A Week in Anchorage – Last Odds & Ends

I am sure that I could write a blog just about Anchorage and Alaska if I was there all the time.  I thought that I would wrap up my trip report with some last interesting things to see if you make it there.

Point Woronzof is at the end of the Coastal Trail that I mentioned in my running post.  It forms the point between the Knik Arm, where Anchorage’s port is, and the Turnagain Arm, which we travelled along to get to Whittier, of the Cook Inlet.  If you don’t want to run out there, you can simply drive along Northern Lights Blvd. which bisect mid-town Anchorage to the very end of the drive.  Not only is this a great place to sightsee and watch the sunset at 11:30 PM, but it is also the end of one of the ANC runways and a perfect spot for AvGeeks to see the planes take off and land.

And this sign proves what a weird sense of humor most Alaskans have.  I love it!

Here is a tourist attraction about two blocks from my house.  An underground house!  Notice the driveway, a couple of skylights, and the stairs down.  Unlike all the other houses in the neighborhood, this family decided to build a giant basement and live there.  I this not as weird as it sounds as the house has a creek running through the backyard and the house actually has an open wall facing that.  OK, I take that back, it is as weird as it sounds.

Speaking of weird, I will tell you a little Alaskan joke.  Due to so many men coming up to work in Alaska, but leaving their families in the Lower 48, the ration of men to women is like 6:1.  Sounds great for that gal looking for a husband, but the saying goes that “the odds are good, but the goods are odd!”

Anchorage makes maximum use of the summer and most of that fun happens on the Park Strip.  At what originally was the edge of town, a park runs between 9th and 10th Avenues almost the entire length of downtown and any given weekend there is something likely happening there, so check it if you are in town.  The annual 4th of July festivities unfortunately happened on the only rainy day we had.  Didn’t stop some re-enactor friends of mine from showing up in costume for the reading of the Declaration of Independence.

Here is proof that moose do actually wander into my yard.  My house backs a creeks, so they have their own safe path to wander Anchorage and eat our gardens.  Just remember, never mess with a mama moose!

Lastly, I’ll leave you with a few pics of the Matanuska Glacier, which is the closest one to Anchorage.  Easy to visit, or if you go to Seward, turn off and visit the Exit Glacier just before entering town.