by Jane Blaile
The temperature in Anchorage when I arrived yesterday was the same as it was in Phoenix when I left in the morning. It was very warm, 40° F, and raining very hard. The streets were flooding. So, even though the mountains in the distance, street signs and license plates all made it very clear that I was in Alaska, it didn’t FEEL like it, yet. I stopped at one of my favorite gift shops on 4th Avenue and the camera shop before heading out to Wasilla, where I’m staying the rest of this week. Then, as I was crossing the Hay Flats outside of Wasilla, I saw them. Two moose were browsing near the highway. And those who know me know that I consider a moose sighting one of the most exciting events of a trip to Alaska. I can’t help it…just the silhouette of the bulky shoulders and the soft curves of their noses on top of spindly, stick-like legs brings a huge smile to my face and speed to my heart rate. I feel like I’m stepping into a page of the National Geographic magazines I adamantly read. Then I KNEW I was in Alaska. The journey has begun….