Our flight Tuesday from Tampa to Anchorage was long but mostly uneventful. We had a short layover in Denver that was extended a little bit when some fella (probably fueled by a little too much alcohol) decided he didn't want to wear his mask. Thankfully he made his decision before we took off, so we didn't have to make an unplanned stop for him to be removed. I will have to give him credit for not being loud, and for simply walking off with the very large security officer. However, I don't think he'll be flying the friendly skies with United Airlines anytime soon.
We arrived in Anchorage around 11:00 PM and by the time we made it to the hotel most of the feeling was back in my lower limbs. We chose an airport hotel (The Lakefront Anchorage) for the first night. Although we weren't at the hotel long, the room was cozy, and the breakfast was hearty. As an added bonus, it is the race headquarters for the Iditarod, so it was buzzing with race related activity including registration of the mushers. The temperature was around 30 degrees, no wind and sunny skies. A few weeks ago, when we were "standing on the corner in Winslow, Arizona the temperature was 15 degrees. Strange, here we are in Alaska now and it's twice as warm as Arizona! We took advantage of the weather and were able to get in a nice walk along the shores of Lake Hood, which seemed to be frozen solid. I didn't try to impersonate Jesus by attempting to walk out on it, frozen or not.
As we were walking along, admiring the lake, we realized we were not alone. Laying under some trees were a couple of moose enjoying a sunny morning in Anchorage. By 11:30 we had our rental car and were on our way south on Alaska 1 (Seward Highway) to the small community of Girdwood. Girdwood is the home of the Alyeska Resort and Alaska's largest ski area. If being Alaska's largest isn't enough, it also boasts of having the longest Double Black Diamond run in North America. Our skiing days are behind us, and even when we did ski, we rarely ventured on anything more difficult than the bunny slopes.
Today (Thursday) we enjoyed visiting the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center. The center is located about 10 miles south of Girdwood on the Seward Highway. The 300+ acre sanctuary is home to many different species of animals native to Alaska including elk, moose, caribou, wolves, fox and both brown and black bears. Thanks in part to the center, the Alaska Wood Bison, which were thought for a time to be extinct is making a strong come back in both the wild and captivity. There is a 1.5-mile road trail that can be driven or walked. While some people opted for driving, many enjoyed walking it while the snow continued to fall.
Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center
The hotel has a large indoor pool and hot tub that looks out over the mountains and the ski area. For us, sitting in the hot tub, watching the snow, and seeing the skiers and snowboarders making their way down the mountain makes for wonderful entertainment. We finished up our first afternoon in the hot tub and were back in early this morning for a return visit. We'll be heading towards Anchorage tomorrow morning, but before hitting the road, we'll hit the hot tub one more time.
This is our third time staying at the Alyeska Resort, but seeing it covered with such a thick blanket of snow gives it a totally different and very beautiful look. No matter the season, the small community of Girdwood is a great place to visit in this massive state that has so much to see and do.
