Talkeetna, Alaska

Talkeetna, Alaska

Coordinates: 62 20 N 150 6 W

Population: 848 (2007 est.)

For those of us in the lower 48, the champagne toasts may already have faded from memory, but to Alaskans, the party’s not over yet. Why, you ask? Well, 2009 marks the fiftieth anniversary of statehood for the Last Frontier. Various events have and will take place across Alaska this year, but I’m wondering if anything special is being planned in the little town of Talkeetna. Located due North of Anchorage at the confluence of the Chulitna, Susitna, and Talkeetna Rivers, this settlement precedes Alaska’s official entry into the Union by about 40 years. And, as I’ve recently learned, they also hold a Moose Dropping Festival each summer which apparently culminates in a Moose Drop Dropping. Strange as it may seem, I didn’t make this up, and offer a quote from the Chamber of Commerce as evidence: “Shellacked and numbered moose poop is hauled up in the air in a net and then dropped on a bullseye. Raffle numbers correspond to numbers on moose poop. Winners include the closest and farthest from the bullseye. Sounds like not-much-fun but it is a highlight of the day!” Anyone looking for a heap of a good time in July?

Ben Keene is the editor of Oxford Atlas of the World. Check out some of his previous places of the week.