July 22, 2024 Portage Area and the Turnagain Arm Bore Tide

We woke to rain and clouds and fog.  We now have this saying that if a town in Alaska needs rain, call the Hitzels.  It will be nice when we arrive but then it will rain - LOL!

(But at the same time, I cannot complain - we have had some beautiful "bluebird" days.)

We decided to head to the Portage Glacier Visitor Center.  Sadly you cannot see the glacier any more from the visitor center but it was still nice to visit.

We watched a great video and then toured the museum. Some of the things that I found interesting:

One thing I found out was that as the glacier retreats and the mosses and lichen appear, there is a bacteria in the soil that feeds the alders.  They are the first trees to appear.  They enrich the soil and the birds and wind drop other seeds that slowly take hold. 

We did the boat tour in 2007.  It was incredible.  If the weather allows, we may do it again.

This area was hit hard by the earthquake of 1964.  The land sank 8 feet - Can you imagine?

Yikees, the mosquitos!  Yes, we are experiencing them BUT I will say that the Thermacell's work.  If you can get one before you get here, do it! 

What majestic creatures:

More interesting tidbits:

Check out the amount of snow - I cannot even imagine:

Our friend Smokey the Bear!:

He was advising us on fire safety.  Sadly, there are many wildfires in Alaska, Canada and on the west coast of the US, caused by humans.  

Outside the visitor center - the Portage Tunnel to Whittier:

Love the color of that water:

Interesting information on the Portage Glacier Highway:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portage_Glacier_Highway

Portage Lake - water from the Glacier:

This lake is over 600 feet deep - WOW!:

Beautiful and as you can see, it was very cloudy, foggy and rainy.

We made our way to Girdwood to check out the town.  At the Alyeska Resort, they have a tram that goes to the top of the mountain with incredible views of Turnagain Arm.  We did the tram in 2007 and if the weather gets better, we hope to do it again.

Girdwood is your typical tourist town so after our road trip, we stopped for pizza and headed back home.. we do want to see the bore tide today!

About one hour before the bore tide, we headed to the Turnagain Arm lookout site.  Nice thing is that we had internet there which we did not have at the campground.   (So we were able to get caught up with email, etc.)

Low tide:

"What's So Special About the Turnagain Arm Bore Tide?

Well, it’s huge—one of the biggest in the world, actually. Also, all other bore waves run up low-lying rivers in more southerly latitudes. The Turnagain Arm bore wave is the only one that occurs in the far north and the only one bordered by mountains, making it the most unique and most geologically dramatic bore tide in the world. It’s also amazingly accessible: you can see it from the Seward Highway along its entire 40- to 50-mile length. And it’s a wildlife-spotting opportunity: harbor seals often ride the tide into Turnagain Arm. Beluga whales may come in a half hour or so later once the water gets deeper."

We didn't see seals BUT we did see folks getting ready on their surf boards to catch the tide:

Here it comes:

For those surfers, if they don't catch that wave, they have to wait until the next day.

Here is a You Tube video of the Tide taken by Andy.  Just trying this so not sure if it will work!

https://youtu.be/kRDaMoOTbRk

After the tide, the water continued to rush in.  Now I understand why folks get caught in this tide and it is dangerous.

More information on the Bore Tide:

https://www.visitgirdwood.com/live/bore-tide

https://www.alaska.org/advice/alaska-bore-tide

https://girdwood.com/girdwood-turnagain-arm-bore-tide-what-when-where-why-and-who/#:~:text=What%20is%20the%20Bore%20Tide,on%205%2D10%20foot%20faces.

So glad we could experience this!

We headed back home and just relaxed the rest of the evening.

Enjoy today!