One month in Alaska 2015: August 6, 2015-Breakfast at our hotel, town sightseeing, driving to Anchorage, Portage Glacier/Ptarmigan tour, Begich-Boggs Visitor Center, Williwaw Salmon viewing platform, Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center, Springhill Suites by Marriott at Anchorage University Lake, dinner at Moose's Tooth

ANCHORAGE

We have breakfast at our hotel. There is a large dining area but only a few tables/booths occupied. I have eggs, toast, coffee as usual and Richard has a sausage muffin with home fries and coffee. Bill $26 with tip. Breakfast was so so, just like dinner at Swiftwater the night before. I'm not impressed by the dining in Whittier. Because we have the time we decide to drive around the town and also to explore a bit further away from the main tourist area. There are a few shops, restaurants in town along with companies offering up sightseeing options. Driving over the train tracks on Depot Road we see many more interesting sights. Anchor Inn which appears to be another option for lodging. The abandoned Buckner Building built to house military troops in the early 1950s. Newer high rise apartments, waterfalls, dock area with many large shipping containers, the US Coast Guard Station. Driving up into the hills are some lovely hiking trails past running streams/waterfalls. We spend around an hour or a bit longer doing this. We take a short hike. It's a nice day. We can't dally longer as we are heading back to Anchorage and there are some other stops along our route. We start driving to get to the tunnel. We are first in line. Other vehicles are coming through from the other side. Soon we can go and we enter the tunnel. There is no fee to leave.

Breakfast at the Inn at Whittier

Richard's sausage muffin and home fries which do not appear to be home made

My eggs and toast were fine

Anchor Inn

View from the Whittier docks area

Abandoned Buckner Building

Nice apartments now

Hiking trails

View looking down at the docks

View of town center

Buckner Building

Waterfalls

New high rise apartment building

Passed this stream while doing a short hike

Can take the train from Anchorage down to Whittier for a PWS cruise

Beautiful scenery

US Coast Guard

Can rent kayaks

Another place to eat

Chinese restaurant

Whittier harbor

Leaving Whittier

We are first in line

Traffic coming through the tunnel to get to Whittier from the other side

Lifting up to allow our side to move

Driving inside the tunnel

Coming out the other side

Line of vehicles waiting to go through to Whittier

This is the toll stop when you are going to enter the tunnel to get to Whittier after paying the fee of $13

Heading to Portage

Stunning scenery

First we stop at the Portage Glacier Visitor Center where we buy tickets for the Ptarmigan boat tour. Cost $70.20 senior rate for 2 adults. We are in time for the 12:00/noon tour. This boat has a large upper deck viewing area. It can hold over 140 passengers. There is an on board representative of the US Forest Service. She was very informative. The captain of the boat gets us very close to the glacier. Even though this tour is only an hour there is a lot to see and well worth the time and cost which is so reasonable. No wildlife-just the glacier which is part of the Chugach National Forest. The lake was formed by the melting of the glacier. There are trails you can hike around here also.

Fireweed

Views before getting on the boat

I think this might be Shakespeare Glacier

US Forest Service rep narrates during the cruise

Portage Glacier

Chunk of glacier ice

Ptarmigan captain

Next group

Next we stop at the Begich-Boggs Visitor Center. Admission of $5 pp allows you to see a film and view many exhibits to learn about the Church National Forest which is the 2nd largest in the US. There is also a bookstore here. We spend about 1 hour here.

Begich-Boggs Visitor Center

Our next stop was not planned. I happen to see a sign so I ask my husband to stop. We park and a short walk takes us to the Williwaw Salmon viewing platform. I do see several salmon in the waters below us. This stop only takes a few minutes.

Our final stop is the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center or AWCC as it's known. This center takes in injured and orphaned animals. They are treated, rehabilitated, and released if possible. You can do a self walk or drive through. There are also guided, narrated tours. There are even behind the scenes tours which are pricey-around $100 pp. There are feeding times you can observe throughout the day. We arrive in time for the black bears feeding. There is a wildlife themed gift shop where the proceeds go for the animals' care. I buy several items. We opt to do the drive through on our own but will park at some areas and walk. We see moose, musk ox, wood bison, black bears, caribou, deer, elk soon to be released, a bald eagle Adonis who is a permanent resident of the AWCC due to being shot, having his wing amputated and no longer being able to fly. I am very glad we stopped here!

Moose

Musk ox

Black bear

Feeding time

Deer

Elk

Adonis the bald eagle

Finally we arrive back in Anchorage. Traffic is heavy as it's around work quitting time. This time we stay at the SPRINGHILL SUITES by MARRIOTT at ANCHORAGE UNIVERSITY LAKE. It's located away from town center but the hotel does provide a free shuttle to the log cabin visit center and to the airport. There is a large parking lot for our car during our stay. We will be here for 3 nights. Cost $803.04 which includes tax. Our room is handicap accessible even though we did not request that. It is a nice room with 2 queen beds, TV, bathroom with tub/shower combo and hair dryer and toiletries, a microwave oven, coffee maker and mini fridge, a desk, a couch which I believe opens to a sofa bed. This is really not a standard hotel room but a studio. No view of the lake though. The hotel also provides a small exercise studio and indoor pool which my husband is looking forward to using.

Small market next to the front desk but items were very expensive like $5 for a can of coke

Lobby

2 queen beds

Handicap bathroom

Microwave, mini fridge, and coffee maker

Couch which can turn into a sofa bed

Desk

Due to the many glowing reviews we drive a fair distance over to MOOSE'S TOOTH which is known for having good pizza. Not easy to find parking. This place is mobbed with tons of people sitting/standing around outside waiting. We're told it will be an hour wait and we are given a pager. We find a place to sit outside and wait. In a bit less than an hour our pager goes off and we are led to a nice table/booth. This place is very big but it is packed. Lots of young people here. Next to us is a large table of around 15 young guys having a good time. We order bear tooth ale and hard apple ale, a medium cheese/pepperoni/mushroom pizza. I order the mixed berry cobbler for dessert. Bill $40 with tip. The pizza was good but I've had better and worse. I loved the apple ale and I'm not a fan of beer! A nice way to start our time in Anchorage.

Very crowded

Busy place

Looking forward to a beer!

I'm hungry!

Cheers!

Ricahrd

Cheese/pepperoni, mushroom pizza

Neat plates

Dessert

Back to our hotel we decide to check out the pool. Horrors-there is a huge group of around 12 rowdy, noisy kids with 3 adults supervising or not. Richard will not get his swim but I do spend some time in the hot tub along with several kids who are jumping in and out. One little girl-around 4 or 5 years old-is running around, slips, and falls crying. There are signs posted as to behavior allowed in the pool area. Maybe these folks can't read?? I am so disappointed as with the later hour I thought small kids would be sleeping?? I guess not. It would be this same large group every night we are here. Because of this I would not stay here again. This hotel was chosen specifically for my husband's desire to have a pool so he could swim but it was not to be. The hotels located right in the town center would have been better.