Day 19 - Cantwell, AK to Anchorage, AK

Noah said there'd be days like this...

After getting a good nights sleep we woke to a low cloud ceiling and sporadic showers.  We had planned on going to the Denali National Park to see Mt. McKinley but knew it wouldn't be visible today. Even at the North and South viewpoints when we passed by it remained hidden.  Not that people weren't trying, along the viewpoints tourist were standing with binoculars and cameras peering into the clouds trying to catch a glimpse of  "The Great One".

Denali is behind the clouds,

If you look hard enough, you still can't see it.

About 20 miles from Cantwell is this landmark.  An Igloo hotel and restaurant that was never finished and never opened.

We were trying to catch a glimpse of something else, sunshine.  My weather app said that in Anchorage today it would be partly cloudy, so we headed south toward fairer weather.  We still encountered an occasional shower, but being accustomed to motorcycle touring in inclement weather we traveled on.  Besides we can see a small patch of blue sky and we head for it.

We start passing through smaller communities as we get closer to Anchorage.  Communities like Trapper Creek is small on size but big on character.  At Trapper Creek you'll find Wal*Mikes which is a great place to take a break and browse the store.

Moose dropping ornaments

Beautiful large flowers, turned out to be plastic !

In 1959 I was born at the Elmendorf Airbase hospital.  I lived on Muldoon Road which runs into one of the gated entrances to Elemendorf.  As Kathy and I came into Anchorage we spotted Muldoon street, found the military gate and then the little trailer park that was probably where we lived while Dad was stationed at Elmendorf.

We stopped at the BMW motorcycle shop and bought a couple of t-shirts.  The clerk was a guy from Florida that fell in love with Alaska.  He knew all about Arkansas and was terrified of tornadoes.

We got us a room for the night, and then went downtown to do a little shopping and grab a bite to eat.
I used the Urbanspoon app to find a candidate for supper and it did not fail. I usually don't mention our meals too much on this blog, but this restaurant was pretty cool.  It was called F Street Station. Very busy place and we stood a bit waiting for a table to clear, none did, but a couple of seats at the bar area opened up so we sat there.  It was directly behind where the chefs were cooking. They chopped, sprinkled, sauted, set things on fire, and took the food orders. They rolled, never stopped the whole time we were there.

I had clams and Kathy had oysters. I have never tried clams before and I was a little worried that I wouldn't like them, or worse, couldn't stand them.  I found them to be okay,  I think I'd rather have a cheeseburger instead...

It was a beautiful evening in Anchorage, the calm before the storm...

Day 19 - Cantwell, AK to Anchorage, AK