Lumpy-Alaska Highway-2004 Thumbnails

A Stop at Eklutna, AK: Aug 24
on the way to Denali

Subject: Spirit houses, Russian Orthodox and Athabascan mix of cultures

Comments: John rode up to Denali in his rented car this afternoon, and I rode solo on my bike and made a stop at a tiny town just outside Anchorage and Eagle River, AK called Eklutna. Eklutna is the home of a small Russian settlement, cemetary, church and gift shop. What draws occassional tourists to Eklutna is the unusual mix of Athabascan and Russian Orthodox cultures, as marked by the spirit houses built over the graves in their cemetary. The church is an active parish and is mostly made up of the Russian Orthodox living in Wasilla and Palmer nearby.