South-central Alaska Day 9 (Saturday June 19, 2021)

August 22, 2021

South-central Alaska Day 9 (Saturday June 19, 2021) - Last full day in Anchorage

We woke up today with a more typical Anchorage summer weather - rainy and temperature in the 60's. It is our last full day in town and we really wanted to relax a bit. We started our day by visiting another breakfast spot - Granny B's Cafe. It's about a short 10 minute drive from our hotel. Unlike Snowcity Cafe, we were able to get a table without waiting. It's run by an elderly couple. They do everything from cooking, pouring coffee, busting, and hosting. It's a true "mom and pop" shop. The interior is decorated with local theme focused on the Iditarod Race. We wasted no time and order a number of items including pancakes, omelette, and chicken fried steak. The food came fast despite being a small operation. We feasted on all the items and the kids were ready for a nap back at the hotel.

GG had a club conference call that day so Joanne and I left the kids in the hotel room (yes we are not the most responsible parents) and went for a rainy day walk at the Coastal Trail and run a few other gift errands.

There was a city marathon at the trail that day and we were well mixed in with the intrepid runners on the coastal trail. This is our 9th day in the greater Anchorage area. At this point, we were beginning to feel like locals and we have not seen the darkness of the night for 9th straight days.

Granny B's, a true mom and pop shop

Cozy interior

Our order is here in no time

yes bacon!

Back at the trail on a rainy day

Watching the plane flying right over us at the Private Worozof Drive around mile 5 marker

Earthquake Park sign

The forest area around Earthquake Park

Walking by the Art Deco Fourth Avenue Theater in downtown, completed shortly after WWII, it has been a historic landmark of downtown Anchorage

Got back to our car parked on 1st Street. The recent (March 2021) US-China talk was held at the Hotel Captain Cook which is seen in the background

Making a Costco run for some souvenirs

Fire Island Rustic Bakeshop

After completing our quick Costco Run for some souvenirs and buying our lunch (chicken wraps and salad), we made one more stop before getting back to the hotel. We stopped at Fire Island Rustic Bakeshop located in the neighborhood of South Addition, one of the oldest neighborhoods in Anchorage. In this tree-lined quaint neighborhood, the Fire Island Rustic Bakeshop is another "must stop" for foodie tourists and locals. We presume that the shop is named after the island named "Fox Island" just west of Anchorage.

When we got there, the line was out the door. When we made it into the store, the artisan pastry and bread were being made freshly in front of us. There was also gourmet soup and sandwiches on the menu in addition to baking items. We picked up the Raspberry Lemon Scone and two soups to go and hurried back to the hotel. The soups came with a fair slice of the artisan bread which we got to taste as well without ordering it.

The Fire Island Rustic Bakeshop - located in the old neighborhood

A warm and welcoming vibe inside

Tourists and locals flock to this place

Artisan bread is made freshly in front of us

A full menu

Picked up the Raspberry Lemon Scone

Sandwiches, maybe next time

Soup to go with fair amount of bread

Detailed packaging

Flattop Mountain Trail

After enjoying our lunch in the hotel room, we were setting out in hope to complete our last adventure of the trip - The Flattop Mountain Trail. The Flattop Mountain Trail is a 3.3 mile loop with an elevation gain of 1,430' according to Alltrail.com. It's located about 30 minutes southeast of the city and is part of the Chugach National Forest. It's a popular day hike for tourists and locals. We set out in mid afternoon after the rain had stopped. We drove southwest towards the mountain area and we can see the cloud is still covering the top of the mountain. After winding through some country roads, we located the parking lot of the trailhead. At this point, we have already gained fair amount of elevation and could already get a good panoramic view of the city even without hiking the actual trail. We paid for the $5 state park fee and set out in hope to complete this trail.

The first mile or so was a gradual ascent from the parking lot. We would reach a plateau that we could see the Cook Inlet and Anchorage in superb panoramic view. If one is to stop the hike here, that would have been totally ok in my opinion. It would have been worth the drive and the $5 state park fee. But we decided to continue. The second part of the hike took us beyond the mountain near the Cook Inlet Side and we would reach a section lined with decayed wooden steps. It was getting harder to maneuver the decayed/worn out wooden steps but we managed it. After passing through some heavily forested (and mosquito living) area, we would reach the base of the final ascent. The final ascent is a short (about 0.1 mile) ascent with a 70% grade on complete loose rocks. There is almost no marked trail on the loose rocks and people were scrambling on all fours (me included) to get up and down. There were seasoned locals making way up with breeze as well as tourists in mere running shoes and toddlers going up. We decided to quit shortly into this near vertical ascent due to the feeling of danger it imposed on us. Even though we did not complete this hike, it was an experience to behold. And when we made it back to our car, we were relieved that we had made it back.

Heading to the cloud-covered mountains

MM leading the pack

Reaching the plateau with panoramic view of Anchorage

Panoramic View of Anchorage, we are leveled with the clouds here

Making our way to the back side of the mountain, there is still partial snow on ground in June

MM welcoming the wind in her face

Flattop is in sight after turning the corner. A flag and ant-like humans can be seen on the top

Stepping our way through on the backside of the mountain via the worn out wooden steps

Taking a quick water break at this memorial step

Continuing on the foot-tall wooden steps with steep drop off on the right side

The final ascent over the loose rock pile

We made up partially up the loose rock pile and called it quits

Overlooking the Cook Inlet from the rock pile just below the top

The cloud casts shadow over the mountain as we descend

It does look pretty flat on top

The Glacier BrewHouse

After completing, or at least near completing our final excursion, we would be heading to our tour farewell dinner. We selected the Glacier BrewHouse in downtown to take in the vibe of frontier land before we depart for home tomorrow.

After the hike, we headed directly to the restaurant to put our name down since we knew the wait would be long (1.5 hours). After putting our name down we headed back to our hotel to change out of our hiking gear to street clothes. Today is also the summer solstice in Anchorage. We hope to catch some of the vibe of the Summer Solstice festival in downtown.

The BrewHouse is a relatively young establishment (founded 1996) with an upscale frontier vibe. After changing and buying some souvenirs at the nearby Target, we were greeted and seated at our booth around 7:30 pm. The sun had finally decided to peek through the clouds in the evening to celebrate the summer solstice. After logging more than 8 miles and 20K steps today, we decided to treat ourselves with King Crab Legs and seasonal catches.

We sipped on locally brewed root beer and laughed about all the follies we made along this trip. After the filling dinner, we made one final stop before heading back to our hotel, the local ice cream joint Wild Scoops to end the summer solstice night.