The Tampa Tribune from Tampa, Florida • 124

The Tampa Tribune-Times, Sunday, February 26, 1989 8-G Ferry to Alaska set for port change Anchorage glitters during wintertime The Anchorage Fur Rendezvous is one of Alaska's largest winter festivals. The state's many cultures are featured in a parade. it seems. The chief activity at the port of Seattle is container traffic, and there were indications the port was reluctant to tie up the ferry terminal space for another 20 years just to serve passengers. The move is part of Bellingham's continuing aggressive efforts to revitalize its port, which was badly disrupted by the depression in the lumber business.

A marina in the port has been expanded, and now contains about half of the Southeastern Alaska commercial fishing vessels. The city's airport has been expanded to accept jets, and estimates now have the airport passenger totals increasing by about 40 percent a year. The new Alaska ferry facility is expected to generate about $250,000 a year in revenues for the port The present organization in Seattle has 11 employees. What the move will do to ferry charges is not clear. It might be that because Bellingham is 10 hours closer to Ketchikan, rates will drop.

But don't count on it At present the fare to Ketchikan is about $200 a passenger, $175 for a two-berth cabin. Vehicles up to 15 feet (driver not included) are $500; RVs, 23-25 feet $1,045. Reservations are strongly recommended. Rules of the ferry system allow foot passengers or passengers with vehicles to disembark at any of the ports along the Inside Passage, stay for as long as they want then hop back on to continue the trip. The only snag is that if you do this, you become a transient passenger and have to take your chances that there will be space for you later.

If you travel standby with a vehicle, you have to get off and get back on at every port. Still, thousands of people do it every summer just for the chance to explore the Alaska coast country. For more information, see Alaska Marine Highway address and telephone number on Page 3G. By ZEKE WIGGLESWORTH of Knlght-Rldder Newspapers BELLINGHAM, Wash. If you're among the 40,000 or so passengers every year who are expected to hop the once-a-week Alaska Marine Highway ferry heading north to Alaska, prepare for a 10-hour shorter ride but a 100-mile longer drive.

In October, the ferry system moves out of the Seattle port facility, its home for the past few decades, and sets up shop in Bellingham, up the Washington coast. The new lease agreement between the city of Bellingham and the ferry system is for 20 years. Until October, the ferries still will make their trip between Seattle and Ketchikan. What the new schedule will be has not been decided by the ferry system. The present Seattle-Ketchikan trip takes about 40 hours (30 from Bellingham), and from Ketchikan, the ferry continues up the Inside Passage to Skagway.

It's also possible to lay over in Ketchikan and hop one of the other Alaska ferries which go up and down the Inside Passage every day. As part of the deal, the city of Bellingham will build a $5 million terminal at Fairhaven on Bellingham Bay. That project will be part of a 5i2-acre site the city plans to develop as a tourism center. One piece of the development was to have been a large RV park, good news for the thousands of RVers who queue up every week to get on the ferry, but local pressure killed that part of the deal. Port authorities say, however, that there will be plenty of parking at the ferry dock.

This month, pilings are being driven to support the new terminal building. Construction of the building itself is expected to start in mid-April and be completed by the end of September. The move from Seattle to Bellingham was not the loss to Seattle the magnificence of Mount McKin-ley most days a rare event in summer. And at night, when the temperatures fall and the stars wink a welcome, the Northern Lights come to dance in the darkness, their pastels coloring the sky like an artist's palette. There is magic when the Northern Lights pulsate in the night a light show like no other in the world.

The winter weather makes you feel you are experiencing the real Alaska, a place of snow and frost, of fur coats and earmuffs and of caribou pawing in the snow for something to eat. To me, Alaska in the winter is the best Alaska, far removed from summertime crowds and cruise ships. In winter it is the Alaska of Jack London and Dangerous Dan McGrew, of Santa Claus and Sergeant Preston "On King, on you huskies." In winter, you can take dog-sled trips into the countryside surrounding Anchorage or slip on your crosscountry skis and go flying through the parklands in town. Anchorage is blessed with 150 parks covering nearly 500,000 acres, and many of them have been developed for cross-country skiing. More than 300 miles of cross-country trails wind through the woodlands, and a quarter of Anchorage's 250,000 residents take to the "skinny skis" during winter.

Downhill skiers have four small ski areas close to town, and just 40 miles away is Alyeska Ski Resort Alyeska is unique because it is one of the lowest world-class ski mountains, only 3,100 feet above sea level. Lots of skiing But because it is so far north, the slopes are covered with snow by December and good skiing remains throughout the winter. Alyeska is also one of the few ski areas in the world where you can see the ocean rippling below as you start your run. Other outdoor pursuits in winter include ice skating Anchorage By MICHAEL CARLTON of Cox News Service ANCHORAGE, Alaska At first glance, the Idea of spending a winter vacation in Alaska is about as appealing as asking Jack the Ripper for a shave. But look again, because Alaska and particularly Anchorage Is a splendid choice for a winter's the perfect option for winter-sport enthusiasts who want to combine stunning scenery with a cosmopolitan lifestyle, all enjoyed without the crowds that plague the major ski resorts of the Lower 48, as the rest of the continental United States is called here.

Before we tell you about the advantages of Anchorage and Alaska in. the wintertime, let's talk about the weather, because most people believe that winter in Alaska is so brutal even polar bears wear topcoats and Eskimos like groundhogs go into hibernation until summer. The weather in Alaska can be and often is extreme, especially in the interior where temperatures dip to 60 below zero and storms rage across the broad valleys, painting millions of rugged acres a chilly white-on-white. But this weather is mostly reserved for the vast interior and the shores of the Arctic Ocean, places we are going to avoid. Instead, we'll concentrate our activities in the Anchorage area, where the weather isn't much worse than it is in Denver or Boston, and often a good deal better.

That's because Anchorage is protected from arctic winds by three mountain ranges and is warmed by the Japan Current In February, the average temperature is an accommodating 27 degrees, and during the winter, Anchorage averages only about 60 inches of snow. Weather as an ally Weather in winter can be your ally. The days may be short but they are usually crisp and the skies are often clear, allowing you to see has 100 outdoor skating rinks and seven indoor ones hot-air ballooning, "flightseeing" over Portage Glacier and to Mount McKinley, snowmobiling and ice fishing. Even if your favorite winter sport is running from your car to the front door, Anchorage should please you in winter; it is the glitter time in the city. The Alaskan Opera, Alaska Ballet and Anchorage Contemporary Dance Company are all performing; the Alaska Repertory Theatre is at its best; museums The Alaska Museum of History and Art is splendid sponsor special showings in winter, and the Anchorage Symphony is in residence.

A total of 72 arts organizations provide entertainment in winter; in summer, when all Anchorage wants to be outdoors, most of the organizations hibernate. Winter is the time for Fur Rendezvous, a kind of northern Mardi Gras. Each year, about 15,000 people jam Anchorage for the Miners and Trappers costume ball, to see the World Champion Sled Dog Races, and to go to fur auctions where crusty, backwoods trappers sell their winter's catch of pelts. Special warmth The shops and the hotels of Anchorage glow with a special warmth in winter, and the crowds especially in stores catering to visitors are gone. In many hotels, fires crackle in lobby fireplaces, and the smell of wood smoke sweetens the air.

And the prices are lower than in the tourist season usually 15 to 20 percent less than in summer. At the zoo, where fat polar bears and moose roam, winter in Anchorage seems more natural than it is in summer; and in nearby Eklutna, the colorful spirit houses are even brighter against a snowy background. The spirit houses cover graves in the Athabaskan Indian tradition in the graveyard of Saint Nicholas Church, one of the oldest surviving examples of Russian architecture in Alaska. Perhaps winter in Alaska is not for everyone, but anyone who happens to be in the city's Kincaid Park on a winter's evening when the Northern Lights play in the sky and the stars shine with a frosty intensity will have a memory to warm his heart on even the coldest Alaskan night A moment which can be savored only in Alaska and only in winter. If you go Information: Almost all activities available in summer continue in winter although a few places, such as the visitors center at Portage Glacier, are closed.

For more information before you go, write the Anchorage Covention and Visitors Bureau, 201 E. Third Anchorage, Alaska 99501. For information on other sections and cities of Alaska, write the Alaskan Division of Tourism, P.O. Box E-007, Juneau, Alaska 99811. HMITliiBM and we've got the figures to prove it.

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