Last night we drove all the way to the Hope Highway, and found a camping spot right on the cliffs above the Turnagain Arm. The Milepost had described several options, and we snagged the last spot when we arrived after 10:00 p.m.
At 4:45 it was 40 degrees and it had been raining most of the night. We put on our rain pants and rain coats and went outside to check the bore tide.
What's a bore tide?!? After a lot of googling and reading, we can share what we have learned about this unusual phenomenon. When we first read about the must-see things that make Alaska unique, we read about the bore tides in Turnagain Arm. So we must first explain Turnagain Arm, where we are camped. Imagine an inlet off the ocean with tall mountains on both sides. This inlet is 42 miles long and about 3.5 miles wide where we are camped. It is called the Turnagain Arm because when Captain Cook explored this body of water, he kept instructing his crew to "Turn again" when they got to the end and there was no outlet.
From our camping spot, we took pictures at low tide, where the mud flats and rocks were showing, and the water was greatly receded from the mountains that surround the Turnagain Arm.
What does a bore tide look like? On some days it is barely noticeable. But several days each month (around the full moon) it will make a wave that goes all the way across the 3-mile width of Turnagain Arm. On the very best bore tide day, it can be up to ten feet tall, and people come here to surf in front of the wave.
This is the only place in the United States that this unique phenomenon happens. Moving at around 10-20 miles per hour, it takes over an hour to work its way all the way to the end of the Turnagain Arm. At 5:10 a.m. it is was about even with us. The wind from the opposite direction whipped it into a "V" shape. From our perch on the rocks we could hear a roar of rushing water and crashing waves. We have wandered into another of God's wonders!
There were no surfers on this early morning and very cold bore tide wave, as we saw it travel past our perch.
During the 20 minutes we were outside, we got a reprieve from the rain that had been falling all night. That was certainly great timing for us! The sprinkles started as we headed down our personal path back to the van. The rain continued from 5:15 a.m. throughout the entire day! We went back to sleep until 9:30, and then we had a cold breakfast of boiled eggs and ham and bread so we didn't have to cook outside in the rain. It was a good day to look through all the pictures we have taken during the last week.
We did make the three-mile trip into the tiny town of Hope, Alaska. With a population of 190 people, it is off the usual tourist itinerary. That's probably why it is considered to be the best preserved gold rush community in the Kenai Peninsula. This 1902 log Social Hall still hosts community events.
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