June 8th: Squirrels tells me about Denali and a beach

It's early morning, and I'm not very awake yet, but I open the front door of the cabin and step out onto the porch to see what the weather is like.

"Good morning, Al", Squirrel says, startling me. He's sitting on the railing just to my left.

"Good morning, Mr., uh, Squirrel. Wow, you surprised me a little there."

"I just came down from the top of this tree", Squirrel says, pointing at a very tall tree. "There's a tremendous view of the mountain today."

"The mountain?", I ask. "What mountain? McKinley?"

"Oh yes -- didn't you know? On clear days Talkeetna has incredible views of the entire Denali mountain range. Do you want to come up in the tree and look at it?", Squirrel says. He's funny because I've noticed he flicks his tail every time he gets excited.

"Um, no, I don't really climb trees much any more, especially not all the way to the top."

"Well then", he says, pointing at me, "You should do down to the river so you can see it. Usually it's not visible for very long. Denali is over four miles tall, and it creates its own weather way up there. Some times the entire sky will be perfectly clear, but the mountain will have a cloud covering it."

"That's cool. Did you say there's a river here too?"

"Wow, Al, you really are a Cheechako. Didn't they tell you anything when you moved in?", Squirrel says. "It's on the other side of town. Just walk through the town, and when it looks like the road comes to an end where there are a bunch of bushes, look around, and you'll find a trail between the bushes. Just follow that trail to the beach and the rivers."

"Beach? There's a beach in Talkeetna???", I said, much more awake now. "Okay, I'll get dressed and get on my way. You know, I've been so busy going back and forth to Wasilla to get my supplies I haven't had time to look around town yet. Thanks for the information!", I yell as I turn back inside.