Hostelling in Alaska

Alaska now has two members of Hostelling International. The downtown Anchorage one has been open two years, and just this past week, there was an official opening at the Girdwood Hostel in Old Girdwood. This is the village localed 40 miles south of Anchorage, and butts the great ski slopes of Mt. Alyeska.

It was billed as an 'ice cream social', as you can tell from the pictures here, taken by our board member, Patty, who loves snapping candid shots. Any time is a good time to visit, but I prefer right now, as our summers are just beautiful, and this year was one of the best.

The State Fair has started, so check back to my blog and I'll send some shots of it, plus some trivia.

Summer wanes in Anchorage

Our beautiful summer weather has been interrupted with showers, but the sun usually wins out by evening, and we continue to enjoy this exception year. I had to share this great shot of an eagle someone - unnamed - sent to our local paper. We do see eagles in downtown Anchorage as well as their nests in the many parks around, but outside of Anchorage remains the best place to view wildlife. Just a few miles at the south end of town, there is a viewing platform in Rabbit Creek area, and it's a good stopping point for visitors.

My grandaughter is visiting and she went horseback riding Sunday with a good friend. I didn't realize we have so many horse stables around the city. I only knew of one by our zoo, and another within a miles of that, so this was a new experience for me to see these stables right by many trails, and the popularity of riding remains in Anchorage. Yes, even in the winter months.

The town is abuzz with the State Fair coming to Palmer next week. This is about a half hour's drive from Anchorage, and draws lots of visitors every year. The fruit and vegetables of that area were for sale at the Anchorage Saturday Market, but the market has been taken over by food and souvenir booths, so the veggie markets have moved to other locations around town. The big cabbages and award winners are seen at the State Fair, tho'.

The Dog Days of Summer Hit Anchorage

The baseball season ends today for Anchorage Bucs and the other 5 teams in the Alaska Baseball League. We didn't win, but had a good season, weatherwise and attendance-wise. Now, we can look forward to the rains, because that happens around here in August!

Friends visiting from Texas flew out to King Salmon, and loved it all, but it was all catch-and-release. My Texan friend refers to this as the same they do to prisoners. However, they did not return empty handed, because they visited the 10th and M lockers and bought fish to take home. . . consider the cost was like $100/lb. or more. But all the visitors who come to Alaska seem awed by the different lifestyle, and surroundings. We took a trip on the tram at Mt. Alyeska, which was very impressive, together with the beautiful 40-mile drive to get there, and back.

Seems the big question that tourists ask when they arrive is, "Where's Sarah?" . . . well, she's around, and in fact gave a speech last night to the local NRA group. She's a sharpshooter all right, and pretty visible around town, even tho' she's not the governor any longer.
First Fridays each month bring out the art lovers, who can tour the many galleries around town. Also the museum hosts a great jazz trio, which used to play there weekly. The American Legion had a great barbecue, complimentary one! Golf tournaments abound, and it's a great money raiser for the npo's.
Yes, lots of action around Anchorage, so plan your visit as soon as possible.