Turnagain Arm

Beluga Point

It’s a wet one down here in Anchorage. Not unusually wet, mind you, but somewhat unwelcome just the same.

I drove down the Seward Hwy towards Girdwood, looking out over Turnagain Arm. There wasn’t a whole lot that the low clouds allowed me to see, but it was still a nice drive. Surprisingly, not a lot of people were on the road.

I did stop at Beluga Point. It’s a good place to watch the tidal bore come ripping through the inlet, as well as watch the beluga whales when they are eating their way through the area. Every once in a while, you can spot a beluga or two surfing the bores as they race across the Arm. Turnagain has some amazing tidal bores. When the high tide comes in, the bore can be a wave 6′ high, with a speed over 5mph. A park ranger once told me how he was watching a large bull moose out on the tidal flats, when the tide came in, and the 60″+ moose was lifted off its hooves and disappeared in rising tide, never to be seen again.

Looking back into the Chugach
They still have leaves on their trees down here!

On the cliff sides across from Beluga Point, one can often see Dall Sheep clinging to the rock walls, but I didn’t get to see any through the mist today. Just trees that still have their leaves, and an awful lot of raindrops.

About icefogger

Just a basic, down to Earth, laid back type of guy here, who loves the outdoors, the indoors, jazz on the turntable, a fire in the woodstove, the northern lights blazing across the sky, and the company of good friends. View all posts by icefogger

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