Anchorage Grows Up

The most visible event in Anchorage this month has been The Lion King. It is a super big production, and received only good reviews.

Autumn has taken over the summer scene, and termination dust has creeped down the mountain range to the east of town. (For newbies, this means snow) Golf season, fishing, etc. have given way to hunting, football (both High School and our Wild semi-pro team), and soccer. This year we have The Dome so the schools rent space for their sports activities.

Through the years, we have added most franchises from the lower states, ie. Walgreens, Target, Kohl's, TGIFridays, Golden Corral, Appleby's, Outback, etc. and some of us are anxious for the Olive Garden to come. But for the most part, we have just about everything we want and downtown Anchorage is more accessible than most cities' downtowns.

So Anchorage is still a good place to visit, even in the fall, and all of Alaska extends greetings to our visitors.

Early Autumn in Anchorage

I had planned on writing about our State Fair, but somehow just never got around to it. .. it was unique in that the long daylight hours and more sunshine than ever produced some record breaking vegetables. I think both cabbage and pumpkins broke the world record in their size. I attended a "Fungus Fair" in Girdwood last week, also, and some of the mountain men brought in wild mushrooms, which were about 15" in circumference, and about a foot high, too. I didn't eat any of these, as I guess they passed the tasty size, but did enjoy other treats and the live band playing in a large tent set up outside the courtyard of the beautiful Alyeska Prince Hotel.

Among the many friends who visited at our table was the doctor, who inserted my new knees. The funny part of this is that I called, "Hey, Tim" to him when he was passing, and I would never even dream of calling "MY" doctor by his first name, especially since he's half my age, too! But the funny coincidence is that the girl we were visiting is his accountant, and she's a looker, so he was happy to visit with us. We did stayed overnight at her lovely home, and returned to Anchorage Sunday morning in time for church.

Now if you view the mountain range east of Anchorage, you will see 'termination dust' each morning, and it won't be long until "it" reaches town. Yes, this means snow. The colors of fall are just beautiful, and summer activities have been replaced by club meetings, concert series, opera, etc. My freezer is full of silver salmon, summer fruit and berries, and we will survive the long winter with pot lucks at the American Legion, Pioneers of Alaska, etc. The Petroleum Club has started their Sunday football breakfasts and Monday night football, so here we go!!!

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.

Wild About Anchorage

This is a summer to remember for sure. The weather has been perfect. Activities abound, and my personal recovery from double knee replacement is almost complete. However, I read in local news that the tourist business is down, and those that are here are spending less. Downtown appears to be pretty crowded with these tourists, and all the restaurants have waiting only during the dinner hour, so who's to really know the stats.

The baseball season is half over, and the Anchorage Bucs, my team, is near the to of the Alaska Baseball League. Today is Bastille Day, and the traditional show at Jens Restaurant is sure to draw a crowd as always.

The big Petroleum Club golf tournament finishes the week . . . the field draws over 400 golfers, and their charity remains the First Tee Program. . . there's always plenty of partying as the club hosts the players, volunteers and guests to a steak dinner under a triple tent on the grounds behind the club, and dancing indoors.

Anchorage knows how to throw a party, and this could be called party week by me, anyhow, as I'm going to test my new knees and try to get to all of the above.

Those who chose to leave the big city often head to Spencer Glacier, which is accessible by train only. It's a beautiful place, and rafting and kayaking are popular there. This is midway between Anchorage and Seward, and the route is much more beautiful than the drive, altho' I will say the road has been improved and you can reach Seward (from Anchorage) in two hours now.

Plan your trip to visit us soon!

Fireworks in Anchorage

This is the Fourth of July, so the apt title. My blogs have been minimal this month since I'm recovering from double knee surgery, and no one wants to hear about 'pain' . .. in fact, every time I mention it, the reply is, "Well, you elected to do it" and I'm suffering in silence. The bright side is that my neighbor/caregiver/friend has brightened my condo, deck, and rooftop patio with flowers galore and the image above is one of the "Salmon on Parade" from downtown. You see, each summer Anchorage displays like salmon with themes around the downtown area so the tourists, and locals too, can follow the map to see them displayed, and at the end of the summer there's a big charity auction to spread them around. This is just one of the joys of walking around downtown Anchorage, as they have music concerts, fairs, markets, and constant activity. The restaurants are abundant, and they're all crowded, it seems. I have my favorites, but you can't go wrong just walking into one blindfolded. The 'downtown' salmon fishing in Ship Creek just ended, but they pulled some big ones out of there, and it's faster, easier, cheaper than traveling to the many lodges scattered throughout the state. This is also the time for baseball and tonight's fireworks follow the double header between the two local teams, the Anchorage Bucs and the Glacier Pilots. So come on down and visit us.