Anchorage - Day 1

Wed. June 24

The flight to Anchorage was smooth, the skies were bright blue and the sun was shining. After 6 hours the baby behind us finally stopped crying! As we approached Anchorage we could see snow covered mountains and ocean. We arrived 30 minutes late. Our nephews Chuck and Vic were waiting for us. We haven't see Chuck in 15 years and Vic in 24 years. They look great and Vic seems excited and nervous about his wedding on Sunday. The temperature was about 58 degrees when we got in - it felt cold to us, but the Alaskans are dressed in shorts and flip flops. Afterall, it's summer in Alaska! The scenery on the way to Maria's house is beautiful. Everything is very green, the mountains surround us and the skies are blue with dark clouds looming in the distance. It's been 24 years since we've seen Maria, but she looks the same. It's a bittersweet reunion and we already miss John not being there. But, he spent the last 25 years preparing us for this trip! We finally meet Vic's girls, Megan & Courtney. We've only known them thru pictures, phone conversations and John's updates. It's great to finally meet them in person and they are both so sweet. We also meet the family dog "Hoots", a big black Karelian bear dog.

We venture out to the Artic Roadrunner for dinner and then Chuck takes us on a tour of downtown Anchorage. Basically several blocks of government buildings mixed in with shops and restaurants. The town looks frontierish, but with new very modern architecture mixed in. We notice the tourists right away, all bundled up in their winter outter wear, while the natives are dressed in shorts . . .and flip flops! Chuck takes us over by the inlet where there are beautiful million dollar homes overlooking the ocean. The landscaping is incredible, flowers and greenery everywhere. The Tony Knowles Coastal Trail runs along the water where we see lots of people biking, walking and mom's pushing strollers. The trail runs all the way to Kincaid Park, about 11 miles thru beautiful wooded scenery and wildlife. We'll be picking up some bikes this week for the ride . . . can't wait! We head over to Merrill Field, the largest small plane airport in the world and then over to Ship Creek where the salmon are running and the banks of the river are lined with fishermen - and they are totally geared up - no messin around here! It's now about 10:30 p.m. (2:30 a.m. Michigan time) but the sun is still shining low in the sky as we head to Chuck's apt. for the night.

Anchorage is an urban enclave of 260,000 people surrounded by wilderness. Within a few miles of downtown, you can encounter more wilderness and wildlife than in most national parks: moose, black, brown and grizzly bears, dall sheep, wolf packs, bald eagles and whales all surrounded by mountains, 4 volcanos (Mt. Redoubt which just erupted in March 2009), rushing mountain streams, and vast city parks. The world's second highest tides surge against its shores, and North America's highest peak, Mt. McKinley, glimmers in the distance.

Temp: 58 degrees
Wildlife Sightings: Black-billed Magpie. Very long black tail with white wings. Beautiful bird, but Alaskans think of them as scavenger birds and find them annoying.