Out There We rode primitive trails to four remote lodges that are run like small villages , and it was strange not seeing a road or a car for days . Firewood was harvested and stacked near the lodges , and fresh breakfast eggs came from chickens that clucked in coops outside . Every other
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supply like fresh fruit , salted-in-the-shell peanuts or soda pop arrived either by airplane or snowmachine , which is what snowmobiles are called up here .
Talvista Lodge is on the Talachulitna River , known as “ The Tal .” Of all our accommodations , this one felt the most “ out there ” during four nights and five days snowmobiling across the Alaskan
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interior . Not unlike the other resorts , it ’ s accessible only by floatplane in the summer or snowmobile and dog sled in the winter . But Talvista was an especially charming , peaceful place for our group to rest .
When caretaker Chris Poynter , a friendly , hearty guy , arrived at the lodge that winter to prep it for visitors , the building was buried in snow . Chris made
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an educated guess of the chimneystack ’ s location , and then started digging . Lucky for Chris , his intuition was correct , and after some time he cleared the outlet so he could light a fire inside the fireplace . |
A winter sunset view at Talvista Lodge in remote Alaska . |