I had a super early start today, leaving at 4am to make my 7am flight to Seattle. I must've been so sleepy that I hadn't even realized the plane had landed until I woke up to see that half the flight was already gone! Thank goodness I made it in time for my connection to Anchorage
I stayed awake on the way to Anchorage with an interesting chat with the man next to me. He films documentaries and is currently on a project where he covers each American state from an aerial perspective. I was naturally envious of his work especially when he mentioned that some of it gets featured in National Geographic. He was jealous that I had a whole year to do what I want to do.
I've always wanted to go to Alaska ever since I heard a friend talk about their dog sled experience. Being in a vast world of white snow and with some really awesome dogs just sounded like the best place to be! Flying into Anchorage, the clouds suddenly disappeared to become snow capped blue mountains. The sea was like I've never seen it before - partly frozen, standing quite still apart from a slight trickle. In the airport, I was so enamoured by the thought I was finally in Alaska, that I headed to the wrong exit without collecting my bag. Thankfully there was a friendly Alaskan to bring me back to earth.
Anchorage is a pretty small town and very walkable even in the cold. Only thing is to watch out for the ice on the road and off buildings. It's quieter than I expected given it is Fur Rondy (Anchorage's Mardi Gras as per a local). Saturday however is meant to be very busy with the start of the Iditarod dog sled competition. The locals have expressed great disapproval in my planning each time I tell them I'm leaving Saturday to head up north. Even saying that you'll be back for another year doesn't appease them.
Despite its small size of a city, its surrounded by absolutely stunning scenery. Walking back at sunset, I saw the sky change from blue to a warm red orange. Even the mountains became red. The best sunset I have ever seen.
