Monday, July 2
nd
The drive south of Anchorage is spectacular. Highway 1 runs,
at times, right along the edge of Turnagain Arm, a narrow branch of water at
the north end of Cook Inlet. Sheer rocky cliffs face the water on the east “inside”
lane of the road and picturesque mountains line the far side of the narrow Arm.
The cliffs are used by rock climbers. Beluga whales are often spotted in the
water at high tide. (Turnagain Arm experiences large tide ranges, and when the
tide is out, it’s REALLY out!) We did not see any whales, however, at one
turnout viewpoint we saw Dall sheep high up on one of the grassy rock
faces. From our distance, they appeared
no bigger than tiny white dots, but with binoculars, they were fun to watch
romping about. At another viewpoint, we could look back to the north and,
because it was a clear, sunny afternoon, we glimpsed Mt. Denali one last time.
That night and the next we camped in Porcupine Campground in
the Chugach National Forest sixty miles north of Seward. We’d heard the towns on the Kenai Peninsula
can get crowded over the 4th, so we decided to enjoy the quiet
beauty of the lush beech and spruce woods overlooking the east end of Turnagain
Arm. Inspiring mountains on the opposite side of the water provided a backdrop.
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The campground is just beyond the end of the 17-mile road
that leads from Highway 1 to the tiny town of Hope. Hope was a mining camp for
Resurrection Creek. An historical mining cabin in the town dates to 1902, and
the Sea View Cafe and Bar is in the old store building built in 1896. The few businesses and the town’s RV park are
set near the water where Resurrection Creek joins Turnagain Arm. A few anglers
were fishing in the creek. We visited Dru at her Best Gift Shop in the World.
She’s funky and so is her collection of souvenirs. Outside of town we drove the
Palmer Creek Road, a nicely maintained gravel road that winds around a mountain
to 1500 feet elevation giving us views of beautiful lush green below and snowy
mountain tops above.
Back at Porcupine Campground we had fun watching a pair of
pine grosbeaks, stellar jays, yellow rumped warblers and bald eagles. The
woodland ferns on the trail were an unbelievable 3 feet tall and the cow
parsnips grew to shrub-size. All of this for $9.00/night with our Park Pass in
this National Forest Campground.
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| Cabin in Hope |
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| Gift shop in Hope |
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| Palmer Creek on Palmer Creek Rd |
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Grassy wetlands at Hope
Turnagain Arm |
The drive south of Anchorage is spectacular. Highway 1 runs,
at times, right along the edge of Turnagain Arm, a narrow branch of water at
the north end of Cook Inlet. Sheer rocky cliffs face the water on the east “inside”
lane of the road and picturesque mountains line the far side of the narrow Arm.
The cliffs are used by rock climbers. Beluga whales are often spotted in the
water at high tide. (Turnagain Arm experiences large tide ranges, and when the
tide is out, it’s REALLY out!) We did not see any whales, however, at one
turnout viewpoint we saw Dall sheep high up on one of the grassy rock
faces. From our distance, they appeared
no bigger than tiny white dots, but with binoculars, they were fun to watch
romping about. At another viewpoint, we could look back to the north and,
because it was a clear, sunny afternoon, we glimpsed Mt. Denali one last time.
The campground is just beyond the end of the 17-mile road
that leads from Highway 1 to the tiny town of Hope. Hope was a mining camp for
Resurrection Creek. An historical mining cabin in the town dates to 1902, and
the Sea View Cafe and Bar is in the old store building built in 1896. The few businesses and the town’s RV park are
set near the water where Resurrection Creek joins Turnagain Arm. A few anglers
were fishing in the creek. We visited Dru at her Best Gift Shop in the World.
She’s funky and so is her collection of souvenirs. Outside of town we drove the
Palmer Creek Road, a nicely maintained gravel road that winds around a mountain
to 1500 feet elevation giving us views of beautiful lush green below and snowy
mountain tops above.
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