Knik, AK

Friday, June 18th……………..

Met up with Donna in the afternoon and she took us on yet another driving tour of the area around Anchorage! I think she lays awake at night thinking of all the places she wants to show us!! She is a one-woman Chamber of Commerce for Alaska!!!

Today we went to the Iditarod Trail Museum………….

 

…….and Headquarters.

For those of you who do not know, the Iditarod is a dog-sled race which is run in March (I think) and is almost 1100 miles long. It is a grueling and cold run for both man and dogs, but it is as big as the Olympics here in Alaska.

Remy, a long time Iditarod musher was there will some of his dogs at harness. The dogs are very, very well cared for and are ready to run all the time!!!

The dogs watch him all the time just in case he want to go!!!

A batch of puppies waiting to be trained to the sled.

 Bill the Musher!!!

I can’t even begin to imagine what fortitude it takes to do something like the Iditarod, these men and women are to be admired for their spirit. We have found that everyone living here in the Far North is embodied with a spirit of adventure that we have not found anywhere else. To endure 8 months of almost complete darkness and sub-zero conditions takes a special kind of person. The 4 months of continuous daylight is something you have to acclimate to also!!!

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Along the road Donna pointed out a boat that was left way away from the water by the tsunami that accompanied the earthquake that hit this area in 1964. Amazing!

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We drove to the little town (very little) of Knik, AK.

 

For a period of about 2 years the town had a population of around 10,000. Then the railroad was located away from Knik and soon the town became a “ghost town” as everyone depended on the railroad for supplies, etc. But about all that is left now is Knik Hall, which was a billiards hall in it’s heyday, but is now a museum lovingly preserved by a couple who families were a part of the boom town back in the late 1800’s.

Hand drawn map of early Knik on animal skin.

The museum also contains a lot of Iditarod memorabilia as it originally was a stop on the race trail. But it too has moved on to  Willow, AK , further north where the race now begins, after a ceremonial “start” in Anchorage.

 

Cabin at Knik occupied by Joe Redington, an originator of the Iditarod Dogsled Race.

 

Original well house in Knik. Love the sod roof!!!

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We ended our day with a fabulous steak dinner at the Knik Bar and Restaurant. It is one of those places along the road that would turn most diners off, but the food and the atmosphere was great.

 

The steaks are cooked outside in the Cook Shack (across the parking lot from the restaurant) and there is only one thing on the menu each night: steak, potatoes, and a vegetable, with a salad and roll!!! You can’t beat that for “fine dining”!!!!

 

Just Us Kids…..another fun day on the back roads of Alaska!!!!