Goodness, today was Day 5 and I'm just now getting back to post about Monday (Day 3)! All I can say is that I've been extremely busy! 

Well, Monday technically started with Northern Lights as we were up until nearly 5am chasing those, not a bad way to end one day and start a new one! After getting a few hours of sleep, I headed to downtown Anchorage for breakfast at my favorite spot from last year - Snow City Cafe, complete with a cinnamon roll and plenty of coffee. After "breakfast," I wandered around downtown for a bit, picking up a few souvenirs, checking out some cool artifacts here in Anchorage, and just enjoying the sunshine and the fact that I was spending my Monday wandering around in Alaska.

I noticed in Anchorage that as I was walking I could turn in any direction and see between the buildings either water or mountains. It was also the third day in a row we had clear blue skies and sunshine.  

After spending a couple of hours downtown, I headed back to my hotel to finish up some writing for that day, and to prepare for my first interview as Teacher on the Trail, which I had at 5pm. Oddly enough, my last line in the blog post I was working on before heading over to my interview was: "Things I didn't get any pictures of but saw yesterday on our journey to and from Knik Lake: 5 moose enjoying the sunshine and foraging for food. 4 bald eagles perched in trees along the roadside. Really hoping to get some photos of both of those animals and more in the rest of my time here." (Day 2, P1)

As I walked across the street about 15 minutes later, I [luckily] looked up and jumped back - standing about 10 feet from where I was headed were two moose - a mama (called a cow) and baby, browsing the branches as their food source. Moose, I've found out, do not like deep snow. They have a hard time walking through it with the way their bodies are. They also like to eat leaves and berries - two things you're not getting in the winter in Alaska (leaving me to wonder, why do they inhabit here, and why haven't they adapted to better survive?). Well, I didn't get close, but stood and zoomed in my camera to take their picture. A bit later, while in my interview in a room overlooking Lake Hood, there those two moose went, wandering across the frozen lake to the other side of the hotel. After leaving my interview, I wandered back behind the hotel to catch the sunset behind Lake Hood. Then, Kristin and I went to get dinner and, wouldn't you know it, saw those same two moose again browsing the branches of a tree at a gas station. Our Uber driver stopped so we could watch them - and actually, quite a few people were within about 5-8 feet of them (risky business!) taking pictures and videos. We stepped out of the car but stayed close to the open car door just in case. Moose are not something you want to encounter closely, especially when they are grumpy and hungry (hangry). 

Wandering Anchorage, catching the Sunset, and seeing Moose were the highlight of Day 3, and while it sounds lowkey (and is), I was grateful for Simple Moments and a Simple Day.