Day 42 of Our RV Journey to Canada & Alaska 6/23/14 - Road Trip to Turnaround Arms, Beluga Bay, Alyeska Resort (Tram) & Ulu Factory

Today we went on a road  trip to see the Turnagain Arm and Beluga Point.  Turnagain Arm is known for having one of the world's remarkably high tides and is a easterly extension of the Cook Inlet.  A bore tide is an abrupt rise of tidal water just after a low tide, moving rapidly landward. The tide might reach a height of 6 feet, with a range of more than 33 feet.

Beluga Point, a rocky lookout area, along the waters of Turnagain Arm, is just south of Anchorage along the Seward Highway. It’s named for the white whales that are often spotted from this location as they make their way up and down the inlet. The best time to see the beluga whales is mid-July through August when salmon are running in Cook Inlet. Their numbers have hovered between 300 to 375 whales since 2000. Belugas use sonar to find their way and catch fish in the silty waters of the inlet. Belugas are predators and also prey. Orcas can also be seen there as they occasionally pursue the white belugas.

Beluga whales are relatively small, often measuring less than 16 feet. Younger whales look blue-gray in color and then turn white by age five or six. Belugas are the only all-white whale. They may also be seen at other turnouts along Turnagain Arm and can be viewed occasionally at the mouth of the Kenai River in Kenai.

We are at least 3 weeks ahead of time of sighting beluga whales in this area.  When we went there this morning, Turnagain Arm did not have much water in it but you could see where the water pushes through and rises.  On the way back this afternoon, there was quite a bit of water in it (it was rising) and was even getting a little rough.  There was no sign of belugas, but we didn't look too hard since it is too early for them to be seen here.   There just might be a chance that we could make a road trip back to see them if we are not too far away by the time people are sighting them unless we see them elsewhere.  I really don't want to miss out on seeing the belugas.

After we left Beluga Point, we decided to keep driving southeast to see what is in the area.  We saw a sign for Alyeska Resort, so we went to check it out.  It is located on the edge of Girdwood and is Alaska's largest ski area.  Ski season is generally from mid-November - April.

The bear giving Ginger a high-five in front of the ski shop.

We looked around the beautiful resort area and took the tram up to Mount Alyeska, which is 2300 feet about sea level.  We were able to see great views overlooking the resort, Girkwood and miles and miles beyond.  Also, we got to see two glaciers. There was a small museum, deli, and a fine dining restaurant. 

There are 2 ice glaciers in the picture below.

After we left the resort and were almost outside of Girdwood, Bob noticed a cow moose and calf walking down the edge of the street.  The moose stopped traffic as they crossed the street and walked on the other side of the street close to our truck.

 Notice the short beard.

The young moose gets distracted, stops and looks back for awhile as the mother keeps going.  It wasn't long and the young one caught up with momma. 

We stopped at a Subway and had a sandwich for lunch.  Then, since we were driving right past it, we stopped at Beluga Point on way back to see if there was any changes in the water.  It had risen and was moving a lot faster.  Again, no belugas were seen.

On the way back we stopped at The Ulu Factory in Anchorage since we did not go there Sunday.  We found out that it was very close to where we parked Sunday.  We were given a tour of the factory, through the plexiglass windows in their store.

After the tour and looking in the store, we headed back to Palmer to the campground.  Ginger fixed a delicious dinner tonight:  pulled pork sandwiches, baked beans and potato salad.

Have a good one!!!

Adm 22.00Cab/

Din 9.50Csh/

Misc 6.50

jl