What to do and where to stay in America’s last frontier - CITY GUIDES: Alaska’s largest city is a place to climb mountains and meet local wildlife, says Alan Dymock, with post-adventure refreshments a

Trump and Putin “looked like buddies” during their initial greetings in Alaska Friday – but the dynamic had shifted by the end of their visit, according to a body language expert.

As the leaders of the United States and Russia met on Anchorage’s Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson on Friday, supporters of Ukraine’s defense against Russia’s invasion staged multiple demonstrations in Alaska to protest the meeting and what they predicted would be capitulation to Russian goals.

It only makes sense that we’ve met here, because our countries though separated by the ocean are close neighbors,” Putin said in Anchorage.

Trump has visited Alaska several times as president, pushed for expanded oil, gas and mining permits there, and even got funding for new polar icebreakers, a popular stance in a state he won with 54% of the vote in 2024.

It was a welcome tailored for a close friend, not a war criminal, and it looked to the Ukrainians like their nightmare.

Also new: a bike-cargo showroom, a nail salon, a brewpub, a cat cafe in Wasilla, and a “cafe within a cafe.” A trampoline park in the Northway Mall is closing, as well.

Here are 12 things to know about the historic, and controversial, summit. Anchorage’s military base: Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson. Trump landed at JBER at 10:20 a.m. Friday and Putin arrived shortly before 11 a.m. They’re scheduled to hold a news conference at the end of their summit and then fly out of Anchorage.

Halibut Olympia, a Tuesday-night kind of recipe, was part of the planning (if not the eating) at the Friday meeting.

Pickup trucks, salmon fishing and grizzly-bear displays gave way to FBI agents and $1,000 hotel rooms as Anchorage’s biggest political moment unfolds.

It’s a packed weekend between the fair, local concerts, farmers' markets, a bike tour, a clothing swap and more.