Anchorage has a green belt, mudflats, trail system and abundant opportunities for wildlife viewing. So, why, on our last full day in Alaska do we choose to spend most of it on a boardwalk close by a major highway? Because that's where the birds and spawning salmon are. When we enter the parking lot for Potter Marsh, we see a hand-lettered sign warning us to lock our cars and leave no valuables to temptation. Other hand-posted notifications cite bird species observed and warn Continue Reading
Book Review: A Schoolteacher in Old Alaska
A feisty woman with daring views finds herself A Schoolteacher in Old Alaska. Hanna Breece's story languished for over fifty years until a relative brought it to life. Part 2 - Stories of Women in Alaska A schoolteacher in Old Alaska making waves at the turn of the century sounded like the perfect subject for the next read. Hannah Breece came to Alaska in 1904, assigned by the U.S. Department of Education to establish schools for Native and Russian children. Her timely view Continue Reading
SEARCHING FOR SILVER SALMON
We are back in Seward at the J-Dock with minutes to spare. Optimists, we are hauling our big new cooler along in the event we get our limit. Our excursion partners are two friends traveling together from the West Coast, one of whom self-describes as being on the trip of a lifetime. We can relate. The captain and the boat are weathered. I remind myself this can't be an easy life. He runs us through the safety procedures check, which is sobering. Someone in the water has Continue Reading
SEWARD
We aren't on deadline to make Seward, but even so it seems we have made a 2-1/2 hour drive south from Anchorage much longer by stopping to drink in view after view of glacial mountains. The road into town slows just past Bear Creek and Moose Pass, with houses on small tracts behind screens of trees starting to show. We continue to the edge of Resurrection Bay where Seward's port, marina and business district begins. In the late 18th century, Resurrection Bay was sighted and named by Continue Reading
INTO THE KENAI
With our time in Alaska already half-spent, we are heading south from Anchorage to the Kenai Peninsula. Although we've been told we should, we will not be going all the way to Homer and its tempting Spit. I am disappointed, but philosophical. We just don't have the time. So we continue to add to the list of reasons to return to The Last Frontier. Instead, we will make the 2-1/2 hour drive to Seward today, where we will sightsee and compare charter fishing options. Continue Reading
CLAIRE FEJES – NO SMALL ADVENTURE
Claire Fejes was a Brooklyn girl reborn into an artist after a fateful move to Fairbanks in 1946. Cold, Starry Night tells the story of her talent ignited. I was happy to see a large bookstore almost immediately after we arrived in Anchorage. I needed something to read. I like to visit bookstores wherever we are, because there is always treasure. (Earlier this summer, the treasure was a photograph of my father.) I wanted to immerse myself in a book that would ground me in The Continue Reading
ROAD RETURNING
It is the first time that we exit and go south from Denali National Park. We have arranged for a late arrival in Anchorage, but it is already far into the afternoon. We are both pensive, thinking of what might have been: a glimpse of the mountain, more photos of wildlife. At our backs, I feel the pull of The Great One, unseen. I look at the road returning with new eyes. Alaska has a tradition of waysides. There are frequent pull-offs along the Parks Highway, mostly Continue Reading