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Cemetery
The most solemn way to appreciate the effect of the mountain on Talkeetna is to visit the Cemetery, a restful spot set among tall trees on 2nd St, just off Talkeetna Spur Rd near the airport. Don Sheldon's grave is the most prominent, with the epitaph 'He wagered with the wind and won'. The Mt McKinley Climber's Memorial includes a stone for Ray Genet, despite the fact that his body was never removed from the slopes of Mt Everest.
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Fairview Inn
Closed in 2005, it would be a travesty if the Fairview Inn failed to reopen. Though not an official museum, it might as well be. Founded in 1923 to serve as the overnight stop between Seward and Fairbanks on the newly constructed Alaska Railroad, the inn is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
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Mountaineering Ranger Station
Whether you're intrigued by high-altitude alpinism or boggled by it, the Mountaineering Ranger Station provides an excellent window into that rarefied world. In addition to coordinating the numerous expeditions to Mt McKinley during the spring and summer, the station functions as a visitor center with maps, books, photos and video presentations about the Alaska Range, as well as climbing-club flags from around the world and signed ice axes from successful ascents.
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Talkeetna Historical Society Museum
A block south of Main St is the Talkeetna Historical Society Museum, a small complex of restored buildings. The town's 1936 schoolhouse features an exhibit devoted to Don Sheldon (the bush pilot who pioneered landing climbers high on Mt McKinley's glaciers for a better shot at the peak), as well as artifacts on trapping and mining. The complex also includes a fully furnished trapper's cabin and a train depot. But the most fascinating building by far is the Section House.
Showing 1-4 of 4 results
