There are several places in Alaska that I’d like to live. There is of course, Homer. And Sutton. And Talkeetna. This is if I were to stay in Alaska. I often think about moving to Northern New Mexico, where it is not too warm in the summer and there is plenty of water, even when there are droughts. There are also trails galore down at this end of the world.

Today, closer to home, I found myself thinking that I’d like to live in Talkeetna, which is north, one third of the way to Fairbanks. The one con is that there might be quite a bit of snow there, but the one pro is that there is a strong sense of community there.

Siggi and Raudi n Southern Colorado

This was affirmed today. I went with Nan, who is the Bright Lights Book Project Events Coordinator, to Talkeetna for the earth day celebration, which was held in the Denali Learning Center parking lot. It was a beautiful day – the sun shone brightly, and the temperatures were in the 50s.

On the way up and the way back, Nan and I talked nonstop about things that interested us. Of course, this included the book project and horses. Nan does wear both hats.

I am not sure where we would have set up the book display had it been rainy or windy. As it was, it was the perfect day for an event like this.

There was one guy attempting to sell firs – I don’t think he parted with any; come on, on earth day? And displays were put on the Palmer Recycling Center, the Talkeetna Library, and Milena Sevigny who gives away free seeds.

There were plenty of kids in attendance, and they did take books. One woman appeared and gave us two boxes of mostly children’s books. The adults didn’t take much of anything – I think that we didn’t have the right books on hand.

Saw a lot of old friends – people are tightly connected in small communities. My friend Judy, who I met on my Fairbanks to Valdez bicycle trip had introduced me to her friend Laura, who lives in Talkeetna. And today Laura introduced me to her friend Suzanne, who has two Icelandic horses. For a brief moment then I was wearing the hat of a horse owner and book discard specialist.

This is a very rare event, so I made it a point to talk horses for a long time with Suzanne.

Laura also knew Nan; they had met several years previously.

We figured all this out after the earth day festivities were over. We went to eat at the Flying Squirrel and got to know one another a bit better.

Nan took me back to the Meeting House after leaving Talkeetna. Pete had spent the day at the recycling center, going at salvaging books alone. He didn’t finish until 5 p.m. Bill would have given him a hand, but he has Covid.

Had someone wanted to show me prime real estate, I would have wavered. Fortunately, no one did.

Next: 112. 4/24/22: Going to the Dogs