Alaska 2022 - Monuments

This is the part where Hans and I confess that as young matriculating Alaskans we never ever participated in one of the rights of passage in Anchorage: A night of gross debauchery - primarily at the long-standing establishment known as Chilkoot Charlie's.  More about that in a later post...

It was yet again another rainy day in The Bowl but it seemed like a good time to check out the relatively new nature area at the outlet of Campbell Lake, known as the Campbell Creek Estuary Natural Area.  The park has trails that barely mark the landscape and there are a few viewing decks with blinds that are perfect for bird watching - especially if you have a good set of binoculars.

Hans brought along his telephoto lens and was able to capture shots of a couple of sandhill cranes.

Alesha had a meetup with a friend in midtown so Hans and I walked over to Bear Tooth for lunch and then parted ways to do our own things.  I took in some of the familiar sights of Spenard Road.  One lonely structure was the iconic windmill that I remember going past on the way to school on occasion.  At night its tower and rotor would be illuminated by hundreds of lights.  The windmill has a very interesting history.  I'm paraphrasing from a well-detailed article on Alaska Public Radio's website (definitely go and read it) - the windmill first served as a landmark directing customers to a very lucrative discount liquor store.  Later it became a part of the empire of self-named pizza don "Mafia Mike".

Former location of La Mex restaurant (opened in 1971).  I was sad to see that it's closed down.  My family went there often but it still felt like a special occasion each time.

During the day 'Koots has a completely different vibe so I used the opportunity to document the buildings in all of their gritty glory.  The place is an amalgam of several different bars - I won't say under one roof exactly.

Exhibit A: The Bird House.  This dumpy spot along the Seward Highway was so beloved by locals that after it burned down in 1996 the owner of 'Koot's had a replica built into the back of his building and even made sure that the contractors installed the bar un-leveled - just like the original one was.  One claim to fame for The Bird House is that a certain Australian tourist gifted the bar the shoe that wasn't  stolen by Binky the Bear.

I almost made Hans crash the car when I spotted this familiar statue far from it's original home on 4th Avenue.  The Atlas statue once stood on top of Fur Factory downtown for about 40 years and now it resides in the parking lot of a fitness center.  Makes sense but mostly I'm just happy that he has a new home.  Did I mention that the fitness center (and therefore the statue) is also adjacent to a strip club?  Never change, Anchorage...

After some other shopping in the afternoon we had dinner at a friend's house and had so much fun remembering old school days.