Anchorage, Alaska and Beyond: June 20th to June 24th, 2009

I visited Anchorage, Alaska as part of my job in June, 2009.  While I was working most of the time, I did get to see some interesting things.  I also experienced my first earthquake at 5.4 on the Richter Scale! 

I arrived on the longest day of the year in Alaska so there were celebrations for the Summer Solstice.  A celebration festival was going on in downtown Anchorage and many locals were hosting solstice parties.

The state of Alaska is unusual and truly is "The Last Frontier".

Portage Glacier

About 55 miles south of Anchorage on the Seward Highway is Portage Glacier.  Portage is located off Turnagain Arm in the Chugach National Forest, the second largest forest in the United States.  Come prepared for rainy (or snowy) weather as roughly six out of every seven days it rains.

  One hour cruises, which operate May to September, ferry tourists across Portage Lake to the glacier.  Dress for the weather as wind on the cruise can be a problem as well.  One crew member told me "There is no bad weather--only bad clothes" (and I had to laugh) as I stood there dripping with rain.

The lake is roughly 600 feet deep but is a "dead lake" as fish cannot survive the glacier silt.  The glacier itself is blue because of light and pressure.  Glacier ice is very dense and the denser the ice, the bluer the color.  Portage Glacier is beautiful but unfortunately, the glacier is shrinking.

Girdwood

Between Anchorage and Portage lies the town of Girdwood, Alaska, which is a ski resort in the winter.

  I stopped for a late lunch and visited two restaurants--The Bake Shop and Chair 5.  The Bake Shop is famous for its soup and locals will drive from Anchorage just for a bowl.  Expect long lines as this restaurant is popular.  I also stopped at Chair 5, which is more of a ski-type restaurant.  The menu was hilarious as the cover warned that firearms, fist fights and cussing were banned (and I don't think they were joking).  Try the Chair 5 halibut-wich, which is a really fresh fish sandwich.

Seward Highway

Along the Seward Highway, scenery is spectacular along Turnagain Arm (basically an arm off Cook Inlet).  There are lots of viewing points and if you are lucky, you may be able to spot a major tide change or beluga whales.

Potter's Marsh

Just south of the Anchorage city limits along the Seward Highway is Potter's Marsh, which was accidentally created when the Alaska Railroad was being built.  The marsh is filled with wildlife and a long viewing deck stretches through the marsh.  Bring your binoculars as birds and wildlife are everywhere.  I was lucky enough to see two moose and a bald eagle guarding its nest (apparently there were two babies).  When parking at Potter's Marsh, there is a white memo board at the entrance where a daily list of animals and birds spotted are posted.  I got to the marsh around 5:30 p.m. and the memo board was full.

Qiviut (pronounced "kiv-ee-it")

Qiviut is the wool that is naturally shed from musk ox, which is combed from the stomach.

  Qiviut is some of the warmest wool in the world and is fairly rare.  In downtown Anchorage, there is a local native Alaskan co-operative who run a shop called Oomingmak.  The shop is in a small brown house close to several hotels.  Exhibits inside explain that roughly 200 knitters statewide hand knit the wool to make beautiful hats and scarves.  The Oomingmak own roughly 60 musk ox on a farm in Palmer, Alaska.  Apparently some of the musk ox recently had babies and the public is invited to visit the farm.

Tony Knowles Coastal Trail

Around the City of Anchorage, there is a 12 mile hiking trail with great scenery.  The trail is also good for biking as it is paved.  Be careful of moose (there are signs warning about how to prevent moose attacks) and the mud flats off the trail are deadly, as the mud acts as quicksand.

  As the tidal changes are severe, people have been caught out in the flats, sank in mud and then drowned with the tide change.

Deadhorse

Located at the very top of Alaska, roughly ten miles from the Arctic Ocean, is the town of Deadhorse.  Deadhorse is purely an oilfield town (not for tourists) but it is amazing being so close to the Arctic Ocean.  In Deadhorse, the general "store" has a photo of a polar bear peaking through the store windows and the local "hotel" (really a trailer) can also be used as the jail.  I had to laugh that when we arrived it was 33F with 40 mph winds and some of the locals were wearing t-shirts.

Near Deadhorse, I was lucky enough to get to fly out over the Arctic Ocean where there was still ice in the water in June!  It was amazing being that far north.

 

Overall, Alaska is a beautiful state and very remote.  It is completely different from any other state I have visited in the United States as you really are on the frontier.