Anchorage Attractions

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr> <td valign="top" colspan=2 height=90 BGCOLOR="#6666CC" TEXT="#080000" background="49301573.jpg"> <div> <FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#FFFFFF" FACE="Arial" ><B>AST2</B></FONT><B>    </B><B> |     </B><A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="AST2"><B>home</B></A></div> <div> <A HREF="anchorage.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Anchorage"><B><IMG SRC="0010e0e0.png" border=0 width="14" height="14" ALT="up" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></A><B>   </B><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="14" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" WIDTH="14"><B>     </B><A HREF="anchorage_restaurants.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Anchorage Restaurants"><B><IMG SRC="0020e0e0.png" border=0 width="14" height="14" ALT="previous" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></A><B>  </B><A HREF="anchorage_history.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Anchorage History"><B><IMG SRC="0030e0e0.png" border=0 width="14" height="14" ALT="next" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></A></div> <div> </div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" width=210 BGCOLOR="#6666CC" TEXT="#080000" background="005d2013.jpg"> <bR> </td> <td valign="top" height=390 width="100%" BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <I>Anchorage Attractions</I></div> <div> <IMG SRC="0e7d09c0.jpg" border=0 width="208" height="156" ALT="anchorage Sled Dog Racing" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> Mush or </div> <div> SLEDDING IN THE FAR NORTH </div> <div> ****************************** </div> <div> If you have dreams of following in the footsteps of Buck from Jack London's Call of the Wild, here's your chance.</div> <div> The trail committee of the Iditarod Sled Dog Race is again auctioning off chances to ride with a musher for the first 11 miles of the annual Anchorage-to-Nome classic.</div> <div> The race, which usually lasts 9-10 days, begins on March 3rd in Anchorage.</div> <div> The Idita-Rider auction began on November 6th and closes on January 26th.</div> <div> To place a bid, check on the status of a bid, or get more information, call 800-566-7533 or go to: </div> <div> <A HREF="http://www.iditarod.com/" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.iditarod.com/">www.iditarod.com</A></div> <div> To learn more about the annual race,</div> <div> see: <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="http://usparks.about.com/bliditarod.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://usparks.about.com/bliditarod.htm">http://usparks.about.com/bliditarod.htm</A></FONT></div> <bR> <div> Halfway between New York and Tokyo stands a city of contrasts, a town born in boom that matured into a surprisingly cosmopolitan city without losing its wilderness roots.</div> <bR> <div> This is Anchorage, a town where you may encounter a moose while dressed in a tuxedo; where you can picnic in isolation on a glacier or where you can fish in the shadow of downtown. </div> <div> It's a melting pot of cultures - Eskimos and Indians who first ventured into the area 6,000 years ago, Russians who came for fur, prospectors who searched for gold and adventurers who turned a city of tents into a major crossroads for the world.</div> <bR> <div> It's a town of distinct looks and sounds that change with the seasonal flow. Huge migrations of birds fill the air with cackles in spring and fall, while in the mountains, skiers take advantage of one of the longest seasons in the world. Days are crisp and colorful, ideal for fishing or clamming or hiking.</div> <div> <TABLE BORDER="1" CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="679" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#FFFF33" BORDERCOLORDARK="#0000FF" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" BGCOLOR=#FFFFFF > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 243 WIDTH="669"><div> <B>Free Alaska Vacation</B><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#00FFFF" FACE="Arial" ><B> </B></FONT><B>Giveaway Contest</B></div> <div> <B>The Alaska Vacation Giveaway includes</B><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#00FFFF" FACE="Arial" ><B> </B></FONT></div> <div> <B>7 days 6 nights accommodations for two*</B></div> <div> <B>Round-trip Airfare for two *</B></div> <div> <B>two world class guided salmon fishing trips on the famous Kenai River for two</B></div> <div> <B>One saltwater Halibut guided fishing trip for two</B></div> <div> <B>One Kenai Fjords sightseeing cruise for two</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>[ </B><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="http://www.alaska.net/~clc1972/alaskamade/" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.alaska.net/~clc1972/alaskamad">Alaska Vacation Giveaway contest rules and information</A></FONT><B> ]</B></div> <div> <B>Please Only One Entry per household !</B></div> <div> <B>all entries will be eligible for special promotional Vacation packages worth over a thousand ($1000.00) dollars in savings</B></div> <bR> </tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <div> Winter turns Anchorage into a snowy wonderland, perfect for skiing, snowmachining, dog mushing, ice skating, ice fishing or just soaking in a hot tub as the Northern Lights dance overhead. At night, the city comes alive with theatre, art, music, dance and sports. </div> <div> As the days grow endless, Anchorage bursts into a medley of color, the streams fill with returning salmon, the hillsides beckon and Beluga whale chase their dinner in Cook Inlet. This is Anchorage in the summer, bold and bright and brassy.</div> <bR> <div> Anchorage is home to more than 258,000 residents, two-fifths of the entire population of Alaska, and serves as the financial, communications and transportation hub for the state. Its residents are younger, more educated, more international than those found in cities of similar size, and with 18,000 Eskimo, Indian and Aleut inhabitants, Anchorage is the largest Native village in Alaska.</div> <bR> <div> Anchorage sits in a bowl at the head of historic Cook Inlet, named for the famed British explorer who searched in vain for the Northwest Passage. Rimmed on three sides by a rugged mountain range and two long arms of Cook Inlet, Anchorage stretches more than 50 miles from the fjord-studded Turnagain Arm to the southeast to a centuries-old Native village in the northeast. The municipal boundaries encompass almost 2,000 square miles, about the same size as Delaware.</div> <bR> <div> The city is located as far north as Helsinki, Finland, and as far west as Honolulu, Hawaii. In flight time, Anchorage is seven hours from Tokyo, eight hours from Paris, three hours from Seattle, 5.5 hours from Chicago and less than eight hours from New York City. Anchorage International Airport is served by 30 foreign and domestic air carriers with more than 150 flights each day.</div> <bR> <div> You can drive to Anchorage anytime during the year over the <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="highways_to_alaska.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Highways to Alaska">Alaska Highway</A></FONT>. Anchorage is 2,463 road miles from Seattle, 3,608 miles from Los Angeles, 4,499 miles from New York City and 5,074 miles from Miami.</div> <bR> <div> Several companies provide scheduled, charter and tour motorcoach service to Anchorage.</div> <bR> <div> Anchorage enjoys a moderate climate, comparable to the Coastal Northwest in the spring, summer and fall, and to Rocky Mountain resorts in the winter. Spring and summer days last more than 17 hours; winter and fall about 9.5. Anchorage receives about 15 inches of precipitation each year, mean seasonal snowfall 69 inches.</div> <bR> <div> Anchorage is an easy city to move around, thanks to the original grid laid out by railroad engineers in 1915. Lettered streets run north-south and numbered avenues run east-west. To find east, look for the Chugach Mountains; to find west, look for Cook Inlet. </div> <div> Anchorage operates a mass transit system called the People Mover which provides access to most visitor attractions and activities. Service is limited on weekends.</div> <bR> <div> The downtown Transit Center, 6th Avenue and G Street, has free information and maps, along with a handy guide to sightseeing by bus. For information on how to get where you're going, call Rideline, 343-6543. You can ride the People Mover for free in the heart of downtown. Ask any bus driver for instructions, or call Rideline.</div> <bR> <div> Seven taxicab companies serve Anchorage and more than 30 companies rent cars, vans and recreational vehicles. </div> <div> Accommodations range from the luxurious to the basic with more than 6,128 hotel rooms, more than 800 bed and breakfast rooms and 80 hostel rooms.</div> <bR> <div> Prices are comparable to those charged in major cities, with a double room averaging $107 mid-May to mid-September and $87.50 during the non-summer months. An 8 percent bed tax is charged on all rental rooms. Accommodations are tight during the summer months, and advance reservations are suggested.</div> <bR> <div> For those who bring their lodging with them, about 500 commercial camper spaces come equipped with full hook-ups. Prices range from $18-$25 a night. Another 500 vehicles can be accommodated at the six public campgrounds in the Anchorage area.</div> <div> These spots offer limited services and no hook-ups. Tents are welcome at the two municipal campground and in all state and federal campgrounds.</div> <bR> <div> Two parking lots in downtown Anchorage offer parking for oversized vehicles for $5/day: the AC Couplet lot on 3rd Avenue north of the Holiday Inn, and the terminal lot near the Alaska Railroad depot. RV parking also is available at major shopping malls.</div> <bR> <div> Anchorage has 300 restaurants that serve everything from gourmet to fast food to down-home cooking. Many restaurants feature Alaska seafood, including salmon, crab, halibut, shrimp, scallops, clams and oysters.</div> <bR> <div> The Runzheimer index ranks Anchorage food costs as similar to those charged in Atlanta, Las Vegas and Boston. Dress at most Anchorage restaurants is as formal or casual as you feel.</div> <bR> <div> You can buy a piece of Alaska at hundreds of stores that offer everything from iceworms in a can to exquisite ivory carvings. For an unusual piece of Alaskana, check out gold nugget and porcupine quill jewelry, Native baskets, mukluks, salmon leather wallets, jade and soapstone carvings, luxurious furs and a strange-looking knife called an ulu.</div> <bR> <div> For a taste of Alaska, there's everything from smoked fish or caribou sausage to birch wood syrup or spruce needle jelly, washed down by some locally distilled spirits or glacier water.</div> <bR> <div> Two symbols assure your purchase is genuine Alaska-made. The "silver hand" means the item was hand-crafted by an Alaska Native. The "Alaska map" or "polar bear" symbol indicates the product was created by an Alaska resident.</div> <bR> <div> Visitors can choose from a variety of entertainment for an evening on the town. Anchorage has 13 main stages where entertainment ranges from classics to comics to concerts, along with 35 movie screens and dozens of watering holes.</div> <bR> <div> The centrepiece of Anchorage nightlife is the 170,000-square-foot Alaska Center for the Performing Arts, in the heart of downtown. This $75 million facility houses three theatres, including a 2,146-seat concert hall. Tours are available during the summer. Call 263-2901 for a recorded schedule of events.</div> <bR> <div> Across from the center is Egan Civic & Convention Center, a block-long expanse of curved glass with nearly 40,000 square feet of space for conventions, meetings, trade shows and special events. In the lobby, which is open daily, are several spectacular examples of Native art, including "Eskimo Spirit Carvings" in the east seating area, "Volcano Women" sculptures in the west conversation pit and the colorful "Beaded Sky Curtain" hanging over the west escalators.</div> <bR> <div> The 8,000-seat Sullivan Arena, at the corner of 16th Avenue and Gambell Street, is a multi-use facility complete with an Olympic-sized ice rink with an insulated floor covering for sporting events, concerts and trade shows. The arena is home to the top-ranked University of Alaska Anchorage Seawolves hockey team. Call 263-2901 for a listing of events.</div> <bR> <div> Anchorage has eight museums, including the Anchorage Museum of History and Art which contains one of the world's most comprehensive collections of Alaskan and northern art, ranging from prehistoric to contemporary.</div> <bR> <div> The museum, at 121 W. 7th Avenue in downtown, presents more than 30 new exhibitions and shows each year. The museum has six permanent galleries, including the second floor Alaska Gallery which traces the evolution of Alaska's Natives and the exploration, settlement and development of modern Alaska.</div> <bR> <div> Museum also houses a gift shop, cafe and auditorium where Native dance troupes frequently perform during the summer. Hours are 9am - 6pm during the summer; 10am - 6pm Tuesday - Saturday; 1pm - 5pm Sunday during the rest of the year.</div> <bR> <div> Other major museums in the downtown area include the Imaginarium, 725 W. 5th Avenue, an award-winning science discovery center targeted at children. A complete list of museums is available from any Visitor Information Center.</div> <bR> <div> A short drive south of downtown Anchorage takes you to the Z.J. Loussac Public Library, 36th Avenue and Denali, a dynamic blend of cylindrical shapes and geometric forms that features a special Alaska section, auditorium and municipal assembly meeting chambers.</div> <div> On the library's lawns stands an elegant ice fountain designed by Carl Nesjar that produces spectacular frozen formations in the winter.</div> <bR> <div> Anchorage's two universities sit next door to one another, joined by paths for bikers and skiers. Alaska Pacific University, 4101 University Drive, is rated as one of the nation's top liberal arts universities in the region. Its Atwood Center is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.</div> <bR> <div> The University of Alaska Anchorage, 3211 Providence Dr., has the largest campus and the biggest enrolment in the state university system. Art shows, drama and music performances are held throughout the year, as are sports competitions that feature the Seawolves, the university's team name.</div> <bR> <div> Anchorage has activities to keep you amused and entertained every month of the year. Check with any Visitor Information Center. Editors note: A complete listing of all of the Visitor Info Centers and their phone numbers follows this section.</div> <bR> <div> <B>A Public Service of:</B></div> <div> <A HREF="http://www.AdamsChocolate.com/" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.AdamsChocolate.com/">AdamsChocolate.com</A>    Custom Novelty Chocolates for the Hospitality Industry</div> <div> <A HREF="http://www.RadioZX.com" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.RadioZX.com">RadioZX.com</A>   Internet Radio an Alaska Broadcaster</div> <div> Web Site by AST2.com     <A HREF="web_site_services.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Web Site Services">Low Cost Small Business Web Sites</A>     <A HREF="http://www.wifi.ast2.com" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.wifi.ast2.com">WiFi Services</A></div> <div> Copyright © 1996 to date, AST2.com LLC all Rights Reserved</div> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>