Everyone knows that mosquito's can be a problem in Alaska during the summer. So far, at least until yesterday, they haven't been a big nuisance. Our first of several destinations was Earthquake Park near the airport. Soon after starting down an interpretive path to where we thought there would be some displays, the Alaska state bird started to attack. Stupid us, we have several cans of mosquito spray, but not one can was with us, not even in the Jeep. We kept moving down the path, as the pesty insects kind of stayed away as long as we were moving. When we got to where there were a bunch of signs, & pictures of the 1964 earthquake, all in the shade, we got attacked big time. OK, enough of this, back down the walkway at a fast pace, and back to where we started, the safety of the Jeep.
Just down the road from the park, was a parking area at the end of the airport runway. We stopped and watched a 747 air cargo plane take off, using up most of the runway. It was probably midpoint in a flight either to, or from Asia. One other aircraft which looked like a C130, took off while we were parked.
Next stop was Walgreen's for a can of bug spray before we started walking around the Alaska Zoo. During our last visit to Anchorage in 2001, Patty and I visited this zoo, and the one animal exhibit I remember, was an orphan Grizzly Bear, and an orphan Polar Bear who were raised together from infancy. They were both still at the zoo, but were separated in 2003. Most of the animals are indigenous to the arctic, or sub arctic environment, but not all are found in Alaska.
Polar Bears and Moose are both found in different parts of Alaska.
This little Moose was only a few weeks old.
No sightings so far of a Grizzly in the wild. There were 3 of them at the zoo.
When we got to the Snow Leopard's habitat, we were fortunate to see it moving around, unlike a lot of the animals who were sound asleep. This species is not found in North America, but does live in the colder, mountain climates of Asia. Not a whole lot of these guys left in the wild, and they are indeed magnificent creatures.
By mid afternoon, we were all hungry, so we stopped at a Round Table Pizza inside this unique building. The basement level was an ice skating rink, and the ground level contained a few eateries, along with several mall like shops. The upper 4 or 5 levels were dedicated to office space. If you look closely, or click on & enlarge the last picture, you'll see that the ice arena was named after Miss Patty.
This morning, it's adios to the big city, destination the Kenai Peninsula. I think our first stop will be Seward, a place that we first explored in 1999, after getting off an Alaskan cruise ship. That 1999 cruise is what got us hooked on Alaska, and in the subsequent 14 years, we've spent a good portion of 6 years in the "last frontier" state.
Ship Creep RV park - $44.10 Cumulative - $849.61
We've been following your blog for awhile now and just wanted to say how much we've enjoyed your Alaska adventures! We lived there for several years and have visited many of the same locations you have already visited. In fact, our daughter used to take skating lessons at the ice rink you visited today - and yes, the Round Table pizza was there then as well. Thanks for the memories!!
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