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Talkeetna is a bit weird, perhaps quirky, even a little odd.

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The "Welcome" sign in the center of Talkeetna is a town icon. The town has about 850 residents but gets plenty of visitors during the summer months.

How else can you describe a town of about 850 people that gets thousands of visitors during the summer months but still feels like small-town Alaska?

And most of the residents like the town's quirky personality.

That's part of Talkeetna's charm.

That and the fact that one of the town's main tourist attractions is an old wheelbarrow full of flowers with a sign that says "Welcome to Beautiful Downtown Talkeetna."

You don't just stumble upon Talkeetna. Travelers on their way between Anchorage and Denali National Park have to make a decision to head into Talkeetna. It's a 14-mile trip up the Talkeetna Spur Road from the Parks Highway -- but it's worth the detour. In fact, you might find yourself wishing you had spent your entire vacation based in Talkeetna.

While it's not big on size, it is big on character. And it's got just about everything someone could want in an Alaska vacation: flightseeing trips to Mount McKinley, fishing, river rafting, jetboat trips, hiking, history, Iditarod mushers, artists and a cool festival -- the Moose Dropping Festival (July 11-12), where they drop moose droppings not moose.

On clear days, 20,320-foot Mount McKinley dominates the horizon. Talkeetna is about 60 miles from McKinley.

And many flightseeing and air-taxi companies operate out of Talkeetna. In April mountain climbers start to descend on Talkeetna from around the world. After registering with the National Park Service in Talkeetna, most fly to the Kahiltna Base Camp at 7,200 feet on the Kahiltna Glacier.

As summer progresses, tourists arrive and enjoy the flightseeing. Most companies offer trips of one to two hours. Many trips can be combined with glacier landings. Highlights include the Kahiltna Glacier, Ruth Glacier, Sheldon Amphitheater, Wickersham Wall and Great Gorge.

The Talkeetna Museum consists of five buildings centered on the 1936 original one-room school. Mount McKinley gets a fair share of attention here too. In one of the buildings, there is a 12-by-12-foot scale model of Denali. The Mountain Exhibit room also includes famous photos by Bradford Washburn, who pioneered the popular West Buttress climbing route on McKinley.

During the visitor season, National Park Service rangers provide twice-daily programs about expeditions and routes up the mountain.

The mountain isn't the only natural wonder in the Talkeetna area.

The town is near where the Talkeetna and Chulitna rivers join the Susitna River. That makes it a great place for fishing or for riverboat tours.

Talkeetna River Guides (733-2677, talkeetnariverguides.com) takes visitors on both the Talkeetna and Chulitna rivers. Mahay's Riverboat Service (733-2223, mahaysriverboat.com) offers three tours on the area rivers. It also offers fishing packages.

Talkeetna has long been connected with the fictional town of Cicely, Alaska, from the 1990s TV show "Northern Exposure," perhaps serving as the inspiration.