We started our day at 630am. Jake, Jodie, Jodie’s wife Christine and I agreed to meet in the lobby to head down to Seward, AK - 132 miles to the south.  While driving south, Christine read to us from the official guide to the Seward Highway -  which was a nice way to see the important info along the road - as it had the road mile markers between Anchorage and Seward.

The guide to the Seward highway and the Chugach mountains surrounding the Turnagain Arm

As we drove south along the Turnagain Arm of Cook Inlet (so named because Captain Cook had to turn around again after he entered it), we looked for Beluga whales and talked about bore tides. A tidal bore is a tidal phenomenon in which the leading edge of the incoming tide forms a wave (or waves) of water that travel up a river or narrow bay against the direction of the current. As such, it is a true tidal wave.  Turnagain arm is one of the few places in the world that this phenomenon can be seen. These waves can reach extreme heights and in the Turnagain Arm - they have been recorded as high as 28 feet on high spring tide.

As we drove - Christine asked Jake and I (the coastal crew) if we could tell what the tide was doing - we realized it was flooding up into the arm, and not much longer we saw the wave moving up the arm. We quickly found a pull out location (there are numerous along the road which makes for wonderful viewing of the arm and the surrounding areas.

We pulled over, took a few photos - and waited for the wave to arrive. As it passed us, we could even hear the sound of the wave pass by. It was a very unique and unplanned event and it was great for me to see (since I doubt I’ll ever make it to Norway or the Bay of Fundy to see it!!).

After seeing the tide (but no Beluga whales since the tide was too low) - we hopped back into the car and continued on the road to Seward. Next up - the nice porta potties I’ve ever been to!!