Calgary calling

Saturday 31 May
We are somewhere over the Gulf of Alaska en route to Seattle and then up to Calgary.  We woke to relatively heavy rain this morning and were pleased that we were off to the airport, rather than sightseeing.  Our hotel provided a free shuttle, so we had to be ready at 7.00, which meant no breakfast until we reached the airport. It was actually worth waiting for and wee enjoyed the fresh cooked meal & endless coffee, which was probably not a good thing given we are on a 3 hour flight (& another 3 hours out of Seattle).

Yesterday was cloudy and a little drizzle, but not enough to put us off walking into town and having ( processed) breakfast.  The coffee was good though.  After that we went back down to the river to check out whether any salmon were running. There were a lot more fishermen as the tide was just off high tide.  The tides here are 30 odd feet, so when we were down yesterday it was a negative low tide.  No salmon to be seen though!, but good exercise.

We took the free trolley back up to town and then the midday sightseeing tour.  After that it WS on to the Museum - which was excellent.  The weather held and by late evening it WS fine.  In fact I took a photo at 10.30 which showed the sin shining on the mountains in the distance, although much of the snow we saw on the first day seems to have gone.

The people of Anchorage are all very friendly and laid back.  We enjoyed them very much.  As I have commented before, the CBD is really pretty small and there is not a lot to see outside of Museums and the like.  One thing did strike us, they are really focused on the 1964 earthquake, possibly because it was the 50th anniversary last month.  We were really unaware of the devastation caused and the changes to the topography - a drop of 22 feet in many places along the fault line.  The quake was a 9.2, which is certainly massive when compared with NZ.  Was most reassured when we were told that they have 100s daily and just last Sunday a 5.6 was felt.  As we were on the 9th floor, I am pleased they did not have a repeat while we were there.  Another useless bit of information was that a quarter of all private aircraft are based in Anchorage and that young people can get their pilot's licence before their drivers!

Safely in Seattle, had the most magnificent views over the mountains on our way down. The sky was so clear and of course we were on the port side to get the view.  Just time for a coffee & muffin for lunch and we are off on a smaller plane to Calgary.  Oh, it is Hot here!!!!!