Our drive took us past miles of dead trees near Willow. After some research, we discovered the Sockeye Fire started on June 14th and in just five days it had devoured over 7,200 acres.  As of July 3rd, the Sockeye fire was 99% contained, but it was just one of many fires burning in Alaska. Even though it was the 4th of July, there would be no fireworks.  

Also along the route, we noticed pathways next to the highway. These were being used by people driving 4 wheelers. I imagined they might also be used by snow mobiles during the winter months.

It only took us 90 minutes to get to Talkeetna.  Our first stop was a building we thought might have souvenirs, but it turned out to be K2 Aviation. K2 Aviation specializes in flightseeing tours of Mount McKinley.

Matt talked to the sales rep and discovered that some of the tours actually included landing on a glacier.  That sounded pretty cool. Based on the current weather conditions, they were only doing the blue and yellow tours.

We went outside to discuss our options. The flightseeing tours were VERY expensive, but we would land on a glacier. After a short discussion ("OMG...So cool...once in a lifetime)", we went back inside to sign up.

Unfortunately, the clouds were coming down and the odds of landing on a glacier were growing slimmer.  The sales rep told us he'd have more information after the plane landed. Could we get in the air?  Yes, but there would be no guarantee we'd land on a glacier.  Was it worth $$$ for a maybe?  Uh...no.

We walked over the railroad tracks and entered the tourist trap in the heart of Talkeetna. Gift shops always have a bunch of useless crap. I'd rather take home a rock I found on the ground than take home a fake bear claw on a chain. We found a spoon and a key chain, but couldn't decide on what to get price. That's when I saw Owen. Shopping done!

We grabbed some lunch from a food stand and ate in the car. Neither one of us were thrilled with our food.  My sweet potato fries were soggy and my fish sandwich was mostly breading.

After we finished eating, we drove through Talkeetna looking for the mayor, but our interest quickly faded when we couldn't find a parking spot and I was overwhelmed by the number of pepole surrounding us.  

We left Talkeetna without meeting Stubbs and without seeing Mount McKinley. We were in good company.  Apparently, only 31% of visitors actually see the mountain. I wonder how many meet Stubbs?

On the way back to Anchorage, I sent a message to Kramer to see if they were jumping.  I was bummed out when he replied - it had started to rain.

While I was driving, Matt tried to find a hotel near the drop zone, but there weren't any. Our best bet would be to stay in Anchorage again. Even at half-price, Saturday night in Anchorage wasn't going to be cheap. Since we were both very tired, we decided to splurge again.  It would be like buy one get one free.

Matt found a king bed at the Holiday Inn, but every time he called the reservations desk they put him on hold and never came back. When he finally got through for the fourth time, I pulled over so he could finish the reservation. Our cell service was in and out and we didn't want to lose the call. We'd be staying at the Holiday Inn Express near the airport in Anchorage  - 117 miles from Talkeetna.

Along the drive to the hotel, we were hoping to see some wildlife, but with the exception of an occasional magpie, there was none.