We landed in Anchorage. Tania drove down from Fairbanks to meet us, and be our guide and chauffeur, a fact for which I will be eternally grateful. Alaska is a HUGE place and trying to figure out what to see was an overwhelming task. Tania helped us see an overview of the areas she thought we’d like, and that gave us an idea for places we’d like to see when we finally get to go back.

Anchorage in the summer is tourist land. In fact, most of the areas we visited catered to summer tourists and sportsmen and adventurers and tourists. Tania helped us to avoid the overtly touristy places, and I tried very hard to make sure stores we visited were Alaska owned and the loot I bought was Alaska made or designed.

This was a lot harder than you’d think, especially in the ports of call for the cruise ship.

But I think (and hope) I did okay. I certainly prefer that my money went to support someone who lives in Alaska year round, not just when the weather is good.

One of the first things we saw–and were warned about–were the mud flats.

Anchorage was surrounded not by beaches but by mudflats there are basically squishy quicksand. That, combined with the the tremendous difference between high and low tide make these ares extremely dangerous.

Anchorage is also, of course, surrounded by mountains.

It was usually cloudy, so I didn’t get many good pictures of the majesty of the surrounding mountains. However, I will say that I liked the various Alaska ranges better than the Rockies. Of course, the Appalachians remain my favorite mountains, and the mountains in Hawaii are also wonderful, but the mountains in Alaska were amazing and impressive.

One of the things we did in Alaska was eat. A lot. And Michael tried to sample as many local brews as possible. I think he did a pretty good job, thanks to Tania’s expert guidance.

While in Anchorage, Michael and I hiked Flattop Mountain. The views were spectacular, despite the grey weather.

We also managed not to be eaten by a bear, which I thought was important.

While in Anchorage, we visited Potter’s Marsh and the Alaska Botanical Garden. Potter’s Marsh will be the next post. The Botanical Garden will be some of the last pictures I go through, since it’s almost all flowers pr0n.