Alaska Native Heritage Center, July 9

What an experience we had today! The one thing that the Visitor's Center advised us to observe was the Heritage Center.  We saw everything from Indian dance, (George is going to put it on Utube).  We had a tour of the five Indian cultures:  The Athabascan tribe, Yupik and Cupik, Inupiaq and St. Lawrence Island Yupik, Unangax and Alutiiq, and the Eyak, Tlingit, Haida and Tsimshian.  I couldn't even begin to pronounce the names.  We saw a demonstration of how each of these tribes live by visiting a reproductions of their houses.  They tried to stay as original as they could with the same wood, hides they used for windows etc.  So interesting!  We saw a whale skeleton, (a real one),  original totem poles, the art work they did and so many other things.  These Indians are still living today as they did 100 years ago.  Some, of course, have adapted to our lifestyle.  Our favorite of the day was the singing and the dancing.  So artful and inspiring!  Even though we prefer more isolated surroundings, we enjoyed Anchorage very much.  We try to be as remote as we can by choosing campgrounds outside of the city.  We are headed to the Kenai Penninsula tomorrow.  Love you