Everyone vote for Talkeetna as America's coolest small town (Metlakatla: license plates, garage)

[Nephler]

I agree, I've seen wonderful small towns ruined by notoriety from the press.

[richelles]

Just for all you Alaskans I had a friend look at the ballot and found out you can vote every five hours and probably can vote twice in the five hours. So with a little effort we can make a joe miller election out of this contest and put Talkeetna over the top. So run vote now and lets keep western most virginia out of the top spot.

[Metlakatla]

Talkeetna, though, is a little unique because it doesn't have much available land for development. A few years ago quite a few lower 48ers bought homes there when it became known that Talkeetna was the "model" for the town in the TV show "Northern Exposure", but most of them have left.

It has changed a little since CIRI built the resort there but I don't think it has changed much in a negative way. There's people all over the place in the summer but it was like that before. And most of the local businesspeople are year round residents as opposed to the carpetbaggers that you see in places like Skagway.

[mitgreb]

Originally Posted by akravenlady

It's Talkeetna, and nope, not kidding.

Talkeetna ain't squat!

[akravenlady]

You are right, of course. It's not squat, it's A GREAT PLACE!

Originally Posted by mitgreb

Talkeetna ain't squat!

[Dusty Rhodes]

Originally Posted by starlite9

Only 530 votes to date.

Out of 20 cities, Talkeetna is just about in the middle of the pack at #10.

Not bad for a town of a couple of hundred in the middle of nowhere! Just as good they don't win, they would be so over run, those there would want to run off and hide!

Hummmmmm, we had been there for about 2 days, enjoying the relaxed atmosphere, and on the third day the cruise ship tour buses arrived en masse, the population of Talkeetna almost tripled, it was nuts.

[Metlakatla]

Originally Posted by Dusty Rhodes

Hummmmmm, we had been there for about 2 days, enjoying the relaxed atmosphere, and on the third day the cruise ship tour buses arrived en masse, the population of Talkeetna almost tripled, it was nuts.

Yeah...I lived there before the cruise mania began in that part of the state. Most of the tourists we used to get back then were there to climb Deanli or Foraker, and they were pretty interesting people. Much better than the typical touron of today who thinks that they just "close down the town" after the "season" ends.

[Montana Griz]

Originally Posted by richelles

Cedar Key is on the West side of the Florida Peninsular stuck out in the water sorta by itself. The best thing about it is the Yankees haven't found it so when you drive all the way out that dead end road almost the only people there are the locals who are mostly fisherpeople. There isn't a franchise store in town, no red lights, and you can't walk very far in any direction without being on the shoreline. The Gulf breezes keep it reasonable all year never too hot nor too cold. I'm sitting here in Anchorage watching the snow fall at single digit temps wondering how long it would take to get where a tee shirt would be the right attire in the sunshine.

Found Cedar Key back Dec 1975. My wife daughter and I drove from the mountains of Colorado down there to spend Christmas week with a life-long friend of mine who was born and raised on the banks of the Swannee at Bell, FL.

To this day he still lives there. We went quail hunting on his property back in 1975 the Day after Christmas, and had a wonderful time hunting behind a brace of his English Pointers. The next day he took us to Cedar Key for dinner.......at a restaurant that was built on "stilts' (pileings sp?) completely out over the water. Great food & had a great time with the owners who had gone to school with Joel. After consuming more-than-my-share of "shine", I was made an "honorary" "Swannee River Back-Country RedNeck" and 'harvested' my first and only-ever Gator!

Note: Two years ago, I was back down there and went to Cedar Key again with Joel...................very disapointing and sad!!!!. Absolutely no resembelance to the Cedar Key of 1975..........sad, sad, sad!

[Montana Griz]

Originally Posted by Nephler

I agree, I've seen wonderful small towns ruined by notoriety from the press.

......Absolutely correct!............

First time ever in Talkeetna was Sept 1984....(last time was July 1996....I'm sure it's changed a lot since then)..... Had a wonderful time each trip and visited with a few of the local full-time residents. That's where I met Jim Bailey (master guide). Was on a "working sales trip" (in 1984) in that part of Alaska, ending up selling a fabricated steel conveyor system to the coal people at Healy. Thus started my love for Alaska and a total of 16 trips to date, and only used a guide once (had to by law).....and that was for the Brownie on Kodiak....... 1st of several hunting trips was (1985) (14 days in Sept) for an un-guided hunt with 2 buddies. Floated about 12 miles of the Mulchatna and each got a caribou......then flew over to a point on the Innoko River where the Mud River flows in from the north. Set up a tent camp there on the banks of the Innoko (as we did on the Mulchatna).... Each got a respectable moose (62", 65" & a 68") and a couple of black bears. (signed over about 1200 pounds of moose meat to the "headmaster" of the Indian Boarding School there at McGrath). Then got weathered in at McGrath and had to stay there (at the Takusko House) for 3 days. Had a great time and I caught a "Shee" fish out of the
Kuskokwim. The cook at the Takusko House prepared it for us and it was great eating. Great time, wonderful people and no "cracks" about being from the -48.

[gobrien]

I've noticed a lot of towns in Alaska don't change a whole heck of alot over time-case in point: Delta Junction, my home town. A lot of new people there now, though.