Anchorage Away 10.17.24

Going from Denali due south to Anchorage, we went from 32 degrees F to 50 and rainy in just a few hours.  The weather and the terrain changed quickly as we approached the Gulf of Alaska.  We found an RV park in Palmer, Alaska, because we needed electricity.  The park had an on-site Asian restaurant and coincidentally, LCR had expressed a desire for Chinese food a few days previous.  It wasn’t exactly Chinese, since the owner was Thai, but they had a variety of delicious food.  The gregarious owner told us about his large family and how he came from a family of 14 kids but could never beat his father in that department!  We paid for our stay at the restaurant; the whole time we were there we never saw the owner or any employees of the campground.  The owner preferred that I communicate with her by text - very unusual.  

The wind in Palmer was quite high.  15-20 mph gusts feel like a gale when you’re in a small trailer, or maybe it was just that I’d been keeping track of Milton in Florida.  We did ask another camper, who said he lives in the area, and he admitted that the first night we were there it was “pretty windy.”  Huh.  Yeah.

Palmer is about 40 miles from Anchorage.  The largest city in Alaska, Anchorage has about 300,000 residents.  The Anchorage Museum is a large modern building.  It was free that day because of Indigenous Peoples’ Day, which I think is actually celebrated on Monday (this was on Saturday).  The young woman who greeted us wore red face paint in the shape of a handprint.  She said it was to commemorate the impact of murder and other violence on the women and children of the First Nations. 

The contemporary art at the museum didn’t do much for me, but I really enjoyed a large exhibit of artifacts from the indigenous cultures.  I got only a few photos because for some reason the exhibit was kept very dark.  That may have been because they had some photo and video screens running, or because the light would fade the hide and other animal products that made up the clothing and household objects.  The artifacts were organized by the individual cultural groups.  I had no idea there were so many different groups in Alaska.  Below are photos of some very unusual items.  There were several translucent, waterproof parkas that looked a bit like channel quilted down jackets.  They were made of animal intestines with bird beaks and feathers for decoration.  No part of an animal was wasted.  There was also a suit of body armor that looked like something out of an old martial arts movie, with a leather corset type top and a skirt that could be collapsed and hiked up for running.

We saw a film and photo exhibit on the first floor called “Black in Alaska.”  For this project, 50 Black Alaskans were interviewed and told their stories – about their lives, how they came to be in Alaska, and how they felt about being in the minority of a state with a population that is already very small.  The subjects were of all ages and many walks of life, teachers, firefighters, owners of nail or hair salons or restaurants, police, retirees.  Typical of the people we’ve met in Alaska, they talked about how much they love being here.  They also spoke about how they handle the diversity or lack of same where they live and work.  I thought the exhibit could have been handled differently, though.  The film was projected on a large screen and there were benches to sit on to watch, but it was in a sort of hallway and people going to and from various areas of the museum were constantly walking in front of us.  Also, there was no indication of when it started or where it was in the running time. 

Finally, there was a planetarium show, also free, showing black holes in the universe, how they are formed and what they are made of.  The staff was especially helpful – when we arrived at the theater there was only one seat left, so I urged LCR to go in, but a few minutes later a staff member told me he had seen several people who had reserved spots but had just left the museum, so I got to see it after all. 

Also in Anchorage is the Earthquake Park.  In 1964 there was a huge earthquake in south central Alaska, the second biggest ever recorded, 9.2 on the scale used at that time.  About 130 people were killed.  (For comparison, the San Francisco earthquake of 1906 measured 7.9 on the same scale and caused some 3,000 deaths, not to mention considerable property damage from the resulting fires.)  The damage to Anchorage was catastrophic, and a park was built on the site where a huge chunk of land, some 6,000 feet, slid into the sea along with houses and businesses.  The park involves a short hike to an overlook along the shore where there are cement columns representing destroyed buildings and interpretive signs showing the extent of the damage to this area, downtown Anchorage, and the cities of Seward and Valdez.  Anchorage was severely damaged but not burned, as Valdez and Seward were due to the presence of oil tanks on the docks.  Commerce changed significantly because the port of Anchorage was rebuilt first, while Valdez and Seward took longer to come back. 

There is a carved pole with a steel sculpture of a carrying bag, commemorating the First Nation presence in this area.  These old cultures used a name that translates as “rotten land,” and would not build settlements there. 

One of the exhibits shows how the land in the area and Alaska in general is still very unstable.  There are frequent earthquakes, some too small to be felt, but some 4-5 pointers.  Also shown was how Alaska now builds quite differently, with more supports underneath buildings, more connection between the buildings and the land, flexible construction, and a much more elaborate and sophisticated tracking and warning system.  Alaska has more stringent building codes than other states, but there is still controversy as to whether they are strict enough.  The geologic instability has also increased the severity and frequency of landslides over the years. 

I remember learning about Alaska in the fourth grade, which would have been the winter of 1963-64.  But I do not remember hearing about the earthquake, which happened on Good Friday in 1964.  I think a modern teacher would take the opportunity to revisit Alaska and teach her students about earthquakes as well.  I’m also surprised I never heard about it since then.  Sometimes news stories don’t register if they don’t affect us directly. 

 

Signage:

Cannabis dispensaries:  Grass Station 49 – Fairbanks; High Mark – Palmer, AK

Here’s a sign you should drink – Van’s Dive Bar, Anchorage

Please do not flush anything you did not eat or drink first! – Sign in bathroom in campground, Palmer, AK

I love peeing outside – Bumper sticker on truck, with logo of mountain scene, seen in Anchorage

Attention Dogs!  Grrr, Bark, Woof.  Keep your guardians on a leash.  Good Dog.  – Sign at Earthquake Park, Anchorage AK

Ladies’ room graffiti on the road from Anchorage:  This is the youngest day of your life.

And the winner, also graffiti:  Fairbanks → Seattle 2022

                                                     Seattle → Fairbanks 2024

                                                     The movies lied.  I’m not the city girl I thought I would be!