Sounding like a broken record, this morning we hung out at Talkeetna Alaska Lodge again. We just can’t get enough of the unobstructed Denali view from their deck. After getting our mountain fix we drove into downtown just before start of Talkeetna’s 4th of July parade. The road into downtown was super crowded both with visitors and with the staging of the parade. We decided to park at the edge of downtown and eat lunch at Kahiltna Bistro. We were able to sit outside with Maverick on the patio with up close views of the parade. The food was quite good and this had location and easy on its side.
Maverick wants everyone to know he doesn’t like loud noises. These noises include, fire engine and ambulance sirens, truck horns, train horns, load truck exhaust, loud motorcycle exhaust, or fireworks. Of course we had lots of these noise where we sat during the parade. Poor Maverick was pretty miserable during the parade. The parade itself was pretty typical of a very small town. Lots of locals in their cars, on their bicycles, and on their 4-wheelers, a few classic cars, and a handful of local businesses. Of course the parade was ended by the volunteer fire department pump truck, ambulances, and emergency vehicles all honking and using their sirens.
After the parade we drove to Benko lake. Based on the signs we expected public access but it only had a small boat ramp and signs saying no parking. We did get out a little but it wasn’t the best location for us. We did get invited by a local couple to join them in the lake as they inflated multiple super sized lake floats that looked big enough to support the entire local population. They were nice but we politely declined.
Since we left Benko not truly satisfied, we headed to nearby Tigger Lake. Here we found actual parking, trails, and nice small lake. Maverick was in heaven on the trail off-leash and we took the short trail to the lake. We somewhat interrupted a young couple who we thought would probably rather be alone. Maverick did get some time to play in the water with their Golden Retriever and Australian Shepherd for a little before we left. About 4 or 5 cars arrived in the parking area as we left, so that couple wasn’t going to get any privacy after all.