Downtown Anchorage Field Trip

Today was my first day of really exploring Anchorage by myself.  Andee, my house hostess, dropped me off downtown and let me loose!!!    Before, I get into today's adventures I want to fill you in on last night.  At 9pm, we left the house to go up to Flat Top Mountain in the Chugach Mountain Range.  I was very tired from a long day at work and car shopping but it was fun and beautiful.  Andee's husband, Tom is a geologist.  What a better way to see nature then to have him to explain things.  While is was only a 1/2 mile hike, I saw and learned alot.  Tom had his binoculars and pointed out high in the mountains, some Dal Sheep.  That was amazing!  Thank you Tom and Andee!

So Andee dropped me off downtown and I went from there.  I walked a few streets and saw the shops. I am not really into shopping tourist style so I didn't really go into any.  Just looked at the windows.  After walking for a while, I decided to take the Guided Tour Trolley.  It is a 50 minute ride around Anchorage.  I recorded a lot of the history that the guide said.  What amazed me was the fact that Anchorage is surrounded by 3 different mountain ranges.  Apparently, in 1964 there was a powerful earthquake in Anchorage and the water surge from the waves is high therefore making the shoreline very much like quicksand during low tide.  The guide stressed not to walk on it.  I think I got my facts right!

One other fact the guide told us was that even though there are only 110 days to the growing season, the plants grow bigger then usual because of the many hours of daylight.  That makes sense to me now!  I would have never thought about it.  The state flower is forget me nots but other flowers that grow well here are begonias, lobelia, marigolds, and lilac bushes.  I have such fond childhood memories about lilacs!

Here are a few things I saw on the tour:  Airplanes everywhere.  Airplanes is the main mode of transportation in Alaska!

After the guided tour, I took myself to Humpy's.  I had a halibut taco and no drink.  I will be back Humpy's .  

After Humpy's I kept walking around.  Ran into some small street festival where the women were clad in very little including g strings.  I couldn't figure out what the festival was and I am assuming it was a corvette car show.  It was two blocks long and that was it.

I walked some more, visiting a tea/coffee shop and then I took a cab home.  That was my first adventure and I was afraid that I would never get home if I tried it by myself.  I don't know where I live yet.