Day-by-day look at Alaska

Vic went birding early this morning while I slept in. We had lunch at The Peanut Farm overlooking Campbell Creek. Our first stop was the Alaska Zoo to get pictures of animals to use in class presentations in case we don't get good photos in the wild. They had six wolf pups at the zoo. They were amazingly cute, nipping at the heels and pants of their keeper, trying to bring her down. We heard the pups howling from the other side of the zoo. The sound of wolves howling is bloodcurdling, even at the tender age of 11 weeks. We also saw a polar bear, wolverine, porcupine, Dall sheep, muskox, caribou, moose, arctic fox and lots of other animals, including the only elephant in the state of Alaska.

We drove up the "hill" behind Anchorage to Chugach State Park, where we got a great view of the bay and town. Next, we explored some little city parks (DeLong Park, et al.). They didn't look anything like city parks. These city parks were like being in the wilderness with lakes surrounded by forest. Wildflowers were everywhere. Even with cloudy skies, it was beautiful.

At Conner Lake Park, our last stop and less than a mile from our hotel, we were standing by the lake when a mother moose and two calves came out of the woods. I froze and started taking pictures like crazy while they munched on seemingly oblivious to me. The cow moose came so close that it was scary, maybe 15 to 20 feet away. I had only my 55 mm lens on the camera but got some heart-stopping close-ups anyway. Wow! At one point, mama moose approached too close for MY comfort, so I backed up. The calves were a bit more timid, but I got some good pics of them too. Mind you, this is in the town of Anchorage in a city park.

At Gwennie’s Old Alaska Restaurant, I had my first reindeer sausage, along with an old favorite of mine, sourdough pancakes. I know that makes for a strange dinner, but that’s what I wanted. Reindeer were domesticated 7,000 years ago by Laplanders. In the 20th Century, reindeer were brought to Alaska as a farm animal of sorts. Reindeer sausage was on most breakfast menus where we stopped in Alaska. It is WONDERFUL! Wish we could get it in Huntington Beach.