Our last day in Alaska! We have a 4 hour drive to Anchorage but our plane doesn't take off till 11:15 PM so we still have a full day of adventures ahead of us. Kim and Terry will be on the same flight as us to Chicago...from there they will fly to Rochester and Mike and I fly to Syracuse.
We stopped at a Russian Orthodox church in the village of Ninilchik. Very picturesque with views of the volcanic mountains across Cook Inlet. Russian colonists moved here from Kodiak Island in 1847 before the Alaska Purchase.
Heading back to Anchorage on the Seward Highway, we saw a Tidal Bore in the Turnagain Arm A bore tide is a rush of seawater that returns to a shallow and narrowing inlet from a broad bay. Bore tides come in after extreme minus low tides created by the full or new moon. Bore tides occur all over the world—there are around 60 of them—but only a few are large enough to make a name for themselves. Alaska’s most famous bore tide occurs in the Turnagain Arm and climbs up to 6 – 10 feet tall and can reach speeds of 10 to 15 miles per hour. It takes not just a low tide but also about a 27-foot tidal differential (between high and low tide) for a bore to form. 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. No pictures since when we saw it we weren't near a pull off but was neat to see just the same.
Back in Anchorage, I had an idea that our life would be easier if we checked our bags at the airport since we were driving close by. After dragging the bags in, we were informed that you can't check bags or check in more than 4 hours before departure. Live and Learn! Back in the van the bags went! We headed downtown for dinner at the Glacier Brewhouse, a popular restaurant and brewery that features brick oven cooking. The place was packed but we were able to get seated fairly quickly in the bar area. Enjoyed our dinner and talking about what we liked the most and enjoyed least on our great adventure! We all did agree that being able share this experience with good friends made the trip all the more special!
After dinner, we did head back to the airport to drop off our bags and get that out of the way before returning the rental van. The office was already closed but they had a key drop off slot and Russ Beck picked us up and ferried us back to the airport.
It seems that most of the flights out of Anchorage are late at night.. and of course there is the 4 hour time change. We will arrive back in Syracuse at 1 PM on Tuesday and then a 2 hour drive to get home. I thought a "red eye" flight would be great and we would sleep all night on the plane...didn't really sleep much but that was okay. I sat next to a girl who was from Alaska but currently living in Watertown, NY. Her husband is stationed at Fort Drum. They also had recently bought 10 acres of land right by Montana Creek where we had camped and fished.
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