Jamison's Gone Goofy: Anchorage Trip Report (Complete With Pics)

So we are back from Anchorage. As far as work goes it was a good implementation, but I know if you are reading this you are more interested in the fun stuff instead instead of the Library Automation.

Day One... We arrived after a long flight. Checked out the gray skies (a common companion on this trip) and headed right to the Moose Tooth Pub and Pizzeria for some awesome pizza and even better local beers. Moose Tooth is actually #1 on Trip Advisor and I know why... not the best pizza in the world, but really good pizza plus really good beer plus fun local atmosphere equals a WIN!
Day Two... We drove down the Seward Highway along Turnagin Arm checking out some awesome sights...

We stopped at Girdwood along the way and headed over to the ski resort there. We were able to take a tram ride to the top of Mt. Alyeska and then hike to the top of the mountain. From there we had some awesome views of...

glaciers "goat" and "milk"

The Water and Girdwood waaaaaaaay below

And some amazing views you just don't see back east...

And then the clouds rolled in... LITERALLY!

From Girdwood we headed south on Seward, intending to go see the Portage Glacier but due to weather we held off. We did stop at the visitor center and I got to see an iceberg collapse. If in the pictures the water looks especially blue, there is NOT something wrong with the colors. Waters fed by glaciers are really blue and really cold! I also got to sample my first taste of glacier!

We headed back to the hotel afterwards and later caught dinner at Humpy's.

Day Three... Today was our "Triathlon". We started with a 3 hour bike ride along the Tony Knowles Coastal Trail. If you ever go to Anchorage you have to check out this trail. Amazing scenery. We saw everything from earthquake park to city views to nature views to McKinley... even a wild bald eagle!

From Anchorage we headed north to Eagle River and then onto Chugach State Park for some hiking. We saw some amazing views and hiked on the Iditarod Trail...

The 3rd leg of our "triathlon" was spent at the hotel hot tub, followed by Chinese food!

Day Four... My first day of work so not much to report except today was April's first 5k! The Fossil 5k to be exact. I was scheduled to run the Tyrunasaurus 10k but the weather was awful, the 10k started a half hour after the 5k and I just wanted to run with April. This was the most disorganized race I ever saw. Bad trail markers, no real clock for timing, no announcements until 10 seconds before the gun, no easy to access facilities AND rain! However, April ran and we saw some obstacles I will NEVER see again on a course...

We thought this guy would be the closest we ever got to a moose...

...we were wrong. This moose tried to sneak attack...

which prompted us all to walk and run as a pack. Yes, it was so crappy I am wearing a short sleeve shirt, long sleave shirt AND fleece vest during a 5k!

Our moose patrol came face to face with the enemy!

April finished but that is NOT the face of a happy camper. I am sure the conditions of the next race will be much better!

Days 5, 6 and 7... I spent working so I don't have a lot to report but April hit up the zoo, the botanical garden and some other things downtown.

Day 8... Our last day was spent on a nice drive north to Talkeetna. On the way there we stopped at a Lodge to take some great pictures of Mckinley. Talkeetna was this nice little town, almost like someone picked up Berkeley Springs and dropped it in Alaska. We had our last sampling of Alaska's local brews their as well. I have not really mentioned it here, but I would be remiss if I did not say that Alaska has AWESOME beer. The drive was pretty as well, especially just south of Wasilla when you could really see some mountains up close.

Views from the drive north