We had a great visit to Anchorage which began with a historical city bus tour starting with Earthquake Park.  We all strolled through the park to view the displays and read all about the Great Alaska Earthquake of 1964 which also effected the coastal towns which were damaged by a tsunami that followed the quake.  As we were walking someone spotted a moose with her baby and we tried to catch a picture but they are so quick and very protective of their calves that we certainly didn’t want her to charge on this crowd.  We went on to tour the airport and saw many float planes that are housed there until winter and even saw one that lands on the snow and ice.  Couldn’t get really good pictures because the bus didn’t actually stop for us there.  Onward to watch a film about sled dogs and mushers at a small local theater which was really enjoyable since it had special effects such as real snow that blew out over the crowd and a campfire that smoked with a computerized old man that told us some tales.

After lunch at a local restaurant we went to the Ulu Factory  where the famous Alaskan Ulu knives are made and then on to the Alaska Wild Berry Products which has the World’s largest Chocolate Fountain, gourmet candies, jams, jellies and need I say more.

The next day took us to the Alaska Native Heritage Center where we learned so much about the native cultures.  Many of the young people did several native dances which interestingly are done with their hands and only moving their feet back and forth in place. The reason being that there were so many people living in one house (sometimes 1,000 or more) that in order to help pass time in the long winters they danced in place, and they exhibited different dances for each culture.  These natives are from all over Alaska including the Aleutian Islands and other islands which are very close to Russia (as close as 35 miles) which have quite a bit of Russian influence in language as well as customs.  We were told that there is so much adversity here that over 100 languages are spoken in Alaskan schools.  We viewed lots of artifacts, furs, crafts and even homes that were on display.  We learned so much in Anchorage.

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