Sat - June 7 Anchorage, AK

Things haven't been so bad here. There were no trains or planes through the night and we actually got a good night sleep -- after doing my hour of laundry.

This morning we went downtown to the "Market Festival" held every weekend from May to Sept. More than 400 vendors set up and sell their products -- unique handmade arts, crafts and gifts, furs, jewellry, produce and a variety of foods. It was very enjoyable, although we didn't spend much.

We were home for lunch and then we rode our bikes along the inlet and watched the fisherman. EVERYWHERE! The Salmon Derby is taking place and the salmon have just been released from the nearby Hatchery. All the fisherman are hoping to catch that big one!





We stopped at the ULU (oo-loo) Factory and saw the Ulu knives and bowls being made and bought ourselves a set. The knives have been used for centuries by the Arctic Native people and have become popular on a lot of the cooking shows. You will have to 'google them' if you don't know what I'm talking about.

We chained our bikes and caught the free trolley ride to the downtown tourist centre where we caught a 1 hr. narrated trolley tour of the city (not free). It was all very enjoyable.

We had a great tour guide with lots of local stories and history. Deb, we did go to the Turnagain area - now "Earthquake Park" where the worst of the 1964 earthquake hit. The ground has sunk considerably there, but it is now a beautiful park rich and lush from the nitrogen that's left in the silt after such disasters. It was the most powerful quake recorded in N. America with only 9 casualties here in Anchorage. There would have been many more deaths, but it happened on Good Friday and schools/businesses etc. were empty at the time.

The airports and small planes are unbelievable here! So many people have their own private planes. Our guide is also a school teacher and she said many of her students have their pilots license before they get their driver's license. Where we see boats pulled up to docks on our waterways... here you see floatplanes. She claims 1/2 the small planes in N. America are in Alaska. We actually had to stop at a red light to allow a small plane to cross the road. The sign said "Yield to Aircraft"... pretty funny!

We had hoped to go to "Beluga Point" this eve and watch the tide come in and see the whales. However, it just started raining, so we might not get there. Ron is off on his bike checking the fishermen, but I expect he'll be pedalling home fast.

And so, it turned out to be not a bad stay after all. There is a lot going on with the cruise ships coming in, the market, salmon derby and the "Alaska Run for Women" race is taking place. It is a busy place and tourism is certainly a big part of the economy. (There are way too many souvenir shops!!)

That's about it from here. I have a few more pics to upload and tomorrow we will be heading to Soldotna - 140 miles south of here, on the Kenai River. We will visit with Charlie & Carolyn's friends - Doug & Faye (the retired cop from Drayton). They arrive in June for the summer months.