Our 2007 Driving Tour Of Alaska - Anchorage, Days 28-29
June 4, Day 28. Up early about 7:15 AM. Checked out and stopped by an espresso kiosk and got coffee. Stopped at a self operated car wash and washed and vacuumed the car. Hit the road for Anchorage. This was just the reverse of the trip down without the side jaunt to Whittier.
We stopped at a roadside shop called Alaska Horns and Antlers that sold moose and caribou antlers, as well as all types of Alaskan rocks - some of which Dot purchased for her grand nephews and nieces. We didn't buy any antlers because the shipping expense was too high given that we had already decided to come back, but to drive and pull our travel trailer, so we could transport some antlers more easily on that trip. It was the time of the year when the moose were dropping calves. Dot wanted to see a mom with calf. We passed several along the trip but by the time I turned around and driven back, the calves or both moose had hidden themselves. We never got a good shot of a mother moose with calf.
We had brunch at a great restaurant where the Russian and Kenai Rivers join called Gwins Lodge - great food. Along the way we stopped a couple of times for shots of the mountains, even though the weather wasn't cooperating (again!). The mountains along this particular portion of the route weren't very impressive but the did illustrate how they rise right up out of the road bed.
Some of the photos above were taken at the section of ADK-1 where AK-9 splits off for Seward. While I usually avoid allowing manmade objects in my scenic shots, I took this one to illustrate how close to the highway the mountains are.
We made the final run into Achorage without any more stops except for stopping at the overlook on Turnagain Arm where we are supposed to see Beluga Whales. Of course, we saw none. We drove on into Anchorage and checked in at the Microtel Inn and Suites where we had made reservations a few days earlier. We drove over to the rental car off site return site to check on the shuttle schedule. We found that it wasn't as limited as we were led to believe when we checked the sign in the door of the closed office on our previous trip through Anchorage. We next headed for a Fred-Meyer's to shop for some additional bags. We had acquired so much "stuff" that we couldn't fit it into our existing luggage. After buying a couple of medium duffel bags, we headed back to the hotel to repack everything for the flight back to Orlando tomorrow. Dot wanted to see one sunset before we left so we watched the sky while we repacked. Finally about 11:00 PM, we got to see our first Alaskan sunset. It wasn't too spectacular out of the hotel window but I still got a few shots.
June 5, Day 29. Since our flight left around 5:30 PM, we got up late and loafed around the hotel until checkout time. We drove over to the rental car return office and turned in the car. The chauffeur or shuttle driver indicated that we should just leave our luggage in the car and he'd use it to drive us to the airport. We used the digital check in kiosk to get our boarding pass and seat assignments, then went over to check luggage. The lady at the baggage check desk told us that they couldn't take our luggage earlier than two hours before our flight so we sat around and watched our fellow travelers going through the baggage check process. From the observations and comments by other travelers, we learned that a lot of people from Barrow and Prudhoe Bay come to Anchorage to shop. They were taking ice chests full of food back to the outlying communities. After about a half hour, we checked our bags and wandered into the terminal leading to the gates. We had lunch at a sandwich shop and headed for out gate. Had an uneventful flight to Seattle and then to Orlando, ending our trip pleasantly.
We recommend this trip to anyone who prefers finding their own way and doing things on their own schedule. If we had it to do again, we'd probably rent a motor home and tour in that. Camping areas are everywhere in Alaska. The state provides camping facilities at most - maybe all - of the Alaska Recreation Areas. These are encountered very frequently along the highways. Most of the towns we visited offer municipal campgrounds and there are commercial camping facilities everywhere. A small motor home would allow use of the myriad of camping facilities while allowing us to move around the area in it as well.
After returning home, we received e-mail messages from both Stacie and Jana. They reported an uneventful bus ride to Calgary and flight to Edinburgh. They spoke glowingly of their visit to Edinburgh. So they had gotten to the next stage of their journey, or as Jana put it while describing plans to go to Slovenia and Rome, "continue the adventure".