July 9, from Anchorage to Girdwood, AK

Started the day off with some great coffee, courtesy of Charlie, our host-with-the-most, including a fancy grind-it-on-the-spot coffee maker. He's really good at it. And, he's also a great bartender! Made some terrific Negronies before we headed off to dinner last night, enjoyed around a fire-table on their front porch. After coffee, we took a nice long walk into town, for more coffee and a nice snack at one of their favorite haunts, a tour of relevant family history sites (Charlie has lived there for seventy years), and then a return trip on the Coastal Trail, a wonderful addition to the Anchorage scene. Along the way, we visited an area that had been restored for the benefit of history, not to mention the ability of spawning salmon to get upstream.

Another highlight was seeing the Captain Cook Hotel, where my oldest son and his cousin had a little run-in with the hotel's management when they were young and lots of mid-night energy while on a flyfishing trip their grandfather sponsored. You can ask Davis, Jr. about it sometime.

Then, we drove down the coast to Girdwood, home to Alyeska, Alaska's premier ski resort, and the 130-ish year-old Crow Creek Mine. Gold, and now camping spots. Walked around the historic old buildings, watched some folks panning for gold (with a little success, I might add), took some photos of some local flowers, and tucked in for a quiet night. Perhaps a nice hike in the morning before heading off for Hope, AK, overlooking the Turnagain Arm of the Cook Inlet tomorrow night. We are now on the Kenai Peninsula, and will be until the 22nd, the day after we return to Girdwood to stay at the Alyeska Resort to celebrate Ann's birthday.

Some shots of the day...

More tomorrow!

Thanks for your interest....

Davis, Ann, and Tuck