By Bob Van Leer

  (ANCHORAGE, ALASKA, Sunday, July 27, 1997) - We arrived at Anchorage this morning after an early disembarkation from our cruise ship, Ryndam, at Seward, and a tour of the scenery from there to Anchorage.

  Cruise ships do not enter the shallow harbor at Anchorage, docking instead at Seward, 122 miles distant on the Kenai Peninsula. Kenai is barely connected to the mainland by a 12 mile isthmus at Whittier. Whittier is also a deep water ice-free port but is not reachable now by road. Cars and buses going to Whittier are loaded on railroad cars and taken through the two tunnels from the main Seward-Anchorage to Whittier. Our guide said there is a move to enlarge the tunnels to take vehicle traffic but is being resisted by some in Whittier who fear the resulting traffic jam on the one (1) mile of highway in Whittier.

BUILT BY ARMY
  Seward itself is located on Kenai at the head of Resurrection Bay. It was established as a supply base and ocean terminus for the railroad to the Yukon Valley. Whittier was developed by the U.S. Army in World War II as an alternate port in case of Japanese attack on Seward. Seward has a population of about 3000.

  Anchorage is located at the head of Cook Inlet and was developed in 1914 as the headquarters of the federally-funded Alaska Railroad to Fairbanks. The railroad is now owned by the State of Alaska. 

  World War II made Anchorage a key defense center with the construction of Fort Richardson and Elmendorf Air Force Base.

LARGEST CITY
  Anchorage is the largest city in Alaska with a population of 260,000 and the commercial base for the whole state. Tourism and exploitation of natural resources supply the major sources of income to a population with an average age of 28.

  The population of Anchorage is 42% of that of the whole state population of 600,000.

  Our driver-guide, Debbie, said Seward is surrounded by the 6 million acre Chugach National Forest, second only in size to the Tongass National Forest, also in Alaska, with 17 million acres.

  Debbie said voters approved in 1977 a move of the state capital to Willow between Anchorage and Fairbanks, but canceled this in a second vote when the cost proved too high.

  On the drive across Kenai, acres of fireweed were in full bloom. Debbie said the flower starts at the bottom of the stalk and blooms keep opening over time to the top of the stalk. Local lore is when the blooms reach the top, it is six weeks to winter. She said fireweed is predicting an early winter this year.

  The forests we drove through were mostly spruce and many were dead and dying, up to half in some forests. Debbie said the culprit is the spruce bark beetle. She said when first discovered the Forest Service wanted to spray but was prevented by environmental action. Now the insect has spread through the entire state. The dead trees are mostly not economical to log and she said a fire will eventually rejuvenate the forest.

MAMMOTH TUSKS
  Most gift shops sell whole tusks or trinkets made of mammoth and mastodon ivory. This fossilized ivory from the elephant-like animals is recovered in a large part as an artifact of mining. The large animals lived in the region at least as early as 4500 years ago.

  We had planned to start the morning with a boat tour of the Portage Glacier, but the boat had problems and we didn't go. Instead, we went to an outstanding visitor center built by the Forest Service to view and interpret the glacier. However, after the center was built, the glacier retreated around a point and can't be seen from the center. At the center we were told there are 10,000 glaciers in the Chugach Forest and that glaciers in the northern hemisphere are generally shrinking.

  Nearer to Anchorage, we passed small streams with salmon runs and fishermen lining both banks almost elbow to elbow. Locals call this "combat fishing". We didn't see any catches, but each one must snag several other lines.

  Anchorage itself looks like any other big city complete with freeways, McDonalds and a Fred Meyer store.

  Lake Spenard is the world's largest seaplane base. Debbie said there are 250 landings and takeoffs per day.

  The day was warm and the sun out. Debbie considered winter temperatures in Anchorage as moderate, averaging in the range from 10 degrees Fahrenheit to minus 10 degrees.

  In a roundup of the cruise, the ship's publication said we sailed a total distance of 1764 nautical miles from Vancouver to Seward. A nautical mile is 1.15 statute miles. We're pretty far north, about 62 degrees. At 10:00 p.m. it is still a way to sunset. And from here we are going almost due north, finally to Prudhoe Bay at about 71 degrees. The Arctic Circle is 66 degrees.

  The 1964 earthquake is one of the major time marks here. Anchorage suffered major damage and Valdez and Portage Glacier were destroyed. The tides here are enormous. The tide change at Anchorage is 38.8 feet, according to Debbie.

  Tonight we are staying at the Anchorage Hilton downtown. At 7:00 a.m. we are to leave on the Alaska Railroad for Denali National Park.