There’s
nothing like a 5 hour red-eye flight to make you (especially if you’re a
creature of habit) appreciate the benefits of a synchronized circadian rhythm.
Nevertheless, after a couple hours of post-flight napping, we hit the streets
of Anchorage in search of breakfast. It was a beautiful Alaskan spring morning,
meaning low 50’s under overcast and drizzly skies, but it helped us shake off
our drowsiness. We stopped first at the local farmer’s market to check out local
artisans. There were lots of antler and tusk carvings, along with handmade
textiles and clothing. Karen also got to greet some sled dogs who were taking
the day off in town.
We found a
little eatery across the street that served good homemade biscuits and gravy
with sausage and eggs. Right behind the diner is the location of the ceremonial
start to the annual Iditarod Dog Sled race, and just down the street from there
is one of my favorite Army Navy stores. If you want to find the clothing and
gear used by the local workforce, this is the place for you.
Going to the
other end of the sartorial spectrum, we stopped at a furrier shop along the
same street. Here, we got to caress $10,000 mink stoles while browsing among a rather
stoic taxidermy menagerie.
Ship Creek
runs right through the city, and there is a salmon viewing platform within easy
walking distance of our hotel. Sadly, there were no salmon to be seen there
today. A bike/hike path parallels the creek and it also goes past the Alaska
Railway station. We stopped there to confirm our reservations for tomorrow’s
train ride into Talkeetna.
After that,
we walked along the Tony Knowles Coastal Trail which has the city of Anchorage
on one side, and the mudflats of the Knik Arm/Turnagain Arm on the other. We
got off the trail and back up to town to visit the luxurious Captain Cook’s
Hotel (where I’d stayed back in 2009 on some business trips), and then on to
the 49th State Brewing Company. We sat next to a couple who had just
bicycled in from their home about 15 miles away. She is a nurse, who came out
from New York to provide aid to remote native villages, and he is a bush pilot
who was born in Alaska. They met 30 years ago when he had to fly an ill patient
out from one of those villages. They gave us some tips on places to eat and
hike when we get to the Alyeska Resort later in our trip. They also told us a
cautionary tale of some people who had wandered out onto the mudflats of the
Knik Arm, became mired in the cement-like goop, and drowned when the tide came
back in (see bore tides of Cook Inlet)!
I think we’ll stick to the trail…
Tonight we
had a light dinner of reindeer sausage pizza and salad at the Fat Ptarmigan
pizza shop, followed by homemade ice cream from the shop next door. While
eating our dinner, we watched a never-ending line of people on the sidewalk
outside waiting for their ice cream. I recommend Wildscoops Ice Cream.
The Alaskan birch almond flavor was good – so was Karen’s wild blueberry.
With the sun
still high in the sky at 9:30PM, it’s time to get some rest for tomorrow.
Next: Talkeetna
Wonderful start !
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