Last night it quit raining, so we had a lovely dry evening. It rained again during night, and then this morning was cloudy and in the 50s. This morning we looked at highlights of the downtown, including Ship Creek, with the fish ladder and guys fishing for salmon right in the city. We stopped at Resolution Park with its statue of Captain Cook and the view over Cook Inlet, the port of Anchorage and the mud flats. With the 2nd highest tides in the world and the mud like quicksand, no one walks out on the flats. Way out on the horizon, we saw sun shining on a range of snow-covered mountains. Downtown Anchorage has hundreds of huge hanging
baskets of blue and gold flowers as well as public gardens that are colorful. Another fun downtown sight are the fiberglass decorated salmon, part of the Salmon Parade. The biggest chunk of time this morning was spent at the Anchorage Museum of History and Art. Our guided tour covered Alaska's history and the various cultures of native peoples. We needed
more time there to absorb it all. Views of the city from Earthquake Park (an area that was destroyed in the 1964 Good Friday earthquake) and seeing the float planes at Lake Hood and Lake Spenard were the last things scheduled before lunch. An unexpected highlight was an eagle who calmly looked down at us from his perch on a light pole, even though many of us
were right at the base taking his picture. We had lunch at the Sourdough Mining Company and some shopping time at the Alaska Wild Berry Company across the street where they make candies from Alaska fruits. With the rest of our afternoon, people took advantage of the Saturday Market and Festival, just two blocks from the hotel. The popular market has many vendors offering everything from souvenirs, arts and crafts to Matanuska Valley vegetables and food stands. With the sun finally out, it made for a great time in the city.
A side note of interest: people next to me here in the business center are looking on-line for a home in the Matanuska Valley, about an hour away and the fastest-growing part of Alaska. Some of the homes do not have running water! Owners need to have a large (300 gallon) container in their pick up, go to water centers, haul it home and pump it into a reservoir in the house. It's part of life in Alaska. - Laurel Johnson, Tour Director
baskets of blue and gold flowers as well as public gardens that are colorful. Another fun downtown sight are the fiberglass decorated salmon, part of the Salmon Parade. The biggest chunk of time this morning was spent at the Anchorage Museum of History and Art. Our guided tour covered Alaska's history and the various cultures of native peoples. We needed
more time there to absorb it all. Views of the city from Earthquake Park (an area that was destroyed in the 1964 Good Friday earthquake) and seeing the float planes at Lake Hood and Lake Spenard were the last things scheduled before lunch. An unexpected highlight was an eagle who calmly looked down at us from his perch on a light pole, even though many of us
were right at the base taking his picture. We had lunch at the Sourdough Mining Company and some shopping time at the Alaska Wild Berry Company across the street where they make candies from Alaska fruits. With the rest of our afternoon, people took advantage of the Saturday Market and Festival, just two blocks from the hotel. The popular market has many vendors offering everything from souvenirs, arts and crafts to Matanuska Valley vegetables and food stands. With the sun finally out, it made for a great time in the city.
A side note of interest: people next to me here in the business center are looking on-line for a home in the Matanuska Valley, about an hour away and the fastest-growing part of Alaska. Some of the homes do not have running water! Owners need to have a large (300 gallon) container in their pick up, go to water centers, haul it home and pump it into a reservoir in the house. It's part of life in Alaska. - Laurel Johnson, Tour Director
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