Alaska 2022 - Oh, What a Night

We spent a chill day around town and with some long-time friends.  In the morning everybody went to the Spenard Farmers Market - a great use of the large parking lot by Chilkoot's.  You could tell that the vendors were a little sparse today since the Alaska State Fair was opening this weekend.  It looked like the doors to 'Koot's were open so we went inside and saw that the bar was having a little celebratory anniversary brunch for The Bird House.  There were few patrons inside but we were welcomed and offered a chance to help ourselves to breakfast and hang out.  A table in the corner had a stack of art prints depicting the original location.  It was fun to get the lay of the land without crowds.

Next it was a drive across town to the Anchorage Market in the Dimond Mall parking lot.  I bought a few gifts there and then we went across Dimond Boulevard to Benji's Cafe, upon a friend's recommendation.  Their pastries looked out of this world but I passed on those and instead enjoyed my very first boba tea (ooooh boy I get the hype now).

We all went to Kincaid Park to visit Lance's bench and grab some lunch at Yeti Dog.  In the evening we had a wonderful visit with friends.  Despite leaving kind of late (for us) at night I was still wanting to check out 'Koot's during normal hours and so Hans, Alesha, and I headed downtown for a drink and some people watching.

 

We meet again

Hanging out in The Bird House

As we were getting ready to leave we grabbed some of those sweet art prints - most of them were still left from that morning!

Our prizes for the evening

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.

Alaska 2022 - Hikin'

 

This morning my brother-in-law took us up to Chugach State Park and we climbed Peak 2 behind Flattop Mountain via the Sunnyside Trail.  It was pretty cold and breezy all of the way up and also a good check on how we might fare with a more strenuous hike next week.  We gained a respectable 1,600 feet in elevation along the 3.5-mile round-trip route.  Back in Maryland it's a struggle to find hikes of comparable topography.  Even though the clouds were hugging the tops of the mountains we occasionally caught views of the Anchorage bowl and southeastern Turnagain Arm.  At dinnertime we felt pretty rewarded by epic pizzas from Bear Tooth.

Peak 2 (that's the actual name) is the one on the left

  

Climbing higher

Backside of Flattop, a prominent feature along the mountains that can be seen from most of the city

Behind Peak 2 you have the option to also climb Peak 3

Summit Beer!

Comin' back down

 Nom-nomssss