August in Talkeetna

I talked to another local today who talked about the "magic" of wintertime here in Talkeetna (and Alaska in general). He said once the snow falls it stays white until April. He used to live in Iowa, and also said that it's surprisingly not that cold here, and that 40-below here is like 5-below in Iowa.

Another local at the Free Box told me that darkness in the winter here is greatly exaggerated. She said there is typically at least six hours of light per day. Time will tell.

There's a lot of good to be said about living here in August. Mornings in the 50s, afternoons in the upper 60s and low 70s, lots of sun lately. As I write this I'm sitting outside, basically in the forest, while John Mellencamp's "Little Pink Houses" is playing on outdoor speakers I've set up.

As mentioned, the skies have been clear for days now, Denali has been out big-time, and the visitors are getting their money's worth. It's a shame I don't take better pictures, especially when they're so large and I have to stitch them together. Here's a combination of six pictures that shows the full Denali range from the river here in Talkeetna:

I really need to dedicate some time to learn how to stitch these together better. I feel like I've really butchered the range.

While the view is incredible from here, I'm still about 70 miles away from it, and I'd love to get some closer shots. If I don't go to Denali tomorrow, then I'll pass it later in the week, on my last planned trip of the summer, the long gravel and dirt road up to Deadhorse/Prudhoe Bay.

I noticed on the drive back here from Anchorage yesterday that you can see Denali from mile marker 64, about 35 miles south from here, and it still looks very, very large.