Alaska Wasn't Quite What I Expected

Anchorage: The Alaska I Didn't Expect

                                                                                                    -Anupama S Mani

A handy petting guide for anyone trying to upgrade their Alaska vacation into a local medical drama.

Visiting Alaska had been one of my dreams. (Of course, I have several more where it comes from). Whenever I looked at Alaska on the map, it seemed like a jaw jutting out of the continent. I imagined snow-capped mountains, snowy giant dogs pulling sledges and Indigenous people (I am told it is offensive/outdated to call them by the name we called them by) shovelling snow outside glowing igloos and little boys packed in furry jackets fishing in holes in ice.

What I saw when I got out of the airport at Anchorage was a very different sight. Modern buildings, beautiful roads, schools, university, stores, bars, healthy colourful flowers everywhere that would bring any spring growth back home to shame and of course, the kind of silence which comes from sparse population.

I was told nearly 300,000 people live in Anchorage — roughly 40 per cent of Alaska's population. (I dare not compare that with Lucknow, which has more than ten times that population.)

My carefully nurtured myth about Alaska already beginning to crumble, I decided to focus on the city with a leisurely walk along the coastal trail. I could see a large ship anchored offshore. I had no idea what it was doing there, but it made for a picture-perfect scene. It was drizzling and cool, a welcome respite from the heat and humidity back home. This was the end of August and summer for Alaskans, but I was wearing a warm jacket.

We started our Anchorage adventure with a visit to the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center (AWCC) on Mile 79 of the Seward Highway in Portage Valley. The breathtaking Chugach Mountain Range surrounded us, with the Turnagain Arm running alongside all the way.

No, I did not get lucky enough for any beluga whales or even salmon posing in the waters for me. I had to make do with the animals at the centre.

1:Moose 2:Black Bear 3: Reindeer 4:Muskox
 Inset: Arctic fox in its ugly summer avatar

The AWCC is a sanctuary spread over 200 acres, committed to preserving Alaska’s wildlife through conservation, education, research, and quality animal care. It rescues injured and orphaned animals, giving them lifelong homes in large, natural habitats. These animals receive excellent care and are able to behave much as they would in the wild.

The visit was informative for me because I learnt to distinguish between a caribou, an elk, a reindeer and a moose. Caribou and reindeer are actually the same species; ‘reindeer’ is generally the name used for domesticated populations, while ‘caribou’ is used for wild ones. Both males and females grow antlers, unlike elk, where normally only the males grow them. Elk antlers also look branch-like and grow upward and backward.

Now there is no confusion about moose. They are the size of horse with large, heavy, paddle-shaped antlers, each weighing more than 14 kgs. Imagine carrying more than 28 kgs. permanently on your head all your life!

Which other animals were there? I saw fox, wolves (loved them!), muskox, black tailed deer, porcupine, lynx, wood bison and the ugly coyotes. The black bear reminded me of the ones from my childhood which the madari (street performer) walked on a leash. I heard there are grizzly bears too but none stooped down to make an appearance.

Talk about the ultimate wildlife resurrection! After a 100-year vanishing act from Alaska, the wood bison, the largest land mammal in North America, is making a massive comeback. The rescue mission began when AWCC brought 13 pioneer bison from Canada, with the first calves arriving in 2005. Backed by 28 partner organisations, the herd grew steadily until 2015, when the Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G) released 130 wood bison into the wild in the Lower Innoko River area.

The wild party officially started in 2016 when the first wild-born calf in more than a century was spotted. But the brutal Alaskan winters posed a challenge, so in 2024 conservationists established a second wild herd in the lighter-snow meadows of Minto Flats, near Fairbanks. And to keep the gene pool healthy, Canada sent over another 44 bison calves in April 2026. Today, more than 170 wood bison roam free across the two wild herds. Clearly, with enough teamwork, patience and a little Canadian cooperation, you really can bring a species back from the brink.

The next day, we decided to visit Anchorage Museum to get a better understanding of the state and its people. Once again, I was shaken by the realisation of how little I know about the world.

We were in for a treat with a 360-degree, 4K high-definition show Aurora: Lights of Wonder in the Thomas Planetarium, a digital immersive theatre. The full-dome video mapped out the changing shapes and vibrant colors of the aurora, mixing the actual physics of the lights with traditional mythology, history, and art. We experienced the science, Indigenous stories, and dancing colors of the aurora borealis across remote sub-arctic parts of the state without having to freeze out in the cold.

Left: Northwest Coast Alaska Native sacred ceremonial dance headdress frontlet for high-ranking chiefs or clan leaders, traditionally carved by Tlingit or Haida artists. Right top: A Tlingit highly stylized piece of traditional regalia bag crafted with imported glass seed beads, wool fringe and metallic Accents. Right Bottom: Needles, Stand, and Scissors: Carved entirely from walrus ivory, thread is animal sinew

I am more interested in how people live, so the section of the museum featuring exhibits from various Indigenous communities of Alaska kept me riveted for a long time.

Clothes, jewellery, shoes, utensils, home décor articles, items of daily use of all kinds, tools, toboggans, sledges, it was a treasure house of information about how the Yup’ik, Inupiat and Unangan people live.

Something I found unique was the waterproof parkas made from seal and walrus intestines.

To stay bone-dry in the stormy Arctic weather, Indigenous peoples traditionally made these breathable, translucent garments which blocked out heavy rain and ocean spray, long before modern waterproof jackets were invented. The process involved cleaning, scraping and air-drying the intestines before sewing them with grass and animal sinew. When wet, the sinew expanded, making the seams waterproof. The parkas would even be decorated with bird feathers, hair or fine embroidery. (Photo below)

These people had found ingenious ways to live alongside nature.

The museum also gives you an honest, sharp look into Alaska’s complicated history. The galleries don’t sugarcoat the brutal impact of colonization. They display how Russian fur traders and American settlers disrupted Indigenous communities, taking control of their lands and undermining traditional sovereignty.

This tension carries right into the modern era with exhibits detailing the state's massive oil boom. The displays do not just celebrate industrial engineering, they tackle the messy reality of environmental exploitation and how deeply corporate extraction reshaped the region's economy. The speed at which a landscape can change when outside forces move in to harvest its resources has a sobering effect.

Left: Parka Right top: Seal or caribou skin shoes with soles made of bearded seal hide (called maklak, hand-sewn using animal tendon). Right bottom: Yuit men’s special occasion dress boots with clipped caribou hair and decorative stitching from 1910s–1920s. Indigenous groups across the Bering Strait frequently traded hides, furs, and materials.

Food:

Alaska is a true paradise for seafood lovers, with five species of salmon, massive halibut, buttery blackcod available in abundance. The government also allows people to fish in rivers and streams within specified limits, so they can freeze their catch for use during the long winter months. Talk about planning ahead!

But the local culinary history is just as rich.

Back during the chaotic Gold Rush era, pioneers brought their own precious sourdough starters here, going to extreme lengths to keep the wild yeast alive, even sleeping with the starters inside their coats to keep them warm.

Beyond the history, the summer produce looks as though it has been plucked straight from a farming brochure, bursting with colour and intense flavour thanks to the long summer days and midnight sun.

Walking through the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center, I had even spotted bright patches of wild raspberries and delicate chamomile flowers growing naturally along the paths.

However, traveling during the peak tourist season meant popular restaurants were packed. While I did not get to try any wild, out-of-the-box dishes, I did sample the famous reindeer sausages. To be completely honest, it tasted pretty much like regular sausage to me! (To be concluded)

Heritage Totem Pole, outside the Z.J. Loussac Public Library in downtown Anchorage. They are the visual storytellers that bridge deep-rooted cultural heritage with the modern history of Alaska.

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