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Anchorage ----
Anchorage was our pivot point, we were in and out of the city three times, all told.
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Anchorage ----
Anchorage was our pivot point, we were in and out of the city three times, all told.
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Helen met us at the airport and took us to our B&B --
The Caribou Inn, a small hotel conveniently located in the heart of downtown. Moderately priced, it had small bedrooms and large breakfasts, van service to and from airport and train station, and free parking for those who brought a car.
We walked around, we ate, we biked. The Tony Knowles Bike Trail is a 13 mile asphalt trail that circles Anchorage, going from the downtown to Earthquake Park. The guidebook says that this park was once a good demonstration of the power of the earthquake but time has softened its message.We enjoyed several rides on the trail. There are bicycle rental shops in several places in town. Along the trail we saw many magpies, known locally as "camp robbers". We biked to Ship's Creek, hoping to see some salmon. We saw some people fishing, who admitted it might be a little early for the salmon yet. The water in the creek was muddy brown, from the glacial runoff. It would have been hard to see any fish, even if they had been there.
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Another place to visit in the Anchorage area is Eklutna, the site of a practicing Russian Orthodox church and its surrounding cemetery. There, the story is told of the Athabascans, who accepted the church of the Russian missionaries, and incorporated their own religious beliefs as well.  The tombs in the cemetery are all topped with "spirit houses", where the deceased's spirit may rest before ascending onward.
We had some free time on our last afternoon in Achorage, and headed for the Botanic garden. It was not easy to find, and there was a discouraging note pinned to the gate: "Pesky Bear in Woods" it said. Not, "Dangerous Bear", or "Do Not Enter" or "Enter at your own risk". "Pesky", it said. Well, I have a pesky raccoon in my woods. Every once in while, in the dead of night, he raids my bird feeder. Taking that definition of Pesky, we entered, and never saw the bear. |