8:24 am May 5, 2009
Coffee’s hot. All is well with the world.
Anchorage.
Of the 620,000 people in Alaska, 40% of them are in Anchorage.
The flight was terribly comfortable – watched Marley & Me for the first time. Watched videos about Alaska. Sat between two college kids coming home for the summer.
I’m staying at the Arctic Adventure Hostel. I want to remember this place. The owner picked us up from the airport last night and will have me back there in time to meet the van heading for Denali this afternoon. In the meantime, he’ll secure my luggage so I can go explore Anchorage today. All for $23. Oh, did I mention private, Spartan, clean though threadbare accommodations? I particularly like the young people I’ve met briefly so far. It was so quiet last night I finally decided he’d left me alone at my own wing of the hostel. That’s how I came out of the communal bathroom this morning in my flannel nightie to find young men also running around likely not expecting to find me. Everybody is really nice and really friendly and I feel safe and very comfortable. Besides, what I saved on a hotel last night will readily cover the adventures I intend to enjoy today.
Martin & Trudy – special thanks to you for setting up my blog! I hope I can figure out how to use it now – or you’ll be getting a call for help. Thank you.
The rains on our trip to Portland were torrential. Finally at the viewpoint for Willamette Falls, Laurie took over the driving and I relaxed. I’m grateful to have had my daughter drive me to the airport.

About midnite-thirty, 5/5 (make that 6th) 2009
This morning I walked Anchorage – it’s as walkable as Boston or San Francisco. Although nearly half the people of Alaska live in Anchorage, 260,000 – there’s not much traffic and most drivers are very courteous – good easy walkways. Although I notice that when people give you directions the path is as likely to be down an alley, across a yard or even a dirt trail in this town. I did take the bus to downtown - $1.25 for an all day pass – wow. It helped that I am of a certain age. I found the Visitors Center with the 2,000 pound jade stone. Beautiful and impressive! A young man and his son on the bus helped me with ideas of places to go. Later in the day, he saw me from his office window and came running – he’d thought of more places for me to visit. I definitely need to spend more time in Anchorage – even his 3 year old son was doggone friendly – I could have stayed in the Federal Building all day – but had to get back to the airport to meet the bus to Denali. The Museum of Natural History is closed for remodeling until June. I’ll just go back in June. I felt pretty smug about the cool hostel but now I find that as an employee of Princess, I could have stayed at the Windom for $25 – good grief!
Finally, I had to get onto the bus that brought several of us staff members to Denali. What mountains!
In Anchorage, I’d been incredibly lucky to have blue sky and moderate temperature (oh yes, and reindeer sausage hot dog for lunch – best sausage I ever tasted!)
The further we came from Anchorage, the more snow and ice. Some rivers are stopped in their flow, -solid ice. Some have huge patches of ice flowing slowly. Some waterfalls look like C.S. Lewis’ winter scenes in Lion, Witch & the Wardrobe – falling water standing where it stopped last spring.
There’s so much I want to remember – but I’ll be in class all day tomorrow and need sleep.
Finally I must remember the moose (which I missed) and the snowshoe rabbit, the dall sheep and the grizzly we saw today.
Particularly the grizzly- He was SO close and so intent upon his walk. He did not care that our bus was a stone’s throw away. It was amazing. HE was amazing. I’ve seen bears but he is the largest I’ve ever seen.
Oh – and the people – from Utah, from Ohio, , from Louisianna, from the Ukraine – and every one is delightful! Good thing – we’ll be working and living together for the next 4-1/2 months.
I’m ready!