The Moose Vamoosed

I hate to confess this, but we did not see a single moose, except on Tee shirts, plush stuffed animals, ceramics, refrigerator magnets, paintings--well, you get the idea. I had really wanted to see a moose.

We did see: eagles, dolphins, whales, seals, a bear, mew gulls, big fish, salmon, swans, ducks and a beaver. Also, the "Alaska State Bird," aka the mosquito. One bit me in mid-morning in the middle of the lodge at Denali. I found out why Alaska is so full of mosquitoes. The tundra sits on top of perma-frost, so water doesn't seep into the ground. Instead, it sits atop the ground providing a breeding ground for mosquitoes.

Fleece and weird jeans are IN among the tourists. By weird jeans I mean denim pants that don't really fit like jeans, don't even look like jeans, except for the fabric. Avoid them. Our fellow travellers were an interesting lot. We had a family of women, four generations of blondes. Imagine that. Another family bunch that appeared joined at the hip, because they refused to separate even to the extent of all taking the same elevator. The native arts were very impressive, and the souvenir shops were uber alles, and my friend never met a souvenir shop she didn't visit. She searched everywhere for the perfect sweat shirt and finally bought something else, admitting she already had three hooded sweat shirts. She is a city girl and rarely has need even of one.

Restaurant recommendations:

In Fairbanks, suck it up and spend the cab fare to eat at the Pump House Saloon and Restaurant. The fish is incredibly fresh, and the sides are really yummy. Order extra scalloped potatoes.

In Denali we had fantastic fish and chips at Fish and Chips. Good slaw and tartar sauce too, and the fries were fresh and not cooked in the same fat at the fish. We ate cod, but halibut was also available.

In Anchorage, you can't go wrong at Sullivan's Steak House. Toothsome steak and delicious sides. We never made it to dessert. The waitress, Tammy, had only been in Alaska for 3 weeks and had seen a moose with her calf while she was walking the dog. Wags say that there are more moose in Anchorage than Denali.

There is also a young female grisly bear who fishes in a stream down by the train yard. "Hungry as a bear" took on real meaning, because "our" bear was up in a tree chomping down some fruit or pods. She was in the act of denuding the entire tree, and had no interest in gaping tourists. But that is a good thing.

O.K., I gained 4 pounds, which averages out to a pound every 3 days or an extra 1000 calories a day which seems about right. Let's face it, steak, eggs, potatoes, etc. is not a low-cal breakfast. Lunches were big, dinners had many courses and the liquor flowed. Sigh! All those walks around the deck didn't help much. On a big ship you walk a lot. Mainly to the bar or the dining room.

Now I'm back hacking away at Festival Madness, with a sort-of new ending. It seems weird to write again. I wrote a few pages in my travel journal, but really nothing much. Just gaped at all those mountains, all those glaciers, all that scenery. Words failed me. For a change.

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