Myles Away From Home

Today I had no plans, so I decided to go be a tourist. Just like everyone else around here! Anchorage is abuzz with summer tourists, and you can generally spot them a mile away. I’ve seen a few sights already, so today I drove out to the Alaska Native Heritage Centre, and then to Earthquake Park.

I was quite impressed with the heritage centre. It is well put together. It has some exhibits, some artisans displaying their crafts, and a decent little restaurant. I took a one hour guided tour of the various styles of houses they have built to demonstrate the differences between the various cultures. It was pretty interesting! First of all, I had no idea Alaska had rainforest. And secondly, a lot of the houses we saw would have been built partially underground for both insulation and also the doors were quite small and prevented bears from getting in. There was also a dance troupe that put on a show that was quite good. The great thing about the centre is that it employs native youth, giving them a chance to learn about their culture and heritage, and also to be a part of it.

Afterwards, I wanted to get a bit of exercise, so I headed to Earthquake Park to go for a walk, which is not far from my hotel. In 1964, Anchorage experienced the largest earthquake ever felt in North America, which measured 9.2 on the Richter scale. It caused incredible damage, not the least of which was a massive landslide along the coast, where the park is now. There was also a tsunami that inundated and completely destroyed many communities along the coast. The park has some interesting signboards to read and also gives some great views of the downtown core.