Mountain tops and hippies

July 3, 2016 Sunday  Start: Anchorage, AK to Girdwood and back to Anchorage

Today we took off in cloudy weather to Girdwood, AK, a little tourist town off of the Seward Highway.  They were having a Forest Festival and I should have figured out from the "flower power" and "all you need is love" signs on the roadside on the way in that we were entering a hippie town.

We bypassed the festival at first to head for the Ayleksa Ski Resort where there was a tram to the top of the mountains.  We took the 10:45 a.m. that included lunch at the deli at the top and spent a couple of hours enjoying the view.

After getting back down the mountain Mike dropped me off at the festival and he went on to check out a nearby gold mining place.  The festival was sort of like being dropped in the middle of Woodstock!  There was loud music, lots of tie-die, henna tatoos, pierced body parts and flower garlands.  The arts and craft selection was local fair that imagine keeps people occupied with creating and making during the long winters.  The gold mining was pricey so we headed back toward Anchorage and stopped at the Indian Mine.  The proprietor was friendly and shared the history of the mine and its owner and gave us a short tour.  Mike panned a bucket of dirt and got some gold bits and I took some pictures of the site.  

Indian Mine entrance

miner wood carving

Alaskan chickens!

small animal traps

We did some grocery shopping for the next week and looked at campgrounds to stay at on the way down to Valdez.  We haven't found any announcement of fireworks for the 4th, what with it not getting dark at night, so we'll have to see what happens.  Happy Fourth of July to everyone!

Weather + Stars -

July 2, 2016 Saturday  Start: Anchorage, AK  End: Anchorage, AK

The weather here is wonderful, especially when I see the 100 plus temperatures in Arizona.  Can't say I miss that much.  I do miss stars, though, since I haven't seen a dark sky since we left Montana!

Today Mike played golf ...

Mike on 18th hole at Elmendorf golf course

and I met up with a potential 4th to 6th cousin according to our DNA matches in Ancestry.  We had exchanged information before I left Arizona and when I discovered she lived in Alaska we agreed to meet.  We still haven't found the family connection but it was wonderful to talk to a native (she was born here) and a fellow genealogy enthusiast.  If only I could find one in my immediate family!

After we parted, I went downtown to the largest Anchorage Farmers Market.

Anchorage Welcome Sign

Not much produce, although the few zucchini and lettuce that I saw were oversized; still early in the season.  There were a lot of craft booths and people enjoying the sun, walking around in shorts and tank tops.  It still feels chilly to me, I had a sweater and jeans on.

We're slowly working our way through all the food supplies we stocked up on and I can tell I overdid it.  We have a new stash of maps, brochures, and guides for Alaska and Canada.  If anyone wants me to pick up something for them, let me know, I'll try and find it.

They love flowers here and have beautiful baskets in front of most stores and restaurants and lining the streets.  Smells good too!

hanging flower baskets in Anchorage

Hanging out in Anchorage

July 1, 2016 Friday - Start: Anchorage, AK   End: Anchorage, AK

We're hanging out at the Elmendorf military base famcamp campground for the 4th of July weekend.  It was sunny when we arrived yesterday and we set up the screen room outside.  It began raining about 8:00 pm and rained all night.  It's cloudy and some rain this morning.  We tried to trade in a bunch of books at a used bookstore but they weren't offering much so we'll hold on to them until we get to a campground where we can exchange them.  We are each going through about two books a week!

After we got back from the bookstore someone drove by and told us a bear had been sighted in the campground!  We didn't see it yet but I came indoors to eat lunch.

After Anchorage we plan to go to Valdez as everyone we've talked to says that it is a beautiful place to visit.  Valdez is about 300 miles south of Anchorage.  When we finish up there we'll start heading home.  We have to backtrack through Tok to the Alaska Highway south to Watson Lake in the Yukon where we plan to take the Cassiar Highway back to the U.S. west coast.

No new pictures today but here's a few from our stay at Bertha Creek where Mike did some prospecting.