All the Comforts of Home Anchorage

... has already begun in Alaska and the yellow leaves of the birch trees illuminate the countryside. The bus had to stop several times because a bear or a moose were crossing the road which ends at the refuge built on a knoll that overlooks the Valley. After a quick picnic, we walked down right into the Valley and soon reached impressive layers of pumice through which the Utak River carved its way. You then ...

... I hate these overnight flights...)

Anchorage airport is interesting as it is a cargo jet haven. They must just stop to refuel from Asia - the cargo carriers here have been Eva Air, China Airlines, Korean Airlines, Asiana, UPS, Shanghai...none seem to empty any cargo...just park for an hour or two.

It's been a great trip...pictures will be on Flickr at http://www.flickr.com/photos/pmbell64/c ollections/72157622360839812/

... full so we met them at the Snow Goose which was great. We had outdoor seating with a view of Mt McKinley.

Perfect!

The next day we just bummed around for a bit and went for a walk. We flew out at 20:30 to Denver going via Dallas. We missed our connection by minutes as the plane was still at the dock but made the next flight which was 2 hours later giving us time for breakfast. We arrived into Denver at 09:30 pretty tired!

... on the river. As it caused the ice to break up, the whole town was swamped by water and big blocks of ice for 3 days. It really was a mess but they are slowly rebuilding. They had no running water, just a town well. The only power they had in the visitors centre was for the credit card machine. There was no lighting. They used a torch if it was too dark. It was raining while we were there and the whole town seemed very depressing. They had boxes for swallows outside the ...

The last night at Alaska. No specific schedule, just shopping, and easy short drive to the berry farm to see the chocolate fountain. Our flight was like 1:28 a.m., so we got to the airport around 10 p.m. Finally, the night fell. I was so glad to see the night. My eyes felt comfortable. No wonder we all felt sore for the eyes, the sun's been shining all day long!

... when it comes. We stopped at a rescue-type wilderness "zoo" - not cages but huge, open spaces, and saw bear, moose, caribou, red foxes, and musk ox. Then we spent a couple of hours at the Heritage Museum/Open Air folklore museum. Connor was especially interested in Native Peoples' Games - amazing skills demonstrated by young kids. We also saw demonstrations of dances and songs from various geographic ...

... out. No animal sightings however. We stopped at the Fred Myers Grocery store for some "provisions" and again headed home for a "chill out" prior to turning in. Well the Olympics are on... it's 1:45 a.m. in Cincinnati and I'm very, very tired. Hope you all have a great Monday. Oh, BTW, Ft. Myers is on a hurricane watch OH MY! Hopefully it will bypass it. Do I have any volunteers wanting to check it out if it heads that way?????

... us loud enough to make me **** myself. Only once did he look up,continuing to chew, not at all concerned about what I was doing. I was a little scared that he might get scared and run at me, he had to have been blinded by my flash, but he just kept doing what he was doing. They must have been born there, in this park. We also saw a skull and bones of a baby moose that hadn't made it through the winter.