Talkeetna: Where rivers converge and summer is laid back

TALKEETNA With the air thick from fuzzy, floating things from shedding cottonwood trees, you would swear you were caught in one of those Alaska blizzards if, of course, you ignored the unseasonably soaring temperatures and shorts-and-tank-top-clad tourists wandering up and down Main Street in Talkeetna.

Ah, Talkeetna on a sunny Saturday afternoon.

Main Street was thick with tourists soaking up the sun and taking in the sights, while locals manned the shops, restaurants and bars this past weekend. It appears this summer tourist season, while short, will be profitable for local business owners.

And the unusually glorious summer does not appear to be hurting the tourist trade in Talkeetna.

Its real busy. It seems like there are just more people, sculptor and stone carver Kent Conshafter said.

Sitting under a white tent located in a parking lot just as you enter the main street of Talkeetna, Conshafter creates his art work from soapstone and alabaster.

Although this is his first summer as a street artist, Conshafter said he has been sculpting since he was a child.

I started with Play-Doh as a kid, Conshafter said. My mom still has some dinosaurs on display in her home.

Nearby, people wander into Thistleberrys, which carries only Alaska-made items and shop owner Ruth Hollands own doll art.

Hollands daughter-in-law, Olivia Holland, said although the shop has only been open since May 1, business has been good.

Its been going real well. The nice weather makes people walk around town, Olivia Holland said.

Up the street, Sara Sterns busily pours cold brews for thirsty patrons who have wandered into the Fair View bar.

Business has been really busy, especially on weekend nights, Sterns said. When the weather is like this, everyone comes in to cool off.

Thats a switch, cooling off in Alaska.

Ira Goldberg, a local artist who owns a glass-blowing studio in Talkeetna, comes into the bar with his pal, Aiko, a beautiful 6-year-old female blue and gold macaw.

Aiko, Goldberg said, is very jealous of other women, and preens and poses as some out-of-town visitors take her picture.

Across the street at West Rib Pub & Cafe, the outside deck is brimming with people quaffing beer and cold drinks and munching on the eaterys famous grilled crab burgers. Cooks David Carela and Caleb Cardash work furiously over the scorching outdoor grill, as waitresses plunk down order after order.

At the end of Main Street, at D & S Alaskan Trail Rides, horse wrangler Cybele Johnson saddles up her horse, Doc, for an afternoon ride through the Outback.

On such a clear day, Johnson said, more people are out flight-seeing rather than horseback riding. But, she said, this summer season has been very busy for the guided trail ride business.

As Doc makes his way through the swiftly flowing streams, Mount McKinley looms majestically in the background, surrounded by an azure sky that is dotted with soft, white clouds.

Its just another beautiful day in Talkeetna.

Photo: Horse wrangler Cybele Johnson, riding her horse, Doc, looks out toward Mount McKinley from a glorious vantage point in Talkeetna on Saturday. Photo by JO C. GOODE/Frontiersman.