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I have been hearing from friends all day... the message is all the same, "woops, I accidentally tried to go to the bank today." We all know that this is the worst day of the year to go to the bank in Alaska unless you are desperate. The Alaska Permenant Fund Dividend, the annual check that every man, woman and child gets each year just for living here, has arrived. ...

The termination dust, AKA the first snow in the mountains, has fallen and summer is officially over. The blistery winds are blowing yellowed leave hither and yon and the bull moose are making their moves on the ladies in the backyard. Blogging time is hard to come by when the geese are calling as they fly south as fast as they can go. So much to do! A new exhibit at ...

The Silvers are in at Ship Creek! Whether you live here or are just visiting, a walk down to Ship Creek is a treat at this time of year. Ship Creek is within fairly easy walking distance of most of the downtown Anchorage hotels. It is down hill, so if you are not nimble, you can look into the free "Ulu Factory" trolley which departs from the visitors center (4th & F) to ...

I was recently asked about the highlights of Anchorage. There are so many that it is hard to nip it down to just a few. Here is what I cam up with:

Activities:

I highly recommend the Alaska Native Heritage Center. There is a free shuttle that goes from the visitors center (4th and F) to this North Anchorage highlight. It is spendy(adult $24.95, child $16.95), but does a great job of ...

The smoke and the haze from more than 70 Alaskan fires, including a brush fire in East Anchorage have erased the ever present Chugach Mountain Range from the Anchorage skyline. This may not mean much to someone from a place where the mountains are distant from the city, but in Anchorage it is the equivilant of not seeing your hand in front of your face. It is not quite bad ...

The weather! Usually it is such a mundane subject, but oh the weather! We have had a marvelous summer so far. Last year, here in Anchorage, we only got higher than 70 (F) degrees twice all summer... we have that beat by a lot and it's still early June.

It has been in the 70's all week and is likely to continue. My garden, which had ...

It's time to get your summer hiking shoes on. Here's a blog by photo of our latest trip to Kincaid park. The paved trail to the beach is West of the Chalet. Hike about a mile and then you'll see the dirt trail off to the left. It's a scramble down the big dirt hill to the path through the grass to the beach.

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Hello Anchorage! "Big! Wild! Life!" That also can read as "Big wild life!" Moose, Dall sheep, Salmon, and, yes, bears... black bears and brown bears.

We share our space with these animals and most of the time it is great. But it also means that we have to be "bear aware" when we are hiking, biking, or otherwise out in the wilderness.

Most of the time, bears ...

What's in a name? Mount McKinley, known in Alaska as simply "Denali," may be due for an international make-over.

Denali, in Athabascan, means "The Great One" or "The High One." The mountain was known by Alaska Natives as Denali for centuries before a prospector named William Dickey came along. He was a gold seeker and, upon seeing North America's highest mountain (20, 320 Feet high) for the first time in 1896, decided ...

Anchorage is watching as Obama takes oath. Even in this conservative state, there are a multitude of Democrats (and some Republicans) gleeful that Obama is taking office today. No one can deny, fan or foe, that today is a historically significant day for America. Some of have even bigger thoughts than that, HURRAH for Obama!

If you would like to share the moment with others, then gather together to watch the festivities! ...