More of Anchorage--July 7-9, 2010

There are a lot of things to see and do in the Anchorage area. One thing on our to-do list was the Alaska Aviation Museum. Wednesday we headed for the museum. The weather was a little warmer--notice we don't have our jackets in these pictures! The museum is located at Lake Hood near the largest float plane base, also near the international airport.The museum had many familiar planes and parts. Bob said his dad had one of these in his Cessna.The outdoor exhibits were also interesting.But what interested us most was the frequent take-off or landing of float planes. They make us go hmmmmm....As we entered the museum area, we spotted this truck across the way. Yes, it works, but it looks like it shouldn't! It is the tow vehicle for float planes.

After spending time at the museum, we headed to a local place for lunch. Our friend Doreen told us that Moose Tooth Pub and Pizzeria has the best pizza in Anchorage, also good brew. Bob used the GPS to find its location and off we went. Yes, it does have great pizza and the beer is also good. Bob had a pint and I tried a sampler--4 different beers in 4 oz. glasses.

Later that evening, we experienced our first earthquake! We were sitting in the rv and we thought a moose had run into the back of the rv! It really shook. Bob went out and looked around, but saw nothing. Later on the news we heard that there had been an earthquake! Alaska has a lot of them! Check this site: Recent Alaska Earthquakes

Thursday we ventured out of the Anchorage area to Wasilla. Dogs were on the agenda. Iditarod's Official Headquarters is located in Wasilla.In front of the headquarters is a statue honoring Joe Redington, the founder of Iditarod.The building houses a museum of winners and a gift shop.Outside we saw a sled....
....and a team of dogs hitched to a 4-wheel drive vehicle. They were ready to run.Near Iditarod headquarters was another interesting place advertising birch syrup. We stopped by to see what it was all about, but the shop is closed. The owner came out and explained the process. He said he gives samples and sells his product at the Saturday/Sunday market in Anchorage. We hope to see him there Saturday!

We found a place for a picnic lunch, then returned to the rv. Later in the afternoon, we took our bikes to Eagle River. We needed to geocache and get some exercise. We found a few caches, but we got a lot of exercise--the trail was up and down for the most part.

Friday we went back to Chugach State Recreation Area by Turnagain Arm. We found a cache on the snowplow that used to clear the tracks.We rode our bikes along the Indian to Girdwood Trail. We only did a portion of the trail since it is 13 miles one way.

We found several caches along the trail.The scenery was as great as was the weather! We were able to ride our bikes without jackets and the sky was a beautiful blue...very few clouds! We could see the mountains north of Anchorage.
Bob took this picture of me by a small waterfall......then he handed me the camera so I could get his picture with the mountains in the background.We had a great ride along the trail. Saturday we plan to go to the market downtown, hit the commissary, do laundry and other chores before we leave on Sunday.