Anchorage

I started my Alaska adventure with a day focused in Anchorage. The state's largest city and commercial center, it is about the size of South Bend.

I began the day orienting myself first on foot & then on a guided trolley tour.  I don't plan to spend a lot of time indoors, but I did make a point do stop at the city's art & history museum.  In an unexpected twist, I enjoyed the art section more than the history gallery.  There were lots of magnificent landscapes of Alaska.  I even recognized the name of the primary artist, Laurence, from an Antiques Roadshow episode I recently saw. 

After one more indoor attraction, an unexceptional, but slightly worthwhile film on the 1964 earthqauke not part of the museum, it was time to get outdoors in earnest.  I rented a bike for 3 hours to ride a bike path that follows the Cook Inlet.  The trail passes right under the flight path for one of the airport runways.  I watched a couple jumbojet fly overhead.  On the way back, I rode by the float plane harbor to watch some smaller craft take off & land.

I had dinner at the Moose's Tooth, a pizza pub recommended to me by a passenger on the flight to Anchorage.  Incredibly, I still had time for a 'warm-up' hike.  I climbed Flattop Mountain in the Chugach Range to the southeast of town.  At 4 miles, it wasn't terribly long, but the trail guide said it was an 1,800 foot ascent.  My GPS recorded 1,500.  Guessu which number I believe.  Either way ,the views were spectacular, not only at the top, but on the way up.