The last time Sue and I had been to Alaska we had simply rushed through Anchorage in our bid to explore the Great Land and its bounties. This time, visiting this city – laughingly referred to as Los Anchorage by many – was my idea, not Sue’s. Upon the advice of friends I had even gone ahead and booked the Econo Lodge Hotel, one of the world’s best hotels.The hotel has a free shuttle and we landed safe and sound at this rather old little inn with this rather old-world, comfy atmosphere.
The next day we put on our snow shoes and went off to this nice little ski resort called Alpenglow in the Chugach Mountains. Alpenglow being a volunteer-run resort, it doesn’t rent out gear and equipment. Just as well we had our own gear with us. After some heady skiing near-accidents we headed down a trail called Flattop. Somebody had told us back at the Lodge that it was the most popular trail in Anchorage and no wonder. Walking along it we saw some great views of Cook Inlet and the surrounding hills.
That night we decided to pass the diner at the Lodge in favor of this homely, cozy little place called Gwennies. I loved the soup, bread and sausage. They were also serving reindeer sausage which, frankly, I did not care to try.
The next morning Sue wanted to shop around for some gifts and souvenirs. Being a touristy sort of place Anchorage is choc-a-bloc with outlets catering to the needs of tourists. We settled for a rather quaint little place called Oomingmak: The Qiviut Shop. And am I glad we did. Run by Max Ox Producers Cooperative this store is a treasure trove of handmade scarves, caps, stoles, etc. The texture has to be seen – sorry, felt – to be believed. The items are knitted out of the Arctic Musk Ox wool, which is much finer than sheep’s wool and pretty steep price-wise.
This Alaskan adventure has been a truly unique one.
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