My high school English teacher used to start class on Friday with 5 words or phrases written on the board.  He’d then regale us with information and history about the words or phrases, varying from tidbits about their etymology to the translation of foreign phrases to quotes and more.  He called it Five Fun Facts for Friday.  If we walked into class and there weren’t 5 words on the board, we’d start asking about that day’s five fun facts.

Years later, and I do mean many years, I still remember this teacher and the way he made learning fun.  I’ve also noticed when I come across little tidbits of information that I often think of them in terms of five fun facts, so today I’m going to share some fun facts with you.

While I’m not promising that I’ll have five fun facts every Friday, I think you’ll see the concept again!

Alaska, our 49th state is often the last one that travelers visit on their quest to visit all 50. But for me, it was the first one outside of my home state of Washington. I was 11 years old when I made my first trip there, to Fairbanks, but I’ve been back many times, spending time in Anchorage, Fairbanks, and Juneau.

And for many people, driving to Alaska is a big goal on their RV road trip bucket list.

Here are five fun facts about Anchorage:

1. There are 50 glaciers within a day’s drive of Anchorage.
2. There are approximately 100 languages spoken in the Anchorage School District. After English, the primary languages spoken are Spanish, Hmong, Samoan, Tagalog, and Yup’ik.
3. The largest king salmon ever caught in Alaska was caught south of Anchorage on the Kenai River. Its weight was 97 1/4 pounds.
4. There are 135 miles of paved, multi-use trails in Anchorage.
5. It’s estimated that there are 1,500 moose living in Anchorage.

Need one more reason to head to Anchorage? On a clear day, you can see the 20,310 foot from downtown Anchorage.

Find an affordable Anchorage hotel using the map below.