Anchorage Museum

 This is a museum that has a combination of the beautiful and the whimsical, and this group of sculptures just outside the entrance brings that very clearly home.  I have been to Alaska a dozen times and I had never been here before.  However, when visiting in January with outside temperatures rarely rising above zero Fahrenheit and roads that are snow and ice covered, an indoor activity that is open is very attractive.  I was here with my parents, my adult children, and my spouse and we all very much enjoyed the special exhibits, which were on camouflage and on cabin fever.  The cabin fever exhibit was an intermedia exhibit, with sound, video and pictures.  I left understanding more about the psychosis that might be induced by prolonged isolation.

The other thing that the museum does well is to lay out the Native Alaskan peoples and their individual forms of art.  This is an exhibit that is very detailed and in a small dark space, so be sure to leave enough time to see it in it's entirety and to read all the very well done explanations of what it is exactly that you are seeing.  The native Alaskan population is 15% of the total population of the state.  This is higher than in other states with large reservations and Native Americans.  New Mexico, South Dakota, and Oklahoma's native American population is right around 9%, Arizona and North Dakota's is ~5%, to give some idea of what that number means.  It is said that it takes about 15% of the whole to have a noticeable effect on the other 85%, and that is the situation in Alaska.  So well worth learning more about.  Plus the gift shop is amazing.  Almost a museum exhibit in itself.

Flying Into Anchorage

 We recently flew to Alaska in the dead of winter, and when I awoke to turbulence going over some Canadian mountains, I was struck by how beautiful the north is--which is good because as the planet warms, all that Canadian wilderness will suddenly look pretty darn habitable.  I love the view of the Alaskan mountains that extend south of Anchorage that hug the coastline as you fly in, and then the spectacular Chugash Mountains, and in the distance on that day we could even see Mount McKinley, the majestic Denali that is the highest point in the Northern continent of the New World.

Prince William Sound is always beautiful.  I have yet to be there in the messy break up of spring or in the early days of fall, but in summer and winter it is always cool.  The view from overhead this year was so cool.  The frozen parts of the ocean looked like bacterial growth on a petri dish, circles of ice growing and colliding with each other.  This is water that is home to belugas in the summer, but now it is just a winter wonderland.

Turkey Red, Palmer, Alaska

Palmer and Wasilla are two towns in the valley northeast of Anchorage of similar size, but very dissimilar in character.  While Wasilla is all big box stores and no zoning, Palmer is a quaint small town with a wild west feel to it.  And fabulous mountain views abound.  This is a great side trip if you venture north of Anchorage and have already exhausted the wonderful hiking trails in the Eagle River area.  The downtown buildings would remind you of small Western towns in the lower 48.  If you do venture into this charming town, then Turkey Red is an excellent place to have a meal.  The menu may not look exceptional, but it is definitely a couple cuts above a routine sandwich place.  For one thing, the bread is made in house (it is a bakery, after all) and it is excellent.  The sandwiches are made with care and whether you choose the soup or the salad as an accompaniment, you will have made a good choice.  It is also a coffee place, so don't forgo the latte and dessert either. 

Simon and Seafort's Restaurant, Anchorage, Alaska

This was the best seafood that we had on a recent trip to Alaska with my 12 closest relatives.  There were many different things that were consumed around the table that night and they were all delicious.
The very best was the halibut.  Both the cheeks and the fillet were delicious and the very best that we had on the trip.  given the time of year, they were very likely to be frozen, and while I am definitely a person who eats a lot of previously frozen fish (I live in Iowa, after all), halibut can be finicky when frozen, and the fish we had was really perfect.  The salmon was also delicious, as was the crab and the oysters.  So do not be put off by the location on the first floor of an office building, or the kitschy menu, this is definitely a place to consider eating twice if you are in Anchorage and love fish.

Denali National Park

My parents are stealth outdoorsmen. They have none of the traits usually associated with a love of nature. They don't camp. They do not spend a requisite vacation in the outdoors on a regular basis. They do not belong to the Sierra Club. They aren't even Democrats. But they do love the National Park system, and when my brother and I were young, they took us regularly to parks all over the West. Maybe the phenotype skips a generation, because their offspring fit the more traditional profile. My brother more than I.

He is the poster child for a sibling in many respects, but his choice to live in the state that is first most memorable for it's natural beauty and then second most memorable for the abundance of large mammals (both on land and at sea) is icing on the cake. While I am by far the eldest of the siblings, he is a role model for me related to outdoor enjoyment. He has chosen to live in a more hospitable environment for it, but the love of the outdoors goes with him when he ventures outside Alaska as well. Happy Birthday, Jonathan. Many wonderful returns of the day.