While enjoying the view of Mt. McKinley and the fireplace, it started to set in that my time in Alaska was nearly over.
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