Arriving in Port Alsworth-part 1

For the last six or seven years it’s been our tradition to head to Port Allsworth for the Sourdough Fly-in over Memorial Day weekend.

We first made our way out to Port Allsworth after meeting Lyle Wilder on the Iditarod trail and taking him up on the invitation to attend the fly-in that he was spearheading.

After the first year we were hooked. We loved how family friendly the Fly-in was, the community was top notch, the flying competition was low key and fun, and Lake Clark and Port Allsworth was beautiful with plenty to explore.

Fast forward to 2025…

Off we go to Port Allsworth for Memorial Day weekend and the Sourdough Fly-In

We’ve started putting Eska in a car seat in the back row, which has went well on other flights, but not on this one. She quickly made her way to the front, although she is getting a bit big for it.

It was a beautiful day to Fly to Port Alsworth.

We had hardly landed and put up the tent before the Harpers and Winzinrieds showed up on a four-wheeler and invited us to join them on a hike to Tanalian Falls. We started packing up and more friends arrived. This time it was the Beats with their twins and three month old. They were also up for the hike so our friend Ryan started making trips to the trailhead with the fourwheeler. Walking to the trailhead from the runway is an option, but adds another mile or so to the walk.

Tanalian Falls is an out and back hike thats around 2 miles one way. We’ve done it multiple times over the years, but this year instead of constantly encouraging kids on the trail, we were trying to keep up with them.

More info on the Tanalian Falls hike here

After hiking to Tanalian Falls we headed back to the runway and then to the beach in front of our friends house where multiple families were gathering to roast hot dogs, catch up with friends, and let the 20+ kids play in Lake Clark. Alaskan kids don’t seem to mind the cold water.

Summers in Alaska make bedtime a bit tricky especially for parents. With the sun shining late into the night, it feels wrong to leave when there is more of the day to enjoy, but when kids started melting we tore ourselves away from the sunny beach and bummed a four wheeler ride back to our tent.