The first hint that Anchorage would indeed be a well-equipped metropolis was that the road leading in the last 150 miles was new, no potholes, and no permafrost buckling . . . smooth! As we entered the city itself, we saw stuff we hadn’t seen in awhile: malls, city service trash cans lined up in a neighborhood, new subdivision housing, big-chain stores, traffic jams, a roundabout . . . high rise buildings! We settled into the Golden Nuggett RV Park (don’t be fooled by the name – it was OK – but not five-star) and Tom went to the a Quick Lube to have the oil changed while I did trailer duties and worked on the blog. Then we ventured into the downtown area which is off the Cook Inlet and along the Knik Arm. There was some good Alaska-stuff shopping, and Tom and I found some Moose Creek/Anchorage t-shirts we liked for 50% off -- $10. When we got hungry, we enjoyed a Mexican restaurant and then headed back to the Golden Nuggett. The Anchorage adventure will continue tomorrow! I always wonder who I need to “thank” for the day-trips when we stay in one location a couple days. Tom heads out around the trailer park, and comes back with a whole head-full of ideas of things to see and do . . . all from talking to people! Today was our only full day in Anchorage, and Tom had a plan! It involved hiking boots! (The new hiking boots that I bought for this trip are walking wonderfully.) First off was the Kincaid Park – an Anchorage Municipal Park where the Turnagain Arm meets the Cook Inlet. It was the home of the World Cup Cross-Country ski races, had soccer fields, hiking, and biking trails. We stuck to the walking/biking trail – it was nice walking, but didn’t have much in the way of views. One of the buildings had a fire-escape-type stair-step to a lookout on top of the roof. There was a good view there, and on some days (not today) you can even see Mt. McKinley in the distance. Our afternoon drive (after a lunch stop at McDonald’s) was to jump on the Seward Highway and follow the coastal drive of about 20 miles along the coast. We would be doing that again with the trailer tomorrow, but we wanted to freedom to stop and get out and walk some of the trails. The road follow the Turnagain Arm Trail on one side, and the railroad and the Turnagain Arm (coast) on the other side. Many of the stops allude to beluga whales (which are one of my favorites) but we didn’t see any. The Turnagain Arm is a slender narrow body of water just off the Cook Inlet, which is part of the Pacific Ocean. It is affected by the tides, and we were apparently cruising past at low tide and could see what looked like a flood plain made up of glacier silt – which is very different than sand. The whole wet plain was a muddy grey color. One sign at a pull-off said that you can occasionally see a tidal bore come in – much like what we saw at the Bay of Fundy years ago. We are anxious to see what the tide is tomorrow morning as we drive past. Another quick trip downtown yielded a mural of the beluga whales that is on the side of the JC Penney building, a new hoodie shirt for me from the North Face store, and a picture of something that Anchorage is known for in the summer – flower gardens! Then back to the Silvermine for a dinner of Halibut cooked by Tom on the cast-iron skillet, and some wind-down-time to plan tomorrow’s trip out of Anchorage.
4 Comments
Mike
7/8/2017 07:26:42 am
Tom with his bear spray - looking Alaskan stylish. I toured Mt McKinley in January 1979 for 3 weeks. Courtesy of the US Army. The trip was labeled Artic Warfighter Survival ... 😁
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Ella
7/8/2017 09:16:10 am
And, of course they put you up in an Airstream?
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Mike
7/8/2017 08:13:49 pm
😂😂😂
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Jane
7/10/2017 11:29:16 am
Looks like you are seeing it all!! Good for you! Your pics bring back great memories!
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October 2021
We don’t go camping any more . . . we go ‘streamin’ ! The “SIlvermine and His” is our 2018 25' Airstream Serenity with Salsa interior and front twin beds., and ‘streamin’ is the name we use to describe our adventures. Stream along as we document everything from weekend trips to longer summer excursions and full-blown vacations. You know what they say: if you’re not in an Airstream – you’re just camping!
Tom & Ella Brown |