Pretty...and Tasty Alaska

 

Back to Anchorage I went for the evening.  I stopped at a few roadside turnouts along the way.  This is Bird Creek, which looks like a popular hiking trail.

 

 

This is still Turnagain Arm, but I was amazed at the difference 2 or 3 days could make.  The ice floes were gone, and since it was low tide you can see the heavy black silt.  Much to my amazement, I also saw a group of kite surfers.  That water had to be soooo cold...but they were still out there.  Apparently people will surf the incoming tides here as well.  That makes me a bit nervous because I remember a news report from years back of some newlyweds on an ATV on similar silt in this area.  When the ATV got stuck, the wife got off to push and got stuck in the mud.  As the tides slowly came in, she drowned.  I might just avoid the muck in general.  I asked Stan-Alaska-wiki and he confirmed it was a true story.

 
 



I passed a turnout and saw a man with a ginormous telescopic lens on his camera.  I couldn't pull over in time with the traffic, but a glance up the cliff and I finally saw a glimpse of the elusive Mountain Sheep...or are they goats?...I don't know but white and shaggy they were.  Another neat thing I saw was vehicles pulled off onto the side of the road with blue water cooler size jugs.  Coming from the rock is a hose, and they were filling their jugs with fresh water which is ultra filtered by the rocks.  I definitely want to get my water there.

Once back in town I decided to get myself a pizza for the night.  I had heard good things about a nearby restaurant called "The Moose's Tooth."  I figured it wouldn't hurt to have some pizza leftovers, so I ordered the large, which I figured couldn't really be that big for $20.  I stand corrected.  The large pizza from the Moose's Tooth is a car tire sized orb of deliciousness.  It took me 4 days to get through the whole thing (not continuously obviously).  The crust was fabulous!  They also brew their own beer and gave me some free samples which were pretty tasty.  I would definitely go back.



the giant size pizza box from Moose's Tooth

Jumping a bit ahead in the blog, the food in Alaska so far is great!  I would go back to everywhere I have been...in fact, I have already hit a few places twice.  Club Paris downtown, which is Stan's family restaurant, has incredible steak, and key lime pie!  I still have to try the crème brulee.  Club Paris is definitely going to be on my frequent flyer list.  Sushi Sushi also currently holds the title for "best sushi ever," in my books, so all of you Bermuda sushi hounds are going to have to taste test this.  Chair 5 in Girdwood was great!  And today I met with the infamous Selena Jones and Stan at the Brown Bag Sandwich place -- delicious, AND creative...it was tough choosing between my old faithful ham and cheese and the alluring "Spicy Yeti" sandwich.  Plus they had juices like "the Happy Hippy," or my choice, "the Treehugger" which was very kaley but a good way to trick the body into eating kale.  There is no doubt I will be well fed in Alaska.