Alaska Photos

Turnagain Arm is an inlet on the south side of Anchorage. The
Seward Highway runs along the north shore of Turnagain Arm to
Seward, Whittier, Girdwood, Homer and points east and south.

Turnagain Arm was named by THE Capt. Bligh as he searched
for the Northwest Passage.

Turnagain Arm is famous for the tidal bore that in the ice-free times of year
can sometimes create a 6-foot wall of water flowing at up to 12 mph as
the tide flows east into the upper reaches of the inlet. In the winter
the inlet tries to freeze over, but the twice daily flow of tidal currents breaks
up the ice into the formations seen below.

Airports Along the Way

Willow Air (Willow, AK)	Airstream at Willow Air
The small community of Willow (population 1658 in 2000) boasts an airport (Willow, PAUO), a seaplane base and 14 private airstrips. Cessna 206 on skis. Based at Willow Denali Flying Service. also has a versatile Maule. Very nice folks. Among the innovations on the 206 are a rack that attaches underneath to haul 4 x 8 sheets of plywood and a custom180-gallon fuel tank that fits inside for transporting fuel to fuel caches in the bush.
It looks picturesque, but the weather forecast for the night of March 4, 2007 is zero to 15 degrees below zero with wind 25 to 40 mph with gusts to 55 mph generating a wind chill factor of 40 to 50 below zero. At the risk of repeating myself ...these folks are tough.

Girdwood Airport (AQY) serves Girdwod and Alyeska Ski Area Beautiful place. Somewhere under that snow and ice is a 2088 foot gravel runway.

Talkeetna (PATK)

Talkeetna Air Taxi offices. The iced pole in the front yard is to practice ice climbing. Note the safety line strung off to the left side.

	Big Foot. The mains are 10" rims (6" is usual) and the front tire is an 8.00 x 6.00 (6.00 x 5.00 is usual). This combination makes the plane "float" on soft ground and helps to absorb the bumps on rocky beaches or airstrips.

( Click on the image to enlarge it.)

North shore of Turnagain Arm mid tide	North Shore of Turnagain Arm mid tide

Icy Sunset on the North Shore of Turnagain Arm

Portage Lake	Portage Lake

On the drive toward Whittier	Those black dots on the frozen lake are people out for a long hike.

Wildlife of Anchorage

Spectator/Spectacle at the start of the Iditarod	Downtown Anchorage Two moose (only one visible in this photo) were foraging on tree limbs in the front yard of an apartment building..