Thanksgiving Alaskan Style

“Thanksgiving Day comes, by statute, once a year; to the honest man it comes as frequently as the heart of gratitude will allow.” ~Edward Sandford Martin


Most people here in Alaska celebrate Thanksgiving in the traditional way, with family gathered round the table at home. My husband and I, along with a group of friends, did it a little differently this year.

Our friends own a remote cabin just south of Denali State park, in an area known as Trappers Creek. It’s an old mining area, so there are a few roads winding through the hills and valleys. These roads aren’t maintained, which means that in the winter they are left to be drowned in snow, and all of the many marshes, rivers and creeks freeze, creating a vast network of ‘roads’ for those of us with snowmachines. People in other parts of the world call them snow-mobiles or sno-go’s…but in Alaska it’s snowmachine, or sometimes just ‘sled’.

This year I’m bringing the stuffing and the rolls for the Thanksgiving dinner. My challenge was how to prepare these foods for the 40 minute snowmachine ride – and to be ready to cook right when we got to the cabin.


Trappers Creek is really the foothills of the Alaska Range, so it’s mostly rolling hills with spectacular views of Denali and the multitude of other mountains in the range. Our friends Casey and Kristin host Thanksgiving at their family cabin every year. There are no direct roads to their cabin, the only way to get there is by snowmachine. We have to bring all our supplies for the four day weekend by sled. From sleeping bags to breakfast we need to bring it in. Each year ten or so people head out by snowmachine to come together and have a thankful meal in one of the most beautiful spots on earth.

What a view!

The cabin itself is pretty fancy by Alaskan standards. It has a generator and propane tanks, so wood isn’t necessary to heat or cook with. Honestly, having cooked and heated with wood in the past…it ain’t that great. It’s a lot of work and you have to watch it like a hawk to avoid burning or undercooking. The generator means that we can have standard lights after the dark falls (around 4:30 or 5:00 in the evening). This is wonderful if you’re playing cards or reading, as kerosene lamps don’t put out a whole lot of light.

Me and Colby, reading Glamour

The property has a crystal clear natural spring. When you’re standing at the spring house filling up your five gallon jugs, you have an awesome view of Denali if the day is clear. Can’t get much more ‘pure’ than that for water!

The spring, being flowing water, doesn't freeze - here you can see it peeking through the new snow! The small green shed houses a gathering cistern, and is where we gathered the water.

Next to the cabin is the older, much more rustic ‘trappers cabin.’ This is where my husband and I usually sleep and it is heated by wood. This year there was a fly invasion during the summer, so we slept inside the main cabin.

The Trappers Cabin - made with local logs in the old fashioned way - each log was fit to match the one above it. No fancy millwork to make the logs all the same size.

The most beautiful outhouse - if that's possible!

Over the Thanksgiving weekend we usually play all sorts of card games and lay around being lazy. Big events include getting water, skiing excursions, and of course, snowmachining. Usually this time of year is a mix of cloudy skies and brilliant blue skies pierced by the snowcapped mountains. I love being able to go for a quick cross country ski out the cabin front door and down onto the wide frozen river. If the snow is good there are many valleys full of fresh powder that are flat, wide and easy to zoom through on your snowmachine. It really does feel like you are gliding on top of air if you hit the powder just right. If you hit it just wrong you sink…and then you dig yourself out. I am getting good at digging myself out now!

We wish everyone reading this warm, safe, and happy holidays!
Shannon & Rich

A beautiful sunrise on our way home from the cabin.

Our friend Karina came with us...and fell off her snow-machine onto the ice and dislocated her thumb. She didn't get a picture of the dislocation (thankfully!) before some nice strangers came along and pulled it back out straight for her. Check out the beautiful bruising!