Along the way we saw the bore tide coming in at the Turnagain Arm
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| From Portage Glacier |
and the views were just beautiful - this has to be one of the most scenic roads we've been on this trip.
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| From Portage Glacier |
We arrived at the Portage Docks a little before 10:00 and purchased our tickets for the 10:30 Portage Glacier Cruise for the 1-hour cruise. The tour costs $29 per person, but with the coupon I got from the internet it cost us $24 each.
We boarded the M/V Ptarmigan and set out across Portage Lake with Capt. Tom Callahan and our guide from the U.S. Forest Service, Kathleen.
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| From Portage Glacier |
We took a slow boat ride out on Portage Lake which is 600 feet deep and it freezes over in the winter. People come out here in the winter to ice skate and ski on the lake.
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| From Portage Glacier |
Portage Glacier once covered the land where Portage Lake is now and since the early 1900's has receded and left the lake in its place. There was a lot of ice floating in Portage Lake that had broken off from Portage Glacier. According to Capt. Callahan this huge ice burg had just broken off this morning.
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| From Portage Glacier |
We stayed out by the glacier for quite a while in hopes of seeing calving, but it didn't happen. Capt. Callahan kept moving the boat back and forth in front of the glacier and turned the boat so everyone had plenty of time to take their photos.
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| From Portage Glacier |
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| From Portage Glacier |
After leaving Portage Lake we stopped at the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center which is near the turnoff for Portage Glacier. We paid $7.50 each (senior rate) and received a map of the center showing the animal enclosures.
We were able to see a lot of wildlife up close including these elk
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| From Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center |
and caribou.
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| From Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center |
This black bear was more interested in taking his afternoon nap.
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| From Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center |
But the best show was these 2 Kodiak bear cubs.
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| From Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center |
The female cub, Shaguyik (she has a blond ring around her neck) and the male cub, Taquka, are in a pond. The male cub kept trying to get into the pond, but the female kept chasing him out. He finally made it into the pond and that was when the show began. Mike took a movie of them and I've shortened it, but it is still a large file. Shaguyik is on the left and Taquka is on the right at the beginning of the movie.
Our last stop was at the Alyeska Resort at Girdwood to go up to the top of Mt. Alyeska on their Aerial Tram. I had picked up a brochure for the tram with a coupon good for $10 off 2 Tram+Lunch tickets, so our tickets cost $40 for both of us.
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| From Alyeska Aerial Tram |
After paying for our tickets we walked over to the Lower Tram Terminal. The tram hadn't left yet and it was fairly full, so we ended up standing in the middle instead of next to a window. The trams can hold 60 people (there were about 30 people in this one) and during the summer the tram goes up at half-speed - 7 minutes to the top. There are 2 trams - one goes as one comes down.
When we arrived at the Upper Tram Terminal we headed directly to the Glacier Express Restaurant. There is a special menu for the Tram+Lunch ticket and we both chose to get 1/2 Turkey Wrap and a cup of Tomato Basil Soup with Ravioli. We found a table next to one of the windows overlooking the mountain and ate lunch.
There was a couple sitting behind us in the restaurant and the husband was going to go tandem paragliding off the top of the mountain. We walked outside with them to watch the people ahead of him take off.
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| From Alyeska Aerial Tram |
We watched a woman try taking off from the mountain, but as she and the paragliding instructor ran to take off she would trip and he would fall on top of her (see movie). According to the spectators that was her second attempt.
We don't know if she ever got to paraglide, but at a cost of $200 I'm sure they kept trying. We don't know if the man that was planning on going paragliding ever got to go up.
We walked out from the Upper Terminal and had our photo taken - this was as close to the edge as Mike could get me.
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| From Alyeska Aerial Tram |
We got back to the Upper Terminal a little before 3:00 just as a tram was arriving.
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| From Alyeska Aerial Tram |
Once it was empty we got on and had seats next to the windows. Once the tram left we stood up and had a great view going down.
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| From Alyeska Aerial Tram |
We went back to the Resort to look around in a couple of the gift shops and we got some coffee at a cafe before heading back to Elmendorf.
Just as we were leaving the parking lot, I saw this gnarly old tree trunk and Mike got out to take a photo.
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| From Alyeska Aerial Tram |
On the way back up Turnagain Arm near Anchorage we had a great view of the Alaska Mountains.
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| From Alyeska Aerial Tram |
Turnagain Arm was named by William Bligh (of HMS Bounty fame), Sailing Master for Capt. James Cook on his 3rd and final voyage looking for the Northwest Passage. Bligh and a party of men traveled from what would be called Cook Inlet up Knik Arm and determined it was the mouth of a river and not the Northwest Passage. Cook sent Bligh out again and this time he went up what became Turnagain Arm and found only a river and the body of water was named "Turn Again".
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