Anchorage Adventures

A bus tour was planned for Saturday and we began by seeing a movie which documented the history of Anchorage.  The first movie was about the heroic trip by several dog teams who were delivering serum for diphtheria from Nenana to Nome.  The native population was facing an outbreak of this disease and was in need of the medicine. This event is still celebrated today with the Iditarod race which is approximately 1049 miles in length.

We continued on our bus ride only to be delayed when the driver tried to turn around the bus and got stuck with the rear wheels in a small ditch.  The driver called for help and they came out with a

20,000 pound jack to lift the coach and place blocks under the wheels.  We waited and enjoyed watching float planes take-off and land on the nearby lake.  Over 400 planes take-off and land each day on weekends.

Sunday we visited a huge farmers market.  Many local artisans displayed their wares.  Bettie bought a couple of items.  After visiting the market we went to Turnagain Arm where we saw a statue of Captain James Cook.

  In his ship the “Resolution”, he was looking for a north-west passage.  During his exploration he found several dead ends and told his crew to “turn again”.  From this frequently used phrase the inlet was named.

After lunch we went to the Alaskan Native Heritage Center where we learned about the 11 tribes who were located in this area.  The museum had many interesting artifacts and demonstrated activities that were common to their culture.  We saw two young men demonstrate a game where sitting back to back each tried to force the other on his stomach.  This game developed strength and agility.  Dancing was also performed to illustrate their entertainment from the past.  A village of native structures has been constructed to represent the buildings and activities practiced thousands of years ago.

Monday, we visited Earthquake Park which provided information about the earthquake in 1964.  It

was a 9.2 quake which lifted and displaced 100,000 square miles.  This not only destroyed many of the buildings but, also caused a tsunami.  The wave was 40 feet high and traveled 100 mph.  The wave was also a flame from the oil that had been spilled and was floating of the water.

The Alaska Aviation Museum was another stop.  The museum had several planes that demonstrated the development of aviation in Anchorage beginning in 1917.  One plane on display was an early plane that crashed but, it was salvage by being repaired on the ice.  After being repaired is was placed in service in Alaska for several more years.

Bettie was pleased that we got to visit the Alaska Botanical Gardens.  It has a wide variety of plants that can be grown in Alaska.  We saw flower, herb, and a rock garden.

We are thoroughly enjoying our trip and encountering a variety of experiences.