Anchorage, AK

     

Our granddaughter drove us to the airport yesterday. Next time we see her will be at her Navy boot camp graduation in Nov! I realized that I had not flown in over 2 years. In that time Delta upgraded it's Crown Rooms by a LOT! They are very large, modern, and have a variety of food. Before it was pretzels and coffee! They are very nice. I walked for a mile in the Seattle airport after having been sitting all day. It is really a beautiful airport with a lot of art. 

We arrived in Anchorage on time at 9:30. We had a beautiful view of mountains and glaciers from the plane. It was still light out which was nice. We got our luggage without any problems but then had to find the car rental desks. We went down one elevator but could not find a way over to where they were so got into another elevator to go back up. I was in the elevator with the cart with most of the luggage. Mel pushed his carry on in when the door closed on the handle. I was able to pull the handle in before it broke off but the door stayed that way, open about 3". We could not open or close it! I pushed all the buttons then finally rang the bell, nothing. After about 5 min Mel finally headed to get help. Just then the doors closed and I started going up. Nothing like getting stuck in an elevator! We were on the road in another 15 min, at the hotel at about 10:30. 

We have been to Anchorage twice before. I looked on Trip Advisor to see if there are any points of interest that we may have missed. We ended up having a busy day. I had seen somewhere that there is a Smithsonian exhibit on Arctic Art at the Anchorage Museum so we went there first. We both enjoy that art, it was a good exhibit. Our next destination did not open until noon so we went back to the hotel to look in their shops. We also found out about a shop we visited 3 years ago that we liked. He headed there then remembered that we needed lunch to take on the bus tomorrow to the port. It is a 3 hour drive. So we stopped at a grocery store. By then it was almost noon so headed to the Alaska Museum and Library at Wells Fargo. In a largish (3 floors?) building where Wells Fargo put together a collection of Alaskan art. It is only open noon to 5. We went in the building only to discover the museum was closed. The security guard told us the guy decided to take the day off. We told him we were here for one day and really disappointed we would not be able to see the collection. He called someone and left a message that he was going to let a couple into the museum! He unlocked the door and had us wait while he turned off the alarm. We were so surprised and pleased. It was not a large exhibit but they had some nice pieces. 

From there we drove south to the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center.  I had finally broken down and bought a new camera with a better zoom than my iPhone. I was able to get quite a few good pictures of the animals. 

                                                                            

                                                                                                                 

We took a behind the scenes tour which was very good. We learned how the animals ended up being in the center. Most are rescues, some they are breeding for reintroduction into the wild. The Wood Bison had not been in AK for many years. In 2015 they successfully reintroduced a heard of females, the males the following year. There are now wood bison in the wild in AK! Musk oxen were reintroduced a number of years ago. We actually saw some on our drive up to the Arctic Ocean a few years ago. There were several large birds that had been injured as well as 2 lynx who were orphaned. The bears had all been orphaned in one way or another. The porcupine was the best story. Not sure how a family ended up with a baby porcupine but they had it for 3 years, living in their home. It even slept in their daughter's bed!  As porcupines mature they get a very awful musky smell. Neighbors discovered the wild animal living in their home because of the smell, so he was comfiscated and relocated to the center. He is their ambassador animal, traveling to various locations several days every week. He also likes peanuts! And he smells awful. 

                                         

It was 5:30 by the end of the tour so we headed back to Anchorage. Mel had seen a BBQ place on the way down so we decided to stop there for dinner. Turnagain Arm Pit BBQ, it was very good. And they served enough that we really hadn't needed to stop at the grocery store, we both have BBQ for lunch!

Tomorrow they pick up our bags at 8. We will return the car which is just a couple of blocks from the convention center where we catch the bus. Tomorrow night we will be settled into our cabin for 32 days, I can hardly wait! But it was a great day in Anchorage to start the trip.