
Hello from the city! After small towns and crossroads, it took a bit to get used to more than one traffic light and many intersections. Our RV Park is out on one side of the city, several of the attractions that we want to see are also out of the city center, but we will be spending some time downtown.
One of the first stops is the ULU Factory. The true Alaskan Knife. They were demonstrating its use, and you could see the steps in manufacturing them through windows into the shops. Pretty interesting, and yes, several dollars later, we left happy. In fact, we did our part to bolster Alaska's economy several places in Anchorage. We had great pizza at the Mooose's Tooth, and found one of the only Irish Pub's in Alaska. Well, an Americanized version of a pub.
We visited the Botanical Gardens, and walked through the perennial gardens and out along the Nature Trail. It's still amazing to see what 20 hours of daylight will do for a garden. One of the flowering plants was a Blue Poppy. It hardly looks real!
We visited the Botanical Gardens, and walked through the perennial gardens and out along the Nature Trail. It's still amazing to see what 20 hours of daylight will do for a garden. One of the flowering plants was a Blue Poppy. It hardly looks real!
We had had such a good time on our Raft Float at Copper Landing, that we decided to ramp it up and go for a little "white water" In our coupon book, there were several in the Anchorage area, and we drove out to Sutton for the Matanuska Madwater Rafting Company. Driving down the road into the area where we were supposed to meet looked a little, well, "rustic" comes to mind. Can you hum "Dueling Banjos"?
After getting suited up in wet suits and helmets we were taken to the drop off point and given paddles and instructions. Note the serious looks on our faces. That would be because of the information about rescues, and staying afloat, and not getting caught on trees and rocks that our guide was giving us. And he did mention more than once that he was a certified Wilderness Rescue Personal.
But what a good time we had! We did get wet on this ride, and it was far more than a float. The rivers are glacial, so depending on melting in the mountains, and other runoff, the rivers change daily. Even more than that. What a river is like in the morning, isn't the same in the evening. So what had been a level I rapid at noon, might be a II or III at night. We did some that were II, approaching III.
Smiling faces, paddles in the water, we're looking good!
Look hard. We are there!
The owner of the raft company had a cousin in Alaska for the summer. She drove the van to follow us down the river, and picked us up at the end. She stopped a various spots to take pictures of us, and made up a free CD for each couple when we got back to the house, unsuited, and ate chips and salsa. Another example of not going by first impressions. Don says he is up for the next level rapids.

Back in Anchorage there is the Alaska Native Heritage Center. Each of the native groups is represented with a replica of the housing, and there is a museumish area with presentations several times during the day.

Back in Anchorage there is the Alaska Native Heritage Center. Each of the native groups is represented with a replica of the housing, and there is a museumish area with presentations several times during the day.
Besides educating people about the native culture, the purpose is to continue the education of the Native Alaskans in their heritage, customs, language and arts.
There is a strong feeling that the native cultures were adversely affected with the settlement by outsiders, and when Alaska became a state, nothing was done to help them. As with Native Americans in the lower 48, it is a reminder that in many ways, westward expansion is not one of our more shining moments in history.
As we have traveled around, there are some fairly obvious signs that the economy, housing and job opportunities are not the same for the Native Alaskans and those that have relocated from outside. Makes you wonder.
On the Fourth of July, we decided to skip the fireworks that were scheduled for midnight at the baseball field. We had heard from the guys we played golf with in Wasilla that they are a little hard to see. The ones on New Year's, which start at 4:00 in the afternoon, are much better. We had found a really neat local market, so packed up a picnic and went out to Lake Hood to watch the pontoon planes take off and land. When you think that two-thirds of the people in Alaska depend on getting in and out of town by plane, it isn't a surprise that there were rows and rows of these little planes at the airport.


But this sign did give us something to think about! Who is going to argue with something bigger than you with a propeller?

We are on to Denali National Park, which is one of the reasons we came on this trip. We'll let you know about the wilderness Alaska.
Jim and Sue
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