McCarthy, AK - Population - 42
Jared, Terry, Pilot Austin, Joan, Bill, John
McCarthy from the air.
Terry strolling down Main Street
Local Cafe
Hardware Store
Quaint Hotel
Local residence
McCarthy Air
Best food in town found at "The Potato"
Inside The Potato
The Potato Staff
General Store
Flowers in bloom
Local flavor
Lawn Art
Ravin' about the Raven
Bill and Joan - Authors, Story Tellers and Pilot for a Minute.
8/23 - Copper Center to McCarthy. Rather than driving our rental car the 90 plus miles from Copper Center to McCarthy, we purchased a tour package from the Copper Center Princess Wilderness Lodge where we were staying.The package included transportation
from the Lodge to the tiny little dirt runway just outside of Chitina. Joining us on this excursion are Bill and Joan from Henderson, NV. Both are former teachers, authors of children's books and storytellers. We've met some great people on this trip!
Once we reached Chitin, we hopped aboard bush plane
operated by Wrangell Mountain Air. Our pilot, Austin takes us on our way and
flies us to the gravel runway located just outside the hippy-dippy community
called McCarthy. You may have seen the reality show Edge of Alaska on Discovery Channel about this place. It’s a hoot!
We are shuttled from the airport down to McCarthy and spend
an hour checking out this backcountry town. Marijuana is legal in Alaska, and
the smell of it reeks from the clothing of many of the locals!
Before we leave on this excursion, I pull my Canon out of
the rice packets to see if it is working. Much to my delight, I’m back in
business! The sucker is working! Who’d a thunk that sticking your waterlogged
camera in a bag of rice would revive the tool!
With that being said, I was in photo heaven clicking away at
all the quaint buildings in this tiny town where one of the 42 citizens wants
to “bring this frontier town up to the 21st century” and another
dog-musher turned farmer is hell bent of keeping it the way it always has been….”at
any cost!”
One of the best shops in McCarthy is an off-the-beaten-path
hole-in-the-wall “cafe” called The Roadside Potatohead. The locals refer to it
as The Potato. Like the name suggests, the countertop bar area is filled with
Mr. and Mrs. Potatohead characters! If you ever visit McCarthy, be sure to stop
by the Potato! The food is said to be very good. The hot chocolate Terry and I
ordered was very tasty!
When our one-hour tour of McCarthy comes to an end, we are shuttled
up to the Kennecott Mines…the main event of this excursion.
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