Nenana: A Good Place to Relax

Between Fairbanks and Denali is Nenana, an historic river village. To the early Native Americans, Nenana meant "a good place to camp." Warren G. Harding arrived there in 1923 as the first U.S. President to visit Alaska. He drove the golden spike that finally completed the Alaska Railroad running between Seward and Fairbanks. The old depot was renovated in 1988, after having been closed for several years and is now the state’s Alaska Railroad Museum. The museum gift shop and “Bed and Maybe Breakfast” B and B are owned by Joanne Hawkins, who is a living legend in Nenana. After wrecking her pickup truck and getting robbed on the way to Alaska, she found herself bereft of funds by the time she arrived in Nenana in 1970 from Milwaukee. However, her bold entrepreneurial spirit kicked in along with her uncanny pool stick expertise. She admits to loving money and has always known how to make it.

Today, in addition to the aforementioned businesses, Joanne is the proud owner of Two Choice Café (take it or leave it.) and the Tripod Gift Shop. Joanne and friends often entertain visitors on various musical instruments at the Tripod. We especially enjoyed the Café’s homemade rhubuarb cake and vegetable soup.

Nenana is still the hub for the tug boat/barge shipping industry that traverses the rivers of the Interior providing goods to numerous villages [Milepost 2006]. St. Mark’s Mission Church, an old log structure with a rich history is a “must see” for visitors.