Anchorage - Crossroads of South Central Alaska

Saturday, June 20, 2009 – Bill and I left on our own this morning to go do some exploring in Anchorage. Our first stop was the Open Air Market and Festival in downtown Anchorage. We walked through the booths and it was not much different than any other street fair you might find. There were the same booths of sunglasses, handmade jewelry, t-shirts, hats, and many many food booths. There were a few unique booths carrying Alaskan Ulu knives, ivory carvings, and furs but overall just another street fair. From there we drove a few blocks to the Snow City Café for breakfast. Year after year the citizens of Anchorage vote this as the best place in town to have breakfast and it was good and the prices pretty reasonable. Our next stop was about 45 minutes north of Anchorage in the town of Wasilla at the Iditarod Trail Race Headquarters. We watched a short video and played with some 4 week old sled dog puppies but there was not much to see. Fortunately there is no admission charge and we passed on the two-minute $10 ride being pulled by a team of sled dogs. The campground is hosting a potluck BBQ this evening so we will go there for dinner.

Sunday, June 21, 2009 – We woke up to a cold and cloudy day so our plans to go hiking at Flattop Mountain and Ship Creek Trail were scuttled in favor of an activity that would be warm and dry. We drove into town and stopped at the Visitors’ Center for information and suggestions. We took a one-hour trolley tour around Anchorage with sights that included the train station, statehood monument, Cook Inlet, Earthquake Park, and the airport. The airport was very interesting because it was a mass of small private float planes docked on a series of canals and lakes. It was kind of like a boat marina except instead of boats it is for airplanes. There is a 12 year waiting list to get a slip but then it only costs $100 per month. There is a huge demand due to the fact that 1 out of every 61 people in Alaska has a pilot’s license. After the trolley tour we had some lunch and looked at some of the other suggestions and decided they were either too touristy or too expensive so we returned to the campground. Bill is trying to fight off a cold so he took a nap and rested for most of the afternoon. Around 7:00 the four of us drove the short distance over to the Moose Tooth Pub and Pizzeria. It is a wildly popular local favorite and there was a 45 minute wait but it was worth it. The pizza was really good. When we got back home Bill and I took our evening walk around the campground and talked to a guy we had met back in Hinton, BC. He is part of an RV Caravan group so we talked to him about their experience. He said they are very pleased with the tour because it is quite well organized and they are getting to see and do lots of fun things. Since we are supposed to have clouds and rain for the next couple of days we will head to Seward and hope the weather clears so we can go fishing when we get to Homer.