Anchorage was a different experience for me. I stayed with some friends instead of at a hostel, so instead of the dorm experience, I got to live in a house in a nice residential area, with my own room! And the freezer was stocked with freshly caught salmon and other fish!!! I didn't get a chance to go fishing (not the right time), but I got to eat 4 of the 5 species of salmon - King, Red, Pink and Silver. They were all so good. Only one I didn't have was Chum or Dog salmon, which is of lower value anyway (hence the name) so no big loss.
This is a much larger city than the others I've been to, took a few more days to explore. Downtown is for tourists, filled with little eating places promoting crab legs or caribou or buffalo meat dishes. On one edge is the ocean that recedes so far at low tide, you can barely see the water. All that's left are mud flats, which look beautiful at sunset (I lost the photos, argh!) but can suck you in like quicksand. The Tony Knowles Coastal Trail goes all along this area and you can walk forever on it.
