Visitors interested in purchasing native arts and crafts have a choice of several shops like the Oomingmak Musk Ox Producers’ Co-operative, which is owned by two-hundred-fifty native Alaskan women living in villages across the state and featuring scarves and other hand-knit items made from the silky under hair of the musk ox. The Yankee Whaler, located in the lobby of the Hotel Captain Cook, sells native arts. And the Rusty Harpoon features native items like Alaskan jewelry and other less expensive crafts.  « hide

Apparently there is only one beach in Anchorage and that is Cook Inlet, which is dredged to allow incoming ships access to the city. Unknowing visitors might think that walking along the shallow mud flats is a good idea but nothing could be further from the truth. The mud is composed of glacial silt carried down by rivers to the sea. It is exceedingly strong and once it grabs hold of a foot, will not let go. This has resulted in the death of some people, who were stuck during high tide and ended up being drowned. A person can even risk having their limbs torn apart. So if one happens to be trying to walk on the mud in the hours prior to high tide, while they are alone with no one around, the chances of being rescued in time are perilous at best. If a person does make the wrong decision to try it for themselves, the National Guard will have to be called out in order to rescue them and the cost of the rescue team will have to be paid by the person who unwisely got stuck in the mudflats.  « hide