12 May 2001
Seeing Anchorage

The beach curves in a graceful arc to the city of Anchorage, complete with high-rise buildings, in the distance Anchorage panorama

According to the Anchorage Daily News, the sun rose today at 5:30 and will set tonight at 10:30. But that doesn't mean 7 hours of darkness, as dawn and dusk extend for quite a while. And the days are getting longer. And we're planning to go further north.

One of us can't keep a little eighth-grade humor out of mind: How much does Iowa? Juneau? Idaho, Alaska. The moose stood by the side of the road and allowed our car to pass close by and photograph her. She was unconcerned. Not a nervous moose

We gassed up at Elmendorf Air Force Base where the 172 AMS was washing cars for free. Of course we kicked in some money for their unit rec fund!

Anchorage is Alaska's big city. In fact, half of Alaska lives in Anchorage, and probably another quarter within 100 miles of Anchorage. We drove all around the city, and it resembles any city of 200,000 in the lower 48. We found a zoo, a wildlife refuge, the university and the medical centers and the airport, with lots of flights to Asia. We didn't go to the zoo, but right behind the airport, a few blocks from where people were parked watching the planes take off, we came across a moose, happily munching down on the fresh green leaves.