Anchorage ~Alaska Trip Day 39

Before leaving our Cabela's overnight parking, we walked inside to check out their amazing animal displays. They had fish & animal boards from each geographical area of Alaska, plus huge stuffed moose, caribou, elk, bears, walrus, wolves, fox, lynx, sheep, goats, deer, etc.

We finally saw the beluga whales!

Next we visited Earthquake Park, by the inlet, after parking just past the airport runway gate and watching a couple commercial planes fly directly over our heads and across the water. I think in 1964 a major earthquake slid chunks of Anchorage land into the sea. At that time, tsunamis devastated the port towns of Seward and Valdez. We could see the drop-off where land originally had been level with where we were standing.

I like parks because they have fresh outdoor air, have paths or playgrounds to burn off energy, and are free!

Very neat to see scripture on a public city park info board.

RV parking can be difficult in cities, so we motored to the edge of downtown and found plenty of room at the Ulu Factory, just down from the train depot. After shopping a bit, we hopped on the free trolley to the visitor center and Public Lands building. Mount McKinley was out and peeking above the city over 150 miles away. The trolley driver said he had seen it now for 6 days in a row.

Mr. Pickles, the porcupine form the city zoo, was in theatre 1. After learning about him (I'd never seen a live porcupine), the girls stamped native Alaskan animals in their Jr. Ranger books and looked at the displays.

We caught up on laundry, replaced our dysfunctional RV thermostat, and restocked food supply at the grocery. Then we drove on to a turnout next to the Matanuska River near Palmer, met up with Mom & Dad, watched the sunset, and got to see Dean & Martha fresh from the airport before Hank took them home.

view from our campsite