Delta Junction

Delta Junction, Alaska
Population 900. Many of you have asked me for a description of Delta. I will try my best to paint you a picture of our new home.
The first thing you’ll notice about Delta Junction is that it is spread out. There are shops, homes and businesses nestled in the trees for miles. There is no main street per se, but the bulk of the businesses lie along the Richardson Hwy.
We have a grocery store, called the food cache. It’s a nice store that houses a deli for lunches, a bakery with some yummy cakes and pastries, and a fair amount of choices for the average shopper.
There is a cute little coffee shop (drive up only) called Jitter Junction. It’s delightful. They have a great selection of coffees, lattes and espresso drinks and some sweet treats too. I have to say that I still miss Starbucks and Caribou but this is a nice little treat.
Delta is home to a sporting goods store, a coop, The Hard Wok Café, Pizza Bella, and a handful of other restaraunts. They have a very nice library, which offers wireless internet and computers in addition to the books, periodicals and movie selections.
About the only thing you cannot find in Delta would an electronics store. There is a Laundromat, or two, and a very pricey Thrift Store housed in one of those Laundromats. I am looking forward to checking out a couple of the local touristy shops, and our local Wells Fargo Bank. We also have a Mt. McKinley bank and couple of quilt shops.
We have driven past, but not entered, the Delta Clinic. I have read that this is a general practice clinic for colds/flus and nothing to serious. There is also a vet clinic for Ches, and the most exciting is probably the State Park that lies on the Eastern edge of town. Delta houses a very nice high school and elementary school, as well as an ice rink. The middle school in on the Fort Greely base.
The visitors center is closed for the season, but it located in the center of town, where the remnants of The Farmers Market are as well. Northern Lights Ice Cream is also here, and they were very excited about Christmas.
There are various churches. Some of them larger, some of them very, very small. I have to spend some time at the library checking some of them out. There is a Delta Junction Lutheran church, however, that’s all I know about it. There is a Baptist, Russian orthodox, Free Church, and many others that don’t pertain to us.
It’s a quaint town. Most people here are friendly, laid back, and they definitely know when you’re new in town. People seem to be very happy to be here. High speed internet is hard to come by, and wireless is pretty much useless. Some people have been waiting for high speed internet service for over 2 years. Luckily, we were line jumpers and they’ve granted us access.
Everyone here (that we’ve met) hunts and fishes for the majority of their meat. This could be an issue for me since I don’t eat most fish or wild meats. I’ve decided to expand my mind, and try to eat more of whatever Brent finds to eat. We’ll see how that works out.
In my opinion rent is very reasonable. We’ll see what utilities run on the first billing. Internet is fairly expensive, but only minimally more than we were paying in Minnesota.
Most people here also trap, cross country ski, ride snowmobiles and atv’s. Winter lasts for a full 6 months, and summer is short at 3 months. It’s a small town. I’m looking forward to learning more about the area, the town and the people.
I have been invited to join the quilters guild, which I’m not sure about yet. I also noticed that there is a book club, which since I’ve read 10 books in the last 11 days would probably be a pretty good fit for me. So, perhaps I’ll check that out next month.
Our landlords/neighbors are great. They stop in every few days to see if we need anything. I had some reservations at first, but they are all gone. All gone.
So, hopefully soon I can get out and snap some shots of the town and give you a little better idea of where we are. I also know that a lot of you want to see our home. I promise that once it’s homey I’ll post some pics. You know me, it can’t go on unfinished, darn it.