Day 22 Anchorage 11^th September

Our last full day in Alaska, and it finally came out fine. Hubby loves all things technical so after a leisurely morning we had decided to visit the Aviation Heritage Museum near the airport on Lake Hood. It was a very impressive place, full of memorabilia, exhibits and with a good film – we learned all about the role the state played in WW2 whilst sitting in aeroplane seats from First Class, probably the only time in our lives we'll do that!




  
 We drove out to Earthquake Park on Knick Arm and enjoyed the view over the water, but more so the information boards about the earthquake of 1964. Still in viewing mode and because the sun was now out, we continued on towards Airport Park: the name should have given us a clue: I almost jumped out of my skin when a huge cargo plane almost landed on top of our RV (it felt like that, anyway) but we survived and parked on the water's edge. It was surprisingly peaceful, so we watched bald eagles soaring about and more planes coming in to land. I spotted a great sign in the car park: "Attention dog guardians: Pick up after your dogs. Thank you". Then underneath: Attention dog: Grrr, bark, woof. Keep your guardians on a leash. Good dog"!!

 
 Returning back to Creekwood Inn, we spent the rest of the day sorting, cleaning & repacking everything, then had a farewell bbq in the sunshine.


 Day 23 Homeward bound 12^th Sept

The RV had to be delivered to Great Alaskan Holidays in the morning, which we did regretfully, then were shuttled to the airport. This sits in a beautiful setting, very close to the Chugach Mountains but only 10 mins drive from the city. Our flight to Manchester via Reykjavik was on time, and as it wasn’t raining, we saw Alaska from the air for the first time.



 
  We had great views of the landscape for quite a bit of the flight, including Fairbanks & the Chena River. The sun dropped gradually over the barren wastes of northern Canada, highlighting the marvellous ice floes of Greenland (followed swiftly by sunrise), and 12 hours later we arrived home. And just to keep us in Alaska mode, it was raining in Manchester.









 We had an absolutely wonderful time – all the months of research & planning paid off as we would not have changed one thing (apart from maybe just a little less rain!). Fantastic scenery, wildlife, people and places really made our trip perfect, and we would love return one day.