After traveling through the night and into the early morning hours, my luggage and I made it to my cousins' Francie and Jim Pekar's house. It was wonderful to have a comfy bed to sleep in. We joined the rest of the Pekar family at a restaurant for breakfast in the morning. I met the newest member of the family, Henry, who is 10 months old. He is totally awesome and enjoyed eating his yogurt treats. His uncle was pretty amazed at the baby food that tastes good, melts in your mouth, packs easily, and is very lightweight! It may end up in his pack on his upcoming 150 mile cross-country ski race in a few weeks.
A moose sunbathing in an Anchorage front yard
After breakfast, I got a quick tour of downtown Anchorage, AK. I could see where the city dropped in elevation due to liquefaction after the 1964 earthquake.
**Science Question for my Students: **Look on one of the new posters in the back of my room and find the magnitude of the 1964 earthquake.
Ice flowing in the water near the Port of Anchorage
The ice was moving quickly in the water out to the bay near the Port of Anchorage at this time of year. On the other side of town, Francie and I walked to the lookout point at Chugach State Park and took in the views of Mt. McKinley and neighboring mountain ranges. The last time she and I hiked up there was 30 years ago when Henry's father was still in a backpack. We traveled over to Kincaid Park and listened to the wind musically resonate through some sort of a structure that was out of our view. It sounded really cool, especially when we could duck behind the building and not freeze. I guess it was a "warm-up" for the wind that I will get in Barrow.
Betsy Wilkening befriending a brown bear in visitor's center of Kincaid Park.
On the flight to Barrow, they announced the temperature at -30C (-24°F) there. As we departed Fairbanks for our final leg of the trip, I really noticed what a wonderful community Barrow is. Everyone on the flight seems to know each other and they greet each other with a friendly pat on the back. They are excited to see the local middle school returning from Anchorage with trophies as both the girls and boys won a basketball tournament there. It won't be long now until I reach my final destination!