Gracious Jane Marie and I became friends many years ago when I lived onAmelia Island. For those of you who do not know her personally, she really does live up to her title, "Gracious," when you apply a couple of Webster's meanings: kind and courteous. She demonstrated these attributes during countless fun-filled activities we participated in as members of a ladies club. I never thought I would enjoy a place as much as Amelia Island until I moved to Alaska in the early '90s. Since then, Jane Marie and I have kept in touch via e-mail.
On one of those awe-inspiring, pristinely clear sunny days with a comfortable 70° temperature here in Alaska, my husband, Don, and I decided to take a short 40-minute drive south of our home in Anchorage to the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center (AWCC). It's a spectacular animal-viewing area surrounded by mountains and glaciers. This non-profit organization is located on 140 acres and dedicated to providing refuge for orphaned, injured and ill animals that can't survive in the wild as well as educating visitors about Alaska's wildlife.
AWCC is suitable for all ages and abilities. You can drive through the site and view the animals from the comfort of your vehicle or take a leisurely walk to each habitat area to get close to the magnificent animals. We decided to park our car near the gift shop and take our time walking around the site so I could take photos. caribou
We were especially excited to see the caribou we read about in the news that has a 6-foot rack. You can tell by looking at the photo that this caribou is truly weighed down with his heavy load. And, of course, who wouldn't be excited to see the grizzly bears, especially when you know you are in a safe viewing environment! grizzly bears
Whether watching bears, caribou, moose, bison, muskox, elk or birds of prey (the list goes on), the AWCC is the perfect setting to see and enjoy some of Alaska's animals in their natural environment.
moose
bison
August 2007 |
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