Dear Diary,
We awake to full sunshine. Our view is directly west so the east light makes the view renewed. From the club view north we can just make out Denali and Forraker in the distance. They are very faint but probably the most we will see. There are 3 navy frigates docked side by side in the port. We were surprised to see a cruise ship dock a few days ago. That's a relatively new thing. Pat drops Chuck off at the BP building in midtown so he can meet with friends there for lunch. Pat takes off to meet Karen for the Asian chicken salad at Crostini's. After lunch Pat goes to Alaska Mill and Feed to see about Alaska Grown products. Cute store with some 'agri-business' items, but mostly plants and pet shop. They probably have stock that is more for authentic agri-business that is not showing. Pat picks Chuck up at BP after his lunch. It all goes well and he catches-up with old time BP friends, the ones who have not retired or moved. The office has changed in that the building is not all BP now, the facilities are shared. But the building artwork and landscape with art are still very beautiful. Since the day is so nice in high 50's with full sun we decide to go to the Alaska Botanical Gardens. A very different experience from most b. gardens in that the growing season is very short and they have to share the grounds with bear and moose. We walk around the emerging blooms and find some rare chocolate lilies and the prize winning peonies and we find some forget-me-nots, which are always a thrill. We visit perennials and beautiful enclosed herb garden with high wood decorative fence. There is another perennial garden with fruit trees, the moose have made a meal out of them. So, they went to the Alaska zoo and got Siberian tiger dung and spread it around the trees. So, far so good, the moose have stayed away. The primary botanical garden is protected by 15 foot high fence and gates. Every once in a while a moose gets in and has to be chased out. We decide to take a special trail into the woods and it takes us out of the fence perimeter. There are many signs reminding us we are in moose and bears grounds. We criss-cross over the Iditarod mushing trial, also used for the world champion mushing runs. The forest is very dense and very beautiful. Sweet smelling with alder and new growth. We come upon a very fresh pile of bear scat and begin to make a lot of noise. There are moose tracks in the path as well. We eventually descend to a trail beside the north fork of Campbell Creek. It is absolutely idyllic, all clear running with snow melt and we can tell this is good salmon spawning area. And an excellent area for bear and moose and mosquitoes. So we make even more noise. (Once again, we have no spray, bell etc.) It was hard to leave the creek it was very beautiful and even this close to town it was very primitive and undisturbed. We eventually make it back to the center without incident and that makes us very happy. It's about a 2.5 mile trip. We meet up with some Kiwis, New Zealanders and ask how their trip is going. They are very friendly, we offer them a ride but they have called a cab. We are impressed that they inconvenienced themselves to come to this little obscure place to learn how things grow in comparison with their homeland. Being a gorgeous day we decide to drive further onto Arctic Valley. Upon leaving the highway we immediately enter the military base lands of Fort Richardson. They allow the public to have access to the state park up the mountain in a limited way. We pass a beautiful golf course, Moose Run. We begin to climb into the valley, the road turns to gravel and some washboard, but not bad. We eventually arrive at the Arctic Valley ski resort. It's a very modest operation with easy access for Anchorage ski club. We are very nearly to the top of the peaks here, thinking around 5k, above tree line. There are state park hiking trails that take off from here as well. It's like being in another world. Just this far and we find ourselves deep in the back valleys of the Chugach range. There is still some snow patch and higher peaks are snow covered. We had a little dusting of snow 2 days ago but it is gone. It is early spring up here. The trees are just beginning to open and we have seen lupine along the way. It makes us want to walk a trail up to the top of a peak or walk down into the valley but the day is getting short. The view coming down the mountain offers a panoramic view of the inlet, Knik Arm, Fire Island, the city, the air force and army bases. This is a very different view from Flat Top south of here. Unfortunately it is too hazy for Ak range or Denali. This is a place we could come to again for a picnic or a hike. We are meeting Brenna for dinner so back to the hotel, change and meet her at Glacir Brew House. Nice dinner, not over the top, have had better food in Anchorage. And then back to the club for dessert etc., all walkable distance. The Club view is beautiful of the city and inlet and the port with a freighter coming into dock. And watch the tide go out and in again. We are seeing the end of the sun a storm is moving in. The tide's out, it's overcast but the strange angles of the setting sun give us a glimpse of the Alaska Range across the inlet, Mt Susitna, and the ghostly outline of all 3, Denali, Hunter, and Forraker. The view is always changing along with the weather. We will leave the hotel tomorrow morning and move over to Brenna's so we enjoy the view from our crow's nest for as long as possible. We are driving onto the Kenai peninsula for a day of sightseeing down to Seward. Talking about light rain, but we've had good luck in spite of rain so we're going. It will be a whole day's trip but it is one of our favorite drives of all times. Night.
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