Day 33 - Anchorage, AK

Day 33

Sunday, July 11

Anchorage
Gilbert & Jenna Hall Rig # 12

Sunday morning started out overcast and cool.  We could only hope that it would warm up a little during the day.  Jenna and I left around 9:00 to go to the Anchorage Festival and Marketplace.  This is a Saturday and Sunday event which features goods made in Alaska, fresh fruit, lots of good food and live entertainment.

As we parked we noticed a monument up ahead.  The monument turned out to be the start of the Iditarod race. We ran in to many of our fellow Adventure Caravan members at the marketplace.  

Art and Jill had just arrived and were learning the lay of the land when we ran into them.    Mel and Dot were looking for Ulus.  There was no shortage of those - they ranged from those made by the Ulu Factory to fancy ones featuring moose antlers or walrus tusks.  Lee and Pug were looking at children's toys.   Jacque and Don ran into us at the food booth where we were getting Reindeer Burritos. 

We heard that J.W. and Mary Jo were there too, but we didn't run into them.

There were many amazing items for sale at the marketplace. 

In addition to the Ulus, we saw beautiful knives, scrimshaw carvings, jewelry, wildlife carvings in moose antlers, and many more items handcrafted by Alaskan artisans.  It was beautiful stuff along with beautiful prices attached!  We managed to complete quite a bit of our Christmas shopping while we were there.

After a brief trip to Wal-Mart we returned in time to attend the travel briefing for our trip to Homer on Tuesday.  Following the briefing, we all loaded a bus for a tour of Anchorage and our evening entertainment.  The bus trip around Anchorage probably left a little to be desired. 

A brief stop at the Ulu Factory was followed by an extended tour of the float plane airport and an extended description of the different float planes and planes used by bush pilots.

A short visit to the Earthquake Park gave us some insight into the damage done by the '64 earthquake.  It was amazing to see how the earth had shifted during the earthquake. Our driver explained that it was the duration of the quake - 5 1/2 minutes - rather than the intensity = 9.5 on the Richter Scale - that caused the most damage.  In spite of that, only 3 people in Anchorage lost their lives during the quake.

We journeyed on to the Wildberry Theater for a movie about Alaska and a buffet dinner.  The movie showed the different regions in Alaska and featured the wildlife and cultural differences of each area.  The photography was outstanding as was the music and the content of the movie.  Following the movie we had a lovely buffet dinner.   After dinner we were treated to an exhibit of an Arctic Owl that had been rescued and rehabilitated.  The incredible white owl sat patiently on his handler's gloved hand as she explained that the approximately 7 year old owl had probably been kicked out of his natural habitat by older owls due to a lack of food.   This apparently occurs every 5-6 years when their natural prey is diminished due to over-population of the owls.  This owl hand been rescued about 1 year ago and will probably never be released into the wild due to his inability to hunt for food. 

The Wildberry Theater also had a small herd of reindeer that were quite tame.  Many members from our group went into the pen to pose for pictures with the reindeer.  Their antlers were in full velvet and were extremely soft.  Many grandchildren will probably soon be receiving a picture of Grandma or Grandpa feeding "one of Santa's reindeer." 

A short bus ride brought us back to the Golden Nugget RV park for another night's rest.  Tomorrow we are off to the Alaskan Native Heritage Center.