July 17th:
30 miles : Anchorage!
(Rob) As we didn’t actually get into Anchorage until the sun rose, we were very tired. After a few hours of sleep we went to breakfast, fixed my bike and then proceeded to the local hunting and fishing store where Rick had several friends that knew the area. We thought it would be a great idea to get some advice on where to stalk some really cool wildlife like eagles fishing, salmon spawning, and rare seabirds roosting.
Joseph pretty much relaxed all day while I got a bit antsy. I had to get on my bike and go for a few hour ride around Anchorage. It was really good for me to get my blood flowing again as well as get a good bearing for where I am.
Anchorage itself is a strange town. It’s on a little Peninsula that juts out from a range of large, jagged barren mountains. In many ways it looks similar to our view of the mountains in Honolulu that rise up behind the city. All around the city are patches of scrub land where many moose hang out. On the coast there are many seagulls and a few eagles. Downtown Anchorage, as I drove through it is a very happening place. There are several bars and clubs, movie theaters, museums and even a large Saturday flea market thing. I only rode for a few hours because the wind started to pick up and it got a bit cold. The sky, which was already kind of gray and drab, turned even more grey and drab. Then again, when I looked at my watch, it was almost 7:30 pm. This land surely is the land of the midnight sun. We were taking pictures of the mountains last night (this morning) on our drive at around 1:30 am. I couldn’t believe it.
(Joseph) It’s a complicated feeling waking up in a stranger’s house, when you’ve spent the last month sleeping in the woods knowing that when you wake up you have a whole day of riding ahead of you. You think “I wonder what I’ll see today.” It’s a multiple senses bombardment for the whole day. Now I in a quiet home and basically get to rest all day. We had a big salmon dinner. The fish was tasty. I must of thumbed threw a hundred photos of Rick (the hunter who pick up Rob and I the day before) with his game hunting successes. Mostly fish. He seems to really live for hunting and started at a really young age, as the photos suggest. At 11:00 pm I turned in for the night while Rick and his friend were debating going for a late night fishing session.
