The Silent "I"

Teri Hatcher talking to mombloggers #disneyWOC

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The Anchorage Museum: A Great Place for Kids of All Ages

During our trip to Anchorage last week, we spent an afternoon exploring the Anchorage Museum, a modern, glass and chrome structure in the heart of downtown Anchorage. We had the rare treat of having both of Alex's grandmas along to see what the museum had to offer, along with Alex and myself.  It was a wonderful place for kids and adults alike, with a collection of exhibits on history, science, and art.  It was like MoMA, the Smithsonian, and the Tech Museum all rolled into one. This is one place I highly recommend for visitors to Anchorage.

 
The museum opened in 1968, and expanded through the 1990's with an infusion of oil revenues.  The current incarnation is a sleek, modern building with an impressive array of technology exhibits geared at science education, a terrific collection of Native Alaskan artifacts, a planetarium, upscale fine dining at the Muse Restaurant, and some interesting traveling exhibits as well.  The Smithsonian Arctic Studies Center just opened recently, and is something that should be required viewing for anyone interested in Native Alaskan culture.

Alex particularly enjoyed the Imaginarium Discovery Center, a hands-on science exhibit on the first floor that introduces kids to physics, biology, and technology.  While mostly geared toward school-age children, there is a special section for kids ranging from infants to age 5. It's often hard to find things in museums for very young children, so I thought this was a terrific way to introduce kids to science at the earliest ages.

We started out looking at a Rube Goldberg-like contraption of balls, chutes, and wheels that was mesmerizing. The walls are adorned with inspirational words and quotes from scientists, like Albert Einstein's quote: "Nothing happens until something moves."

Denali National Park: Where the Wild Things Are

It seemed as though it took days for us to finally arrive at Denali National Park from Anchorage, even though our excursions through Wasilla and Talkeetna only lasted a couple of hours.  It's about a 6 hour drive from Anchorage to Denali, but if you stop to stare at scenic beauty and have snacks in cute towns every few miles, it takes quite a bit longer. 

At any rate, we made it to the Denali Bluffs Hotel by 10:00 pm. Due to the far north setting, the sun was nowhere near setting, so we felt like we were right on time. Or maybe it was 8:00 pm. Or 1:00 am. Who the heck knows in this part of the world.  We met up with Grandma Chris when we arrived, and she instructed us that the bus through the park was leaving at 6 am, so we'd better get to bed.  Her traveling companions, her sister Ruth and brother-in-law Ralph, had already retired for the night.

The next morning or later that night, or whatever, we got up and boarded a converted school bus run by Tundra Wilderness Tours, to take a ride through Denali National Park. We were on the hunt for the Big Five in wildlife in the park:  Moose, Bears, Wolves, Dall Sheep, and Caribou.  By "hunt", I don't mean actually hunting them to kill them, just to take their photos and try not to bother them as much as is humanly possible for a busload of tourists armed with cameras. 

Our bus was half-filled with people staying in our hotel, who were all instructed to sit on the left side of the bus.  We picked up the right half at another hotel down the road.  I think about 75% of the bus were very chipper Australians. We were a little bleary-eyed, but the Australians seemed very excited. It seems like everywhere we have traveled in the world, we've met groups of Australians who are raring to go at any time, any place.

Surprise Glacier in Chugach National Forest

We're on a glacier tour in Chugach National Forest.

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Edgar Mitchell, Apollo 14 Astronaut

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Now We're Talking: Talkeetna

We ventured off the main Parks Highway to check out Talkeetna, Alaska, population 1,064, plus a busload or two of tourists.  If you were charmed by the 1990's television show Northern Exposure, Talkeetna would be right up your alley.  In fact, the fictional town of Cicely, Alaska was supposedly based on Talkeetna, although the show was actually filmed in Washington State.  The resemblance between the two was unmistakeable.

Frank insisted on having lunch at the historic Talkeetna Roadhouse, built in 1914.  Frank later explained that he wanted to eat there because it was the only restaurant listed in the AAA Guide.  We saw several other eateries on the main street, so either the guide was out of date or the other places were not worth mentioning.  Not wanting to risk it, we stuck with the AAA Guide recommendation.

Native Dancers at the Alaska Native Heritage Center

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You Say McKinley, I say Denali

We left Wasilla after a brief stop for provisions and headed down the Parks Highway toward Denali National Park.  I was impressed by the mountains that seemed to surround us on all sides, stretching out as far as the eye could see.  We decided to take a short detour to Talkeetna, about 15 miles off the main highway.  Alex and I were happily snoozing while Frank drove on toward our destination.

All of a sudden, Frank yelled, "McKinley!" and veered off the road to a scenic overlook.  I woke up with a start, thinking he was avoiding a moose or a bear or a Hell's Angel. I looked around and didn't see any wildlife, so I quickly figured out that the elusive Mt. McKinley was making a rare appearance through the clouds.

The Mountain Formerly Currently Known as McKinley is that tallest peak in North America at 20,320 feet.  It was named for President William McKinley in 1897, but Native Alaskans have petitioned the National Board of Geographic Names to change the name to the Alaskan name, Denali, meaning "The Great One" in Athabaskan.  The Alaska Board of Geographic Names changed the name in 1975. They requested that the name be changed by the US Board, but based on some political shenanigans by the Congressman from William McKinley's home district in Ohio, the name has not yet been officially changed.  Alaskans call the mountain Denali; visitors call it McKinley.  I call it "Gorgeous".

It's hard to describe seeing the mountain emerge in the distance, since most of the time it is shrouded by cloud cover.  We were told by numerous people that we had a 20% chance of seeing it during our visit, so I could understand Frank's excitement when he realized that the snow-covered peak emerging from the mist was the fabled mountain itself.  The only thing I can compare it to is riding down the highway from Alexandria to Cairo and seeing the Pyramids emerge from the haze in the distance, like a mirage or a waking dream. 

Mmmm...Alaskan seafood.

At the Chairman's Reception at the EIPBN Conference at the Top of the World Restaurant at the Hilton Anchorage.

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Pasties -- Alaskan Style

Pasties are hearty meat pies, invented by miners. This one is at the famous Roadhouse Lodge in Talkeetna, Alaska.

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