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Anchorage, Alaska

Anchorage is by far the largest city in Alaska. About 280,000 people live here, and taken with the close to 60,000 residents of the nearby Matanuska-Susitna Valley (see Wasilla), that's nearly half the population of the state.

Natural Beauty

Anchorage is set amidst stunning natural beauty, sprawling across a triangular peninsula bounded on the northwest by the Knik Arm of Cook Inlet, on the southwest by the Turnagain Arm, and on the east by the Chugach Mountains. Mountains are visible in every direction, but not claustrophobically so. The Talkeetna Mountains may be seen across Knik Arm to the north with the Alaska Range beyond, including Mt. McKinley and Mt. Foraker, curving across the horizon to include Mt. Spur volcano to the west. The Kenai Mountains are visible across Turnagain Arm to the south.

Anchorage has many vantage points from which to enjoy the beautiful views. Here are a few:

Point Woronzof

Point Woronzof is the westward tip of the triangular peninsula on which Anchorage is situated. To reach Point Woronzof, drive west on Northern Lights Blvd. (in mid-town) until you come to end of the road just past the end Ted Stevens International Airport's North-South runway. Here you can watch the airport traffic in addition to the views, which are most spectacular at sunset. Mts. McKinley (20,320 feet) and Foraker (17,400 feet) may be seen to the north, weather permitting. Another enjoyable sight is the much closer and shorter (4,140 feet) but nonetheless interesting Mt. Susitna, known as "The Sleeping Lady" for obvious reasons. Mt. Spur (11,070 feet) on the western horizon is an active volcano which periodically dusts Anchorage with ash and closes the airport. In the foreground to the west is Fire Island, the proposed site for a windmill farm.

The parking area at Point Woronzof is a worthy destination all by itself, but you can also walk down a trail to the beach for a closer look at the ocean. A word of CAUTION: Cook Inlet is very unfriendly water. Cold enough to kill even in summer, the waters of Cook Inlet are also restless, with the second most violent tides in the world after the Bay of Fundy in Canada. Furthermore, the glacial silt mudflats are thixotropic, meaning they liquify when disturbed. (This is what caused a lot of damage during the 1964 Earthquake.) Your footsteps may liquefy the clay, causing you to sink in, whereupon the clay re-solidifies around you like cement. We grew up on stories of people who could not be extricated before the rushing tides came in -- our parents' way of keeping us off the mudflats. Unfortunately, these stories are true.

The Hillside

Most of the mountains directly behind Anchorage to the east are part of the Chugach State Park. There are several access points to the park through the area of Anchorage known as "The Hillside." To reach a favorite of mine, drive south on the Seward Highway. Take the O'Malley exit and turn toward the mountains. O'Malley climbs the lower slopes, passing the Anchorage Golf Course and the Alaska Zoo. Turn right or south on Hillside Drive. Watch for Upper O'Malley and turn left to continue climbing. At a "T" intersection at the base of a steep hill, turn right onto Toilsome Hill Road. This road switchbacks up the hill in a series of hairpin turns, then continues higher to Glen Alps parking area and viewpoints. You get a great bird's eye view of Anchorage and there's also access to the pleasant Powerline Trail and the more strenuous Flattop Mountain Trail.

Turnagain Arm

Drive south on the Seward Highway to find yourself on a National Scenic Byway. The drive along Turnagain Arm is, in my opinion, the most beautiful drive on earth. There are many breathtaking vantage points, but a great favorite of Anchorage residents is Beluga Point. Drive south on the Seward Highway. Just outside the city proper, the Potter Marsh Coastal Wildlife Refuge merits a stop with an interesting boardwalk. Beluga Point is about seven miles further along. You can, at the right time of year, see pods of beluga whales. There are telescopes you can turn on the mountainside beind you to see dall sheep. They are almost always visible -- sometimes right down on the road.

Okay, I know this sound boring, but another interesting thing to watch at Beluga Point is the extreme tidal action in Turnagain Arm. Water rips past the rocks at Beluga Point with amazing force. If your timing is right, you might even see a bore tide. At times when there's a big difference between low and high tide (close to 30 feet), the fast-moving incoming tide is squeezed into the narrower and shallower part of Turnagain Arm so that a 6 to 10 foot wall of water rises like a wave breaking on a beach, except that this wall travels for miles up Turnagain Arm before collapsing. Quite spectacular!

Arctic Valley