We flew direct to Anchorage from Houston which made for a long but straightforward trip.
It was a 7 and a half hour flight and we arrived in Anchorage late afternoon on the Saturday with the time zone difference. We collected our car and drove the short distance to the down town area.
Our first hotel of the trip was the Sheraton in Anchorage which was a large convenient hotel near the centre of the city. We ventured out to get our bearings before arriving back at the hotel bar for some food and drink.
The next day we found another hotel nearby for breakfast before setting off on the bus tour of Anchorage. This was a useful overview although there is not too much of interest to see in Anchorage itself.
After a short break back at the hotel, we decided to set off for the Alaskan Wildlife Conservation Center just south of Anchorage and were very glad we made the trip.
It was about 40 minutes drive but immediately out of Anchorage brings you into lovely scenic roads which made for a great start to our visit. The Alaskan Wildlife Conservation Center looks after animals in distress and rehabilitates them to the wild whenever they can. Those remaining are kept in conditions as close to their natural habitat as humanly possible.
It meant we could see many animals up close we would otherwise have missed: moose, deer, foxes, wolves, bears, musk ox, porcupines to name a few. The bears were especially entertaining and posed wonderfully for photographs.
We spent a good 3 hours there in lovely temperatures and sunshine all the way.
We stopped off for a bit to eat at a fast food joint before heading back to the hotel to chill for a couple of hours.
We went to the Hard Rock Cafe in Anchorage and passed the evening with beer or two before turning in for the night.
