ALASKA IN WINTER: Anchorage and Valdez

Anchorage, Alaska.  View from jogging trail

Most people don’t go to Alaska in the winter unless they are into winter sports, are fans of the Ititarod, or, in my case, attending a conference.  But, if you do go to Alaska in the winter time, the scenery is spectacular and there is plenty to do both inside and out.  I spent a week in Alaska at the end of March–going to Valdez for a library conference and then spending several days in Anchorage afterwards.  I enjoyed the chance to see Alaska in the snow and was reminded of my childhood winters in Minnesota when snow and cold weather were just a normal part of daily life.  I actually arrived in Anchorage on the first calendar day of spring, and although warm weather doesn’t arrive until much later, the days during my visit were twelve hours long just as they are on the equinox in the rest of the world.

Frozen Waterfall, near Valdez

From Anchorage I flew to Valdez, a tiny town at the head of a narrow fiord in Prince William Sound. It was a crystal clear day and as the plane threaded its way through the mountains I could see every detail, including the oil terminal on the shore just outside of town.  The next morning, however, it began to snow and didn’t stop for the next three days. (Valdez is famous for being the snowiest place in Alaska.  The record, set in 1989/90, is 560.7 inches–that’s 46 feet!)  Not surprisingly, all flights in and out of Valdez were cancelled, and my trip back to Anchorage was by bus, a seven hour journey over the Thompson pass, past frozen waterfalls and beautiful snow covered valleys.

Fly an hour or walk a week!  100 years of aviation in Alaska

In Anchorage I stayed at the historic Anchorage Hotel, which is in the heart of downtown and within walking distance of shops, restaurants, art galleries, and the Anchorage Museum.  The museum is huge and I spent the better part of a day there, first taking the elevator up to the fourth floor, which is a gallery of contemporary Alaskan art and has windows looking out to the Chugach Mountains that surround the city.  On the third floor, I found a group of school children exploring the exhibit Arctic Flight: A Century of Alaskan Aviation, which chronicles the importance of the airplane in almost every aspect of Alaskan life.

Inupiaq artifacts including Aqlitiik (dance mittens)

The second floor of the museum has two parts, a huge Smithsonian Arctic Studies Center with exhibits about the many native groups that live in Alaska with displays of clothing, tools, masks, and other items; and the Alaska history gallery which includes everything from Alaska’s prehistoric history to the present day.  The large atrium of this wing of the museum is surrounded by a gallery which happened to have displays of the most amazing art by children in Alaska’s schools.  I ate lunch in the Muse Café at the front of the museum, which has excellent food and a view onto the plaza.

Model of Troodon dinosaur at the Alaska Science Museum

I also visited the Alaska Museum of Science and Nature in Anchorage.  This smaller, privately funded museum, is away from downtown (I took a bus) and has a wide assortment of displays, but specializes in geology and fossils, especially Alaskan dinosaurs.  I was delighted to find many of the dinosaurs I had written about in my book Global Warming and the Dinosaurs:  Fossil Discoveries at the Poles.

Alaska railroad terminal in Anchorage

My last day in Anchorage was as sunny and beautiful as the first, except that the city now had a new blanket of snow.  My hotel was not far from the bicycle/walking trail that goes along Cook Bay.  I walked down the trail part way and was passed by a cross-country skier–definitely the best way to go!  My trip to Alaska was a taste of winter. I had brought warm clothes and sturdy boots so I was comfortable in the outdoors.  I have been to Alaska one other time–in July–so I was glad to have the chance to see it in a different season.

To find out more about the conference I went to in Valdez and my library visits in Wasilla and Anchorage go to my April 10th post at Caroline Arnold Art and Books.

Along the road between Valdez and Anchorage