Anchorage: moose in town and Denali on the horizon

The Anchorage Museum, Alaska's largest, recounts the history, art, and culture of the state's eleven native peoples.

A few minutes away, the Alaska Native Heritage Center reconstructs the traditional dwellings of these same communities, with live demonstrations of craftsmanship, song, and dance.

Continuing towards the coast, one travels the Tony Knowles Coastal Trail, over seventeen kilometres of cycling path along the shore where moose sightings are far from rare.

On the clearest days, from the city's panoramic vantage points, one can distinguish in the distance the Denali, North America's highest peak, over two hundred kilometres away, its snow-capped summit year-round.

Mount Denali is visible from Anchorage only under perfectly clear skies: its extreme height makes it visible at distances no other North American mountain can reach.

Encounters with moose in the city are so frequent that local authorities periodically issue advisories on how to behave in their presence, exactly as they would for wildlife encountered in the forest.