Dry morning,
ready for a 120 mile ride to Talkeetna north of Anchorage, same road as on the
way to Denali. We had stopped off at
Talkeetna with Minde on our final leg of the RV trip. We meet Terry and John Powell in Talkeetna
for lunch at Mile High Pizza. A small
café on the main street and very good gourmet pizza. Terry and Pat take the car and look at the
wedding reception venue for their son’s wedding two years ago and then we drove
by the small Catholic Church where they were married. We four parked at the top of the hill and
walked into the Powell Homestead. John’s
grandfather and grandmother homesteaded several hundred acres, signed by decree
of President Calvin Coolidge in 1949 when Ak was a territory. Since then the family has added onto the
acreage. The trail leads us through the
woods to a new foot bridge over Birch Creek.
The homestead cabins have been combined with a breezeway in
between. The train tracks are only about
100 feet from the RR tracks. There has
been a history of winter whistle stops where an individual cabin owner can flag
down a train. More trains come through
since the cruise trips include a stop in Talkeetna up the road. The cruise trains slow down for the tourists
to see a ‘real’ homestead. We walk out
onto the lot and wave to them as they pass by. We have come to the homestead
over the past 30 years, prior to Seth’s birth.
It sits on a picturesque grass lawn on the banks of Birch Creek. There are many Chum salmon spawning in the
creek, breaking the surface over the gravel area. They are severely humped with snarly teeth
and white wilting flesh as they are the throes of death after their long
journey to spawn. The cabin has had many improvements with a flush toilet and
hot and cold running water in summer. The wood stove has been replaced with a
propane full range/oven and a propane refrigerator. A wood burning fireplace is located in the
center of the room. We relax with good
red wine, freshly caught grilled red salmon and potato/ green bean salad. Chuck and Pat bring small Dutch bakery tarts
for dessert, made with marzipan and fruit.
To bed with a full moon shining down.
Quiet sleep, very relaxing.
Night!
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