Talkeetna: Every Summer Locals Decorate Wooden Moose



Local people paint the moose every year.
Sunflower-covered Talkeetna moose.
The wooden moose that are scattered around the little town of Talkeetna, Alaska, are decorated every summer by local people. This moose is graced with sunflowers. Sometimes, small toys have been glued to one of the moose -- or the chronicle of the earliest climbing of nearby Mt. McKinley, or pieces of an actual map. For a long time, moose have symbolized Talkeetna (along with the "Welcome To Beautiful Downtown Talkeetna" sign, that's hand-painted on several boards, and is posted at the corner as you enter the town.

The moose are specially made so they can be knocked down and placed under a bed or in a closet during the winter months, then brought out again in the spring to amuse locals and visitors.