Escape from Anchorage

The sun was out and the thermometer was reading 62°. I said to Ruth "it's time to get out of the house and see the trees changing colors". In Alaska you can't put that off too long because they change colors fast. "Lets go see if Hope is still there".

Actually it takes a lot to leave Anchorage. It's the largest city in the state, it's located in what we Alaskans call “Southcentral Alaska” at the head of Cook Inlet. The area encompasses 1,697.2 sq. miles of land and 263.9 sq. miles of water. Got that? I'll test you on that later.

Our first stop was Bird Point (1st pic). It was full with Tour Buses, so we stayed for a very short time and headed on down the road. We planned to hit it on the way back but we ran out of time.

Our next stop was in Girdwood. The place to go skiing in the winter and winter is starting to show itself. In the second picture, that light dusting is what we call termination dust. Pretty much terminating summer. In between the peaks though that is one of the many glaciers surrounding Girdwood.

Next stop was Portage where we ran into some friends who were using a huge scope to spot wildlife. He showed us a momma black bear and cub almost2 miles away. We played around some more and found a couple running their dogs at a glacier pond (3rd pic). Those dogs were brave going in that cold water. Time to move on.

Next stop was Turnagain Arm which was our first stop out of Anchorage. Here's where we started to see the tree leaves changing colors. We hiked all over the top of Turnagain Pass (4th pic). We spotted a few good camping spots for next year. Ponds were eveywhere. Full of minnows and a few ducks still.

Next was Hope Junction. The old highway bridge (5th pic) there was made into a bike trail and it's gorgeous. I remember wanting to close my eyes when we crossed that old bridge. From there you can see all kinds of trees changing colors. It was worth the trip. Now we're getting hungry. It's time to head home.

The trees should be changing more the next couple of weeks. if the weather holds out we may make another trip.

Click on the pic bellow to see the whole trip album

Hope Junction trip (click)