Day 58

July 26, 2017

Today is the day for Iris to get a haircut.  Appointment was made at Salon Ivy for 10 AM and we were there right on time.  Bob enjoyed being served coffee and reading his Kindle.  Iris got the treatment.  From there we drove out to see our original house (as a married couple), 2022 Stonegate Circle.  The outside looked mostly like it did 42 years ago when we bought it, don’t know what the inside looks like.

Then to the Cattle Company restaurant that we used to frequent on a regular basis when we lived here.  Had a very nice lunch then drove by Bob’s office when he worked here and back to the Unity for a nap.  At 6 PM we went to the campground’s covered patio where we had lots of pizza from the Moose’s Tooth, supposedly the best pizza in Anchorage with beer and wine.  Very enjoyable evening including the ice cream for dessert.

Day 57

July 25,2017

Slow moving this AM, 55 degrees, rain so big breakfast then a drive to the Alaska Native Heritage Center.  

We first watched a dance performance of dances and songs from some of the eleven cultures found in Alaska including islands offshore.  The regalia worn by the performers were different to represent their cultural background.  

A walk around the lake behind the center showed the various ways that the houses were built, some of huge wood logs, some underground, some on stilts depending on the geography of the region.

All the cultures have ten universal values:

Show respect to others (Each person has a special gift)

Share what you have (Giving makes you richer)

Know who you are (You are a reflection on your family)

Accept what life brings (You cannot control many things)

Have patience (Some things cannot be rushed)

Live carefully (What you do will come back to you)

Take care of others (You cannot live without them)

Honor your elders (They show you the way in life)

Pray for guidance (Many things are not known)

See connections (All things are related)

Leaving the native center we drove downtown to Simon & Seafort’s, a very nice restaurant featuring seafood, located in a building with a view of the results of the 1964 earthquake and Cook Inlet, low tide so mud flats and a little water.  The food was outstanding.  This was another recommendation by Marianne and David.  (Thanks).  

Back to the Unity and this was laundry day so Iris cleaned house while Bob battled the women for washing machines and dryers.  When this was done it was time for happy hour and we watched live TV, different from when we lived here in the 1970’s.  Then TV was recorded on tape in Seattle, put on the ferry to Alaska and, after several days days of travel, broadcast in Alaska.

Day 56

July 25, 2017

We had an early start by driving downtown, parked at the public lot across from the Hilton Westward Hotel on 3rd street that used to be the center of the universe in 1975.  It now has a huge addition to the original tower and instead of the huge polar bear in the lobby it now has that plus a grizzly bear both stuffed and standing side by side.  

From the hotel we walked a couple of blocks to the Visitor Center

where we boarded our trolley

for a guided tour of Anchorage.

Captain Cook Hotel - original building on right where we stayed before our house was ready.

 Eisenhower Statehood Monument

 Alaska Railroad "Moose gooser" used to clear tracks of animals before the regular train.

Much has changed from 1975-78 when we lived here.  Population then was 100,000 now 300,000.  We made our way to the suburbs to meet Sandy for lunch.  Sandy worked with Bob in Alaska then Mexico three different times and Saudi Arabia.  He finished his career in Anchorage working for Veco that had been a subcontractor to Brown & Root in the 1970’s.  We had a great time remembering people we had worked with over the years.  As usual for Sandy he presented a gift to Iris of prayer beads from Saudi plus an album of photos from our departure party in Saudi.  He presented Bob with a glitzy poster commemorating the completion of the pipeline (first oil) in 1977.

From here we went to the Anchorage Museum, housed in a wonderful building but the exhibits were not nearly as good as we had seen at the U of A Museum in Fairbanks so we were a little disappointed.  It had a section from the Smithsonian that was good, but not large.

Back to the Unity for happy hour and some steak snacks from our Double Musky Inn leftovers, watched a movie and then to bed.

Day 55

July 23, 2017

Short drive today from Talkeetna to Anchorage, less than 100 miles.  We began to see the Chugach mountain range long before we arrived in Anchorage.

The city is about three times the size it was when we lived here in the mid-1970’s, four-lane roads everywhere.  We found the Walmart to stock up on supplies and a short distance from there was our campground for the next few days, Gold Nugget RV Park.  Got set up, had a quick snack for lunch then we drove to the city’s greenhouses

to view the flowers that are maintained year around so the summer can be colorful.

Leaving there we drove down the Turnagain Arm of Cook Inlet 

to Girdwood  (famous as having the ski resort, Alyeska where we learned to ski) to a restaurant David and Marianne had recommended we go for a meal, Double Musky, named for the house drink.  It opens at 4:30 PM, we arrived at 3:45 and already there was a line, we had a good visit with some locals while waiting.  They had all the menu memorized and gave us a breakdown of all the choices.  We got a table at exactly 4:31 and had a cup of gumbo with jalapeño bread, then shared the French Pepper Steak, 20 oz. of medium rare steak with the pepper steak sauce on top and baked potato.  It was delicious but we brought at least 12oz. of it home.  We will dine on the leftovers for several days. Dessert was pecan crust chocolate pie with cream on top.

The drive back to Anchorage was very busy, Anchorage folks returning from the Kenai at the end of the weekend, but not so bad as it was still bright sunshine.  In the winter this would be a problem.  Back at the Unity we thought we would watch some local TV, started a really good program about grizzly bears in Alaska during the salmon run but sleep overtook us and we were shortly putting the bed down.

Day 54

July 22, 2017

48 degrees this AM, but beautiful, nearly cloudless, sunshine - a perfect day for seeing Denali .  Since we arrived in Tok the sun comes up about 4:30 AM and sets close to 10 PM and it does not really get dark.  We’re losing daylight after June 22 at the rate of 7 minutes/day.  Today we leave Denali and drive to Talkeetna and what a drive it was.  Our first stop was a AK state park where we had a great view of the mountain.

Our second stop was the Southern Viewpoint where we had more wonderful views of the mountain.

Arriving at our campground we got set up and then drove into Talkeetna to visit the cemetery where we viewed the monument to those who lost their lives attempting to climb Denali.  Many nationalities.

Then a walk to the local museum housed in the 1920 one-room schoolhouse that was replaced in 1974 by a modern grammar school.  Following that a visit to the National Park Service Center where climbers must register, buy a permit and undergo vetting before being allowed to go to the base camp at Denali to start their climb.  We watched the video about the preparations necessary and the actual climb.  We returned to our car and drove back to the IGA grocery, but on the way we made one more stop for another shot of the mountain from 121 miles away.  It looks dreamy in the late afternoon light.

  When we returned to the campground,  we had a great  taco salad.  Now at 7 PM we’re sleepy.  To bed at 8.

We failed to get a photo a couple of days ago of a male caribou but Diane got one and shared it with us.

Day 53

July 21, 2017

Got off to a late start as this is a free day.  After 10:00 AM when we left and drove to Denali Park entrance.

Then within half a mile we saw this moose with a calf not 10' from the car

We continued on the paved road, about 15 miles where we were forced to turn around and come back as only the park vehicles are allowed to go further.  We thought that was the case, but it was a nice drive anyway.  We had a good view of the rock at Savage River.

Some scenes

Returning we decided to go to the Visitor Center where we ran into Paul and Susan and we looked for an appropriate t-shirt but did not find anything that pleased us.  We picked up a few groceries, not much selection and very high prices. Back to Unity where we fixed our late lunch.

Had a nap then did some cleanup on the car while Iris defrosted the freezer (does anyone remember freezers that had to be defrosted?).  By this time it was happy hour so we enjoyed that and some TV before putting the bed down.