I want to share the 2 unrelated highlights of our 5 week Alaska RV trip in Aug.2002.
Forest cabins are available for rent in isolated places through the Bureau of Land Management. We rented the Holgate Arm cabin for 3 nights and it was a wonderfully, unbelievable experience. It is a lone cabin about 2 1/2 hours from Seward by boat. We used Jim Barkley's taxi service and it was great. He is the owner of Alaska Saltwater Lodge in Seward and can be reached there. The Holgate cabin faces the Holgate Glacier and the scenery is spectacular. I would recommend it only if you rent or bring your own kayaks as we did. The cabin was 4 miles from the Glacier and we able to kayak within a half mile of it. We could see the glacier from the cabin window and we could hear it calving through the night. We saw lots of wildlife on the trip back and I would say that if the cabin is not your thing, I would surely recommend taking a day trip with Jim Barkley. If you like to watch or photograph wildlife, I would say that this is a must do. Orcas swam under our boat after they entertained us. Humpback whales dove for us. We saw seals, dolphins, thousands of birds nesting, and on and on.
If kayaking is not your thing, you might want to look into other forest cabins in other areas as a way to get off the beaten path without having to backpack. Some are on lakes and have boats available for use.
Talkeetna is another thing altogether. It is an ideal place from which to take a glacier landing flight. The flight itself is amazing and landing on the Ruth Glacier was not to be believed. It was costly but worth every penny and a must do on my list.
Talkeetna itself is an experience. Unfortunately, most people come in on tour buses, take the flight, visit the tourist shops and leave. They miss meeting the people and that in itself is worth an overnight stay. Many of these people are not only artistic but multi-talented. They are friendly and wonderful to talk to.
We had many wonderful experiences in Alaska and I would be glad to give further details on these or others if anyone is interested.

RV? Now there's another idea. We've been to the US as a foursome (from UK), touring in a Ford Explorer or similar for the last 7 years since my brother-in-law married a southern belle in SC. I was their wedding photographer that first year, although I prefer landscape photography. I'm not in the Peter Lik league yet (see his gallery on Pier 39, Fishermans' Wharf in SF, CA) but I can turn out a decent composition now and again.

Thanks, then, for the insight into your Alaska trip. I've no idea where Talkeetna is, but rest assured I'm going to look it up. We were beginning to run out of ideas to suit the four of us, but this idea is going into the pot for discussion for a future trip.

I don't need further info just now, but I'm confident that you and our fellow travellers out there will come up trumps again when the need arises.

Thanks again, marion2.

Thanks for sharing. I have part of our trip planned and Talkeetna is on the list. Our first weekend will be spent at a b&b in Palmer. (One of my favorite experiences from our trip in 2001 was talking with the owner of a quilt shop in Skagway. She told me how quilters come up on the ferry for a weekend of quilting.) We also have reservations for an overnight in Seldovia thanks to recommendations we read here.

Driver, this thread seems to appear and disappear at will. If I can be of any further help, put Marion2 in the heading of your thread. I will check for the next few weeks and then I will be out of computer range for awhile. Have a great trip.

Indeed it does - I tried to find it last week and ... nothing. Yet here you are again.

I don't need any more info just now thanks. One word, "Talkeetna" in Google got me all I needed for the moment, like where it is! Sounds superb to me; I just have to convince my other three travelling companions that it's worth investigating for next year's trip. (It's the Blue Ridge mountains this year.) It certainly seems to have all the elements that we all enjoy, with the possible exception of temperature. I don't mind - lived in Norway for 3 years - but my wife and her sister have an aversion to cold.