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Bumping into a moose is not that out of the ordinary up here. Every tourist wants to see the gangly legged creatures. On my first full day I saw six. But that isn’t even the start of my story today.

My flight departing Vancouver streamed past the mountains for only a few moments. This was nothing in comparison to flying into Anchorage. Underneath the wing tips not only did I manage to see snow capped mountains, but glaciers and a coastline replicating a drunken trail home from the pub. It was amazing that I was able to see any of this considering my eyes were still filling with tears. Although there had been no emotional goodbyes in Vancouver, I couldn’t stop crying. The bugger of it all was that it was my fault.

When I was packing up my belongings and ripping items out of storage boxes, I found a few useful travel gadgets and ‘survival in the wild’ options. I figured the bottle of bear spray also known as pepper spray, might be wise to take as I was planning on walking solo in a bear filled park. Having owned the bottle for so long, I thought testing that it was still good, was important (not that I would have known otherwise). I squeezed the trigger over the bathroom sink. The liquid came out with such a pistol force that it splashed back up, and into my eyes. So yes, I pepper sprayed myself. I think it did work to my advantage at the check in desk as the staff member asked if I wanted to choose a chocolate from her emergency stash of hidden under the desk. “For emotional times of need,” she said. It would have been wrong to have said no.

Following my teary arrival, I made my way over to the Anchorage Museum. The finishing touches are still being completed, but it already stands out as an exceptional display of the Alaskan history and cultures. I learned about the days of tent town, steamship tours, building the railway, the gold rush, the discovery of oil and building the 800 mile pipeline across arctic tundra and mountains. The black and white photos of pioneering women running down the street in their dresses to win the 1911 Valdez race, made me proud. I think most women from this period could be called ‘babes with backpacks’ as the trials and tribulations of life could only strengthen their will and character.

I was also introduced the Russian history, a perspective that most outsiders forget about as becoming a state in 1959 forever branded Alaska as the American escape. Flags are always flying and the twang of the local talk is a constant reminder that this part of the world isn’t that foreign. The land certainly remains wild though, as displays of the bears, eagles and wolves were life size reminders of what humans have to be prepared to face.

I decided not to dwell on the history of the various native cultures, as I was planning a visit to the Native Heritage center next. But it was hard not to appreciate the beadwork that had been displayed in the meantime.

My breakfast the following morning started out with such confusion. This is fairly normal until the caffeine soaks into my system, but on this day it seemed as though my ears needed a special clean out. As the waitress was telling me about the specials, I kept stumbling on one offering she was describing. It seemed as though Anchorage was turning into the world of Dr. Seuss.

“Pink eggs?” I asked with a slight tilt of my head.

“Nawwww silly, pan-cakes!” The bright eyed waitress laughed at me. And I can happily report, the eggs were not pink.

Fuelled by food, I headed toward the Native Heritage Center. I stuttered with disbelief when I discovered the entrance fee was $25. Sometimes the joys of being a learning tourist are painful. At least I threw the floating dollar signs out of my mind when I toured through the displays. Nordliinada from the Aleutian Islands showed me a traditional underground house. There were no fires inside but the people stayed warm with their fur clothing in addition to having channeled the geothermal heating from the earth below. Their diet consisted of dried and smoked meat in addition to a fine selection of sushi-I think whoever said sushi was a Japanese delicacy might have been mistaken!

I continued walking around the grounds and gawked at the enormous whale skeleton. Harvesting these mammals from the ocean was such a feat. The tools created to aid hunting and daily life were interesting to touch and understand their use. The snow goggles that I tried on might have been a fashionable accessory for skiing in Vancouver, but I did politely put them back on display.

Upon returning to town, I strolled over to the open air market. Having sampled an elk burger for dinner the night before, I opted for a reindeer dog for lunch. With yummy food in the tummy, it gave me strength to try on the wolf skin that Hector displayed at his fur and clothing stand. It felt weird having a snout resting on my forehead, but circling my body with the thick fur gave me a further understanding of what it takes to survive the Alaskan winters.

My next adventure within Anchorage began by renting a road bike to cycle along the Coastal trail. I’ve been thinking of investing in one in Vancouver, so I was excited to clip in to the pedals and see how it felt. I sped past many walkers and runners also enjoying the vistas. There was a laissez faire attitude in the air, so I kind of forgot about watching for moose along the way. Well, I certainly didn’t have to watch for them as they popped up quite clearly on their own. At one point I was racing downhill around a corner and faced with a nose munching the shrubs just a foot from the paved trail. I screeched to a stop unsure of how to proceed. I finally gathered enough courage to pedal by as the moose seemed to take no notice of me. When I looked back I realize she certainly was taking notice of me, especially as her calf was on the other side of the trail. It was definitely time to move on!

The views along the 11 mile trail were quite varied. I was either looking across the glacial silt at surrounding mountains, or looking above me at the planes landing. The sound of planes in the air is constant in Anchorage. Whether they’re jet sized coming from abroad, or flight tours coming from the base of McKinley, they’re quite simply, always there.

A few other details I’ve noticed about life in Anchorage? Black and white magpies always seem to be jumping about and chattering when there is food near, murals decorate many of the walls around town and the number of tourist shops seem to dominate the city center. Of course I’ve popped into a few of them, but I assure you, I will not be coming home with a pair of antler earmuffs.

And as for the goal of discovering whether the 10 to 1 men to women ratio is correct? When I went to the Ship Creek salmon spawning area and counted 21 fishermen and just one fisherwoman, I think it’s fair to say this is a man’s world up here.

On the way home I also noticed the home of the singles club. Of course, there were only men slumped over the bar inside. I kept on walking, I think there might be a bit more to discover in Alaska.

So that’s all for my first couple of days. I’m now off to a campsite in Denali National Park looking for a man or a bear….whatever comes first!

Cheers me dears,

Fiona

Babe With A Backpack

PS- Are you really reading this? Every writer needs assurances that they have a readership…so tell me what you ‘wanna hear about! Comments are always needed and appreciated as encouragement is often the key to keep on writing!

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