Hatcher Pass and Independence Mine

After such an exciting day with helicopter rides and dog sledding and Glaciers we took a ride to Hatcher Pass where we drove to the top and walked out to see the rest. Then we went back down to Independence Mines. The kids were having a ball running up and down the trail and playing in the snow. Hatcher pass is in the Talkeetna mountains between Palmer and Willow. We were camping in Palmer so it was a natural stop not to mention we really wanted to go to Talkeetna. The road to Hatcher Pass is all gravel and not maintained though I have to admit for a road that is not maintained it really wasn’t that bad. But, it was cold and rainy. Right below the road to Hatcher Pass is the Independence Mine. Independence Mine is an abandoned gold mine where you can walk a trail that takes you through the village that once held 204 workers at its peak.

After having so much fun playing in the rain and snow, running around on trails and visiting the mining town we headed for Talkeetna. Talkeetna is one of the “must sees” on a trip to Alaska. On the way there we spotted the Kahiltna Birch Works Birch Syrup–it was one of the places we wanted to go but, we almost forgot about. We made a quick turn into their parking lot to try birch syrup. Though it is really good it is also really expensive. See John’s face? He paid $20 for that itty bitty bottle of syrup. I can promise you, he did not ant to buy it.

It took almost 2 hours to get to Talkeetna so we did not have a lot of choices in restaurants. You would think with the longer hours of day light places would stay open but not in Alaska. One of the restaurants in Talkeetna actually closed at 4:00 in the afternoon? Most closed by 8:00. Luckily we arrived about 6:00 and managed to get a table at the Homestead Kitchen. Christy and I told the guys our order so we could make a quick run to the nearby quilt store Patchwork Moose. It’s a really cute little shop but it is limited in fabric. They have a lot of souvenirs and touristy items to attract the non quilters. No problem–I did find fabric–oh and some more yarn. Christy and I also ran to the Spinach Bread food truck to grab some snacks for later. John and I froze ours to be eaten at a later date.

This was the end of the line for our trip with the kids. We said our goodbyes and went off to our camper. It was really sad to see them go but we had so much fun with them for the past week. In the meantime our travel companions had remained in the Kenai Peninsula to take an excursion to Katmai National Park to see the brown bear. I know they had a great time but they ended up sick with Covid so they were stuck down there for a few days. John and I were headed back to Denali for a few days then back to Fairbanks and we will meet up with them later in Chicken, Alaska where we will leave Alaska and head to the Dempster Highway to the Arctic Ocean.