Shining City

Anchorage sprawls over a peninsula that faces due west, with an 80-mile fetch toward Mount Spurr volcano and the setting sun. Caught in the orange glow of a crisp September evening, Anchorage shines in all its beauty with the Chugach Mountains as its backdrop and the beloved Park Strip a ribbon of green stretching East. People sometimes joke “Anchorage is only 15 minutes from Alaska.” On this evening, it seemed to me, the city earned its place.