vacation must-sees?

[Dave N]

The wife an I are taking an Alaskan cruise/tour in May. Making the usual cruise stops from Vancouver through the Inner Passage, and doing overnights and day trips in Seward, Anchorage, Talkeetna, Denali, and Fairbanks. Renting a car our last day and going to North Pole and wherever we feel like exploring. We like to eat (who doesn't?) and like to find non-tourist joints that locals go to because the food is GOOD as well as not tourist overpriced. We would maybe be looking for any out of the way places to visit for sightseeing that may not be on the cruise "route" as well. Taking a trip of the lifetime and if anyone had any tips or suggestions it would be greatly appreciated. Nope, no hunting or fishing...

 

[2rocky]

Cool bar Fairview inn in Talkeetna.

NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES FAIRVIEW INN TALKEETNA, ALASKA

Constructed in 1923 by an enterprising fellow named Ben Neuman, the Fairview Inn was to serve the accommodation needs of travelers as they traveled between Seward and Fairbanks on the newly constructed Alaska Railroad. Since the Seward to Fairbanks journey was a two-day trip in those days, Talkeetna was initially picked as the over-night stop, or half-way point.

President Warren G. Harding visited Alaska in 1923 to drive in the final "Golden Spike" commemorating the completion of the Alaska Railroad. On the journey southward, he stopped in for a meal at our Fairview Inn, took ill and died soon after.

For a number of years the Fairview was partially open and closed for business, depending on the local activity. Gradually though, as gold and silver discoveries were made and fur trapping increased, the Inn remained open on a yearly basis. The Alaska Railroad also opened the State's interior to the more adventurous, and as a consequence Talkeetna began to grow as a frontier community.

The Fairview Inn has had its share of colorful owners. "Babe" Barnes, Don and Jo Bennis, Nola Campbell, and "Beaver" just to name a few. The most famous (infamous) was Frank Moennikes who, over a period of about 15 years, operated the Fairview with at least four different partners we know of. We suspect there may have been many more "informal" arrangements with a few unsuspecting "folks". More importantly though, the Fairview Inn is said to 'belong' to the town with the current owners, whoever they might be, only in "temporary occupancy"!

In the 1980's, Don Bennis owned the Fairview Inn. He didn't want all the "Hippies" hanging around in his bar so he put a sign on the front door that said, "Hippies use side door" which was always kept locked.

Today, the Inn is a favorite meeting place for many of the "old-timers" still living in the Talkeetna area. Whether still with us or not, we are reminded of those interesting days and people by the many original pastel portraits that grace the walls of the Fairview.

During the Spring and Summer months, the town bustles with an international crowd of mountain climbers, seeking the summit of North America's tallest mountain, Mt. McKinley. Climbers are usually anxious to share their experience with any willing listener, usually over a cold drink at the bar. Summer also brings bountiful salmon runs which attract fishermen form all over the state.

The Fairview Inn also has hosted or played a large part in a number of activities including the annual Talkeetna Moose Drop Festival (July), Bachelors Society Ball (December), Carhart Weekend (December), dart tournaments and as assortment of entertaining events throughout the year.

There are some unique customs established at the Fairview which you should be familiar with when you visit. Many of these have existed for years and are carried forward out of habit or in the interest of preserving a little of the nostalgia so characteristic of Talkeetna.

All firearms must be checked with the bartender before one orders anything to drink. (Due to new state laws, firearms are no longer allowed on premise)
Dogs must be left outside. Dog teams should be tied up away from the Inn.
The bartender is the only one allowed to 'stoke' the wood burning stove.
Many of the locals will buy the bar a round of drinks. Consider a thank you and feel free if you want to do the same at some point, but it is not required.
People who have a room rented also have a key to the side door, should you stay out past closing time: but please, if you come in late or early, depending on how you look at it, please re-lock the door after entering.

The Fairview has only six rooms with public bathrooms so reservation are suggested April through September and on all weekends.

Summer months are most enjoyable in the Beer Garden, relaxing in the warm Alaskan sun.

Various local activities include Riverboat trips, Rafting trips, Dog sled rides, Snow machine and Aerial sightseeing excursions.

The Fairview proudly displays a variety of Old Alaska material and original paintings by some of Alaska's noted artists.

 

[Frenchy]

So what are you hoping to see in North Pole? Santa Claus house can be cool if you have young kids or grandkids. Its kind of neat to have them send them a letter from Santa Claus adressed from the North Pole. Other than that the Chena Lakes Rec area was one of my favorite places up there. Drive all the way to the river, and hang out for a bit and you'll have a good chance to see a moose or two. At the river boat launch there is a good little walking trail as well.

Also check out the Chena Hot Springs if you like hot springs.

 

[Dhosera]

Sweard

Check out Seward Brewing Co. Its right down town. We were there the day after they opened this summer. Their Red Ale is AWESOME! The food was really good. Seward Sea life center is also pretty cool. Injured animals and such there to see. Well worth the $$$. Exit Glacier is just outside of Seward a few miles and worth the time. Short 1 mile or so hike and you are @ the glacier. Anchorage is dirty and not that great. Humpies has good food and I cant remember if its Saturday or Sunday market but that was really neat to see. Lots of native crafts and such there. Look it up, Im sure you can find out when/where it is. Only 2 things I like in ANC. The drive from ANC to fairbanks takes you thru some pretty cool country. Enjoy!

 

[Kaitum]

Moose's Tooth Pizza in Anchorage is a favorite for the locals and tourists. One of the highest grossing pizza joints in the U.S. in terms of revenue, if that's an indication of how popular (and busy) it is. Broken Tooth Brewery is their brew pub and is served. Probably the only place I'll wait 45 mins to an hour for a seat, I like their pizza that much.

Stop along Turnagain Arm near Anchorage (where you can find a safe place to pull over) and look for Dall's sheep. Only place in the world you'll see Dall's sheep near sea level. If you hit the tide right you may see Beluga whales in Turnagain Arm.

A handful of other good breweries in Anchorage, if that's of interest.

 

[deer_shooter]

In the Fairbanks area you could try Ivory Jacks - good beer selection and pizza is pretty good. Silver gulch brewing has good food and I love the beer. If you go, run across the road and tip one at the Howling Dog.
A little further out is Chatanika Lodge. Good for a couple beers and you can check out an old gold dredge just across the road.

 

[Dave N]

Thanks for all the replies! I'll try to keep a list of some and see about stopping in. Not a drinker any more so that's not a draw for me. North Pole we're just doing the tourist thing like everyone else. Saw a show on TV about places to eat there so maybe... Not planning on driving TOO far from Fairbanks. Hate to have anything happen and miss our flight home!

 

[wildbill]

Railroad Ride

Book a ride on the Railroad from, Deanali to Anchorage, it's breathtaking.

 

[Dave N]

Gee, forgot about this until there was a new post! Here's a quick wrap-up.

TRIP WAS FANTASTIC!!!!!

Talkeetna was about the highlight of the vacation. We did a flightseeing tour and glacier landing with K2 Aviation. Best money we ever spent! Beautiful sunny day (like just about ALL the days were) and the flight into the mountains was breathtaking. But once we landed on the glacier it was like we were in another world. NO way to properly describe it. Let's just say I might have gotten something in my eyes, and leave it at that...

We ate at Humpie's in Anchorage. GREAT food!

Drove out to Chena Lakes Rec Area when we went to North Pole. Nice quiet place, fairly pretty, but like most of the rest of Alaska at that time the lake was pretty much still iced over. Spent too much money in Santa Claus House, but the fudge was to die for!

Did the Sealife Center in Seward as part of the tour. Kinda neat. Took the Resurrection Bay trip and had lunch on Fox Island. Great food and saw lots of critters including a big pod of Orcas.

The train trip was interesting, saw lots of things on the way, and the food was really good as well. Glad we did that instead of riding a bus on the highway.

Denali was in full view every day we were within viewing distance. Not a cloud in the sky!

Left out a lot but we saw and did SO MUCH it's hard to tell about it all. This was a trip of a lifetime and well worth doing even WITHOUT going hunting or fishing. Thanks for the suggestions!

 

[Dhosera]

Nice

Sounds like you had a good trip! Looks like you crossed off 2 of my suggestions while you were there. Humpies has the best Halibut burger up there besides Kings in Cooper landing. You could go up 10 times and not see it all. Crazy amount of things to do while up there.

 

[Dave N]

Here's a link to my Photobucket album with all our pics from the trip. Lots of them to go through and some won't make sense to you, but there are a LOT of neat things we saw up there. Just make sure they are arranged "oldest first".

Humpies was great. We had the White King Salmon dinner. Thumbs up on that one! Thanks a lot for the tip.

http://s876.photobucket.com/user/4bobux/library/Alaska?sort=2&page=1

 

[Dhosera]

wow

HOLY pictures batman. Ive been up there 10 times and dont have that many pictures combined. Looks like you did well documenting your trip! Congrats!

 

[Dave N]

Yeah, there's a couple of them, huh? Figured we would be there for two weeks and see about everything we could so I may as well take a bunch of pics. Probably never be back unless something changes so this was a way to recall what was there. Especially since we had sunshine almost the entire trip after the first couple of days. The flight to Denali was just AWESOME! Obviously, from all the pics of that trip. Once we got to Fairbanks I slowed down a bit, then went a bit nuts shooting mountains from the air on the flight home. That's the great thing about digital cameras. NO FILM TO BUY OR DEVELOP!!! Now I have to see how good my picture taking will be later this year. Wife and I will be hitched for 25 years and we're going to Hawaii for 3 days for Christmas. YIKES!