On Mirror Pond, or, reflections on Turnagain Arm Alaska

Occasionally there are days when the wind does not blow through Turnagain Arm. Hard to believe because most folks who drive the Seward Highway are not on it everyday. So odds are, the few times they are out and about, the wind is blowing somewhere. As evidenced by these photos, I am offering proof that on this one day, the wind was not blowing gales through the passes. 

These images are from the pit of the Turnagain Arm between Girdwood and Portage Valleys. The view is across the Arm toward the Kenai Mountains around Hope, Alaska. This was a really frosty morning, so once the car engine warmed up, it was a cozy calm drive on the Highway. 

I encourage everyone with a little spare time to take a nice road trip this week or next weekend (the 27th & 28th) before the Highway becomes too crowded. Remember, the Portage Glacier Daylodge is open on the weekend from 10a to 5pm with fresh baked goods and sandwiches. After the Portage stop, cross over the highway to the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center, the animals will appreciate your visit. Leave Anchorage or the Valley by 9a, it does not even have to be super early, and enjoy the mountains, the water, the eagles and all the other feathered migrants passing through south central Alaska. 

Thanks for reading and viewing! 

The view on the Seward Highway, unique everyday

Everyday the drive on the Seward Highway is a different experience. This is a brief view traveling from Anchorage back to Girdwood, Alaska. 

A constant object of interest for me is the ice on the water in the Turnagain Arm. The sea ice can be thin or up to feet thick. It builds up in layers much like the sediment is layered down on the sea bed. Chunks of ice can be as big as a car. Even so, the ice still moves and breaks, and floats like cream puffs on the incoming and outgoing tide. When the tide goes out, the ice is left resting on the mud flats, heavy and solid. 

Vast swaths of mud and ice looks like a foreign planet. Some day I will brave stepping over the guardrail timing the tide just right in order to get down with the ice a photograph the bizarre landscape. 

Meanwhile, back in Girdwood, The deep end of Penguin ridge rises over the park.

Beautiful picture perfect winter day

This morning Girdwood residents woke up to a little over an inch of fresh snow. There was some blue sky too showing off the tops of the surrounding mountains and their fresh ultra white snow. It was 29° in the valley with no wind. We had a beautiful drive into Anchorage, and surprise of surprises, it was cloudy in the big city. Very odd, it is always the other way around. 

There seemed to be several layers of temperature gradients, as we turned out onto the Seward Highway, there were layers of clouds to the south near the Hope nook. Very lovely light shining through. 

On the way back to Girdwood at 9pm, the temperature went up near Bird to 36° and there was a stiff wind making it strenuous to keep a car in line with the highway. Thankfully, the temperature is still below freezing in the Glacier Valley and there has been no wind to knock the snow off the trees. Will be enjoying it to its fullest as the weather forecast is for warm air and rain to return Saturday night.

The poor top of the mountain has the one safety flood light on, Seven Glaciers is quiet and lonely until the Tram is repaired. 

Icy roads and driveways in the Glacier Valley

Don’t be fooled by this image which includes blue sky. It lasted a mere ten minutes. I so hoped the parting clouds would allow the warm air to escape to the upper atmosphere and cool us down, but alas, the clouds closed back in. It was 38° for most of the day in Girdwood making for rain and puddles everywhere. The DOT has been hard at work with the graders trying to get the ice off Alyeska Highway. However, everyone’s driveways are ice rinks. It is very slippery entering business parking lots. 

Tonight, Saturday, there are high wind advisories and more rain in the forecast. The wind is expected to be strong through Sunday, take care driving large vehicles on the Seward Highway. The temperature is expected to stay warm through the new year so we are not anticipating snow at the base of the mountain anytime in the near future.

One thing is for sure for New Year’s celebrants, there will not be a fire danger in Glacier Valley! 

Deep freeze lingers as snow forecast falls

It is -6° in Girdwood at 8 am, I expect it to drop as it gets closer to sunrise. Yes, it will be a cold day on the mountain for those in their winter break fun time. The weather forecasters have lowered their expectations for snow. We were hoping for a flurrious weekend but that seems to have changed. Be sure to check the forecast for your drive conditions.

If it does not snow, remember the Seward highway is still a slick road. Even with no snow these past few weeks, there have been several vehicle collisions with passengers going to the hospital.

A few clouds floated in this afternoon warming us up to +9° thank goodness. Lets hope the clouds stay all night.

The frost is so glittery, and the sun so bright in December

I think last night has been the coldest so far, yet only -2° is acceptable when you consider the interior recently posted -50°. It is also ok considering we still are lucky to have no wind in Glacier Valley. I heard a couple of private planes go out for a flight see. This morning it is still -2° and we anticipate about +5 today. Again a reminder for those relying on your iphone weather apps–it is not accurate! Yes it is cold but not as cold as the app says. One day I will email whoever that is and tell them to use another station location. 

The drive into Anchorage today, at about 1pm, was spectacular once again. I hope I am not the only one that notices every time I drive the Seward the experience is different, not just the traffic, but the light and colors. Today there were patches of clouds and bright sunlight between. The sun was lighting up all the ice crystals on the trees, rocks, and even the road. It was like driving through a crystal tunnel! Notice I said even on the road there were ice crystals. This is a point to say that even though the road looks clear and we have not had precipitation in about two weeks, there is still ice on the road creating slick conditions. Take care when driving, passing, and rounding bends. Here is a close-up of the frost crystals with light on them so the sparkle effect is visible. Imagine this over and over glittering along the road side.

On the drive home, at 9:30 pm, there were patches of light clouds separated by views of the stars. Again on the drive home, the frost crystals were lit up by headlights. At night, though, it felt like driving through a glitter tunnel, disco night! The slight chance of snow proved true at Bird Point. At Bird there were light flurries of what I consider ice snow. The precipitation was glittery in the headlights too, not dull white like snow would be, but shiny. It was, after all, -2°. The snow was gone before Girdwood but the snowmaking machines on the mountain created an ice fog around itself. When there is ice fog, the spotlights create horizontal light rays, this was evident in oncoming headlights on the Seward. Another reason I felt the snow was more ice.