July 21-25 was spent in Anchorage. Anchorage is the largest city in Alaska with a population of 288,189. With only 730,000 people in the entire state, it is home to most Alaskans. It is a bustling city, not large like Los Angeles, more like Long Beach as it doesn’t have many tall buildings and most of the homes and businesses are older. The weather in Anchorage is another reason Alaskans live here the winters are mild (by Alaskan standards) with the temperatures 23 to 25-degree range and in reality, Chicago or Minneapolis have more severe winters.
After the tour we went to lunch with friends, eating at the 49th State Brewery which has delicious food and pour both craft beer and IPAs. I am learning to enjoy some of the Alaskan beer, there are a couple of the blonde ones that I really enjoy.
We took a city trolly tour that hit the highlights of the city along with some history, we went to a Wildlife Conversation Center that houses animals that for one reason or another cannot be returned to the wild. There was a bald eagle with a wing that had been shot off, a couple of wolves, a porcupine and some bears. The one species that they were breeding to return to the wild was wood bison, which are different from plains bison. They are larger and almost extinct in Alaska. They have a breeding program with the hopes of returning the entire herd back into the wild. The photos of the bears was from a walkway above the animal so we could look down on them.
On Monday, July 24th we took a train ride that dropped us off near the set-in point of the Spencer River where there is a glacier and icebergs floating in one of the fingers of the river. We took a raft down the river, and although they were very small rapids (Class I and II) we had a great time. Being that close to a glacier and icebergs was amazing! One of the most amazing things was how the glacier and icebergs made the temperature drop while near them. When we got onto the river, the temperature warmed back up!
I had never seen a glacier prior to this. When looking at the mountain you can see the blue ice, which signifies that it is a glacier. I have asked numerous times, and it has to do with the depth of the ice (around 4,000 to 5,000 feet) and how light reflects off of it. They are truly amazing!
We had an actual free day in Anchorage and took advantage of it. We went to Costco, the grocery store, did some laundry and hosted a steak cook-out at our rig that evening. Although the weather was a little questionable, we were all able to eat outdoors (as there is no way 8 of us would fit in our rig!). Of course, as soon as dinner was over the skies cleared and the sun came out – at 8:00 p.m.
Tom and Patti's RV Adventure 