Friday July 11, 2014 Anchorage, Alaska

Ulu Knife Factory, that little house is a cache, not a geocache.

We were up early and had our coffee started and finished it on the tour bus.  Today we were scheduled for a bus tour of the Anchorage area and not far from our rv park we had our first spotting of moose in Alaska, a mama and her young one! Our first stop was the Ulu Knife Factory.  We had a demonstration of the uses and versatility of the knife.  Turns out we have one at home that we just started using.  It is great for chopping vegetables.  The demo showed how to use it with a matching size bowl.  Much easier than using a flat chopping board.

Anchorage in the background

This stop also offered a chance of seeing locals fish from a nearby footbridge.  The tide was running out so no one was fishing.

We drove through the historic old downtown and were treated to the history of the railroad and Anchorage's part in WW II.  The population of Alaska is 800000, 40% of the population lives in Anchorage.  Area wise Anchorage and other Alaskan cities cover a lot of territory.  In area they are some of the largest in the US.
After downtown we went to some higher vantage points with overlooks of the city.  At one of the view points I looked for a nearby geocache.  I only found what I think was the cord fastening it to a tree.

A view of Anchorage

Our next stop was at the Wild Berry Products store. They have the worlds largest chocolate fountain there.  The chocolate Fountain was a virtual cache which I claimed as a find after submitting the information to GC.Com.  At noon we crossed the street to the Sourdough Mining Company.  We were served a gigantic meal starting with corn fritters and honey butter.  Then came waffle cut potatoes, BBQ beef ribs, BBQ chicken and baked halibut.  There was tea, water and coleslaw on the table.  After the meal we were invited to go to the ice cream bar and help ourselves.  The ice cream was Dryers soft serve and the bar had every imaginable topping available.

After the tour we were dropped back off at the RV park and we were on our own.  Gerri and I went shopping for some needed items at Walmart.  After Walmart I took the Jeep to a do it yourself car wash across the street from the park.

I also looked for two caches that I didn't find.  So far Anchorage hasn't been good to me.  My score is 1 find and 4 DNFs.

Tomorrow's activity is a pot luck breakfast and then free time.

The mountains beyond the harbor

Another panoramic view of Anchorage.