Anchorage

Sunday, in Anchorage. First we attended the block of services at the Inlet View Ward in the stake center building. I don't know what stake. There are 25 wards in Anchorage. We enjoyed the services.


After church we drove down to take a look at the Anchorage Temple. Several of the sisters in the relief society meeting are temple workers here. You have to make a reservation to attend a session. They have a rather limited schedule.




We went back to the motel and changed clothes, then drove over to the Alaska Native Heritage Center, where we had lunch and participated in several of the programs they had available. Here are pictures of dancers representing the Yup'ik and Cup'ik peoples (on of five major native groupings). The women did most of the dancing, which consisted of standing in one place and using the arms to tell the stories. The costumes were very showy, obviously reflecting the influence of European contact with a lot of beading and braid on calico fabric. There was also fur and leather. They were accompanied by singers (chanters) and a tamborine-shaped drum beat with a thin stick. They put on a great half-hour show.

Tomorrow we're driving to Homer, the End of the Road.