South-central Alaska Day 2 (Saturday June 12, 2021)

July 03, 2021

South-central Alaska Day 2 (Saturday June 12, 2021) - Girdwood and Turnagain Arm

I awoke to the crisp air of Anchorage summer. The temperature outside was probably between 48-55F. Our plan was to head to Girdwood today and explore the Alyeska Resort area. Girdwood is a small town located about 40 miles southeast of Anchorage. We would be driving along the scenic Seward Highway 1. Our original plan was to make several stops along the Seward Highway and then make it to Girdwood to hike the Winner Creek Trail but Joanne suggested to have a hearty breakfast at a local joint first. That was what we did.

At the Bake Shop in Girdwood

We made our first stop at the Bake Shop in Girdwood. The Bake Shop is located at the first floor of a ski lodge. The town of Girdwood and the Alyeska Resort area is a ski destination. The town of Girdwood almost has a Swiss/German alp village feel to it. When we arrived at the Bake Shop, there is still a bit of chill in the air. The little breakfast joint was quite busy. It seems like everyone coming to Girdwood is stopping by for pancake. We ordered several items and the most notable one was the Sourdough pancake. We sipped coffee and watched all the non-mask wearing tourists coming and going. It was a bit of culture shock for us coming from California where masks wearing had become the norm.

The view of Chugach Mountains from the Bake Shop

what's on the menu?

sourdough bread is ready for the day

very basic kitchen

picked up a loaf for our breakfast next day

mm starting with the cinnamon roll

omelet and toast

French toast and bacon

and the enormous sourdough pancake

mm wasting no time

the friendly grey dog will have to wait outside

After having a pretty significant breakfast, we were more or less ready for the Winner Creek Trail. We drove for about 5 minutes to the Alyeska Resort. There was a sign warning guests to remove food items from the vehicles to prevent bear intrusion. sS we packed our snacks and food in a shopping bag and left it with the valet. We located the Winner Creek Trailhead which is right behind the Alyeska Tramway. We got oriented and started our first hike for the trip. The Winner Creek Trail at its full length is 6.4 miles out and back. It has a fun Hand Tram located about 2.3 miles in. But currently the Hand Tram is closed due to covid and other incidents in the past. So the 6.4 miles out and back had become a 4.6 miles out and back without the Hand Tram river crossing highlight. The trail is well marked and has wooden planks at the muddy portion of the trail. It is also part of the historical Iditarod Trail.

Trailhead located - that's a good start

a small stream not far from the trailhead

the forest looks like the forest scene from Return of the Jedi

wooden planks over the muddy area

snow-covered Chugach Mountain peeking through the forest

Signpost with the Iditarod trail marking

one of the large streams before the hand tram

the water is moving real fast here

made it to the hand tram but it is closed

It would have been an interesting ride over the Glacier Creek

That's an old tree!

made it back to the resort in a good pace, we were hungry again!

that's where we are going to go

We finished the hike around 12:30 pm and logged about 15K steps. Now it's time for lunch. We bought 3 ride and dine tickets ($60 dollars worth of food credit at the Bore Tide Deli-our lunch location) for the Alyeska Tramway. We caught the tram and the pulley moved us up the Alyeska Mountain in a few minutes time for an elevation gain of 2025 feet. On the way up, we got a great view of the Alyeska Resort and the surrounding forest.

got our Dine and Ride tickets

Walking to the tramway

where we enter the tram, there is some construction next to the tram

Begin our rapid ascent

Turnagain Arm in view

there is still quite a bit of snow covering the mountain in June

Reaching the top where the Bore Tide Deli is located

2000+ feet above from where we were

nice ride up

the tram station where we exited

snow covering the ground near the exit

mm enjoying the snow covered mountain in June

View of Turnagain Arm from the top

The group selfie

After admiring the views, we were ready to use the dining part of the ride and dine package. We headed to the Bore Tide Deli and Bar to use our $60 food credit. The items were somewhat expensive as you would expect at a touristy location but the view is surely worth it. We ordered a number of items and drink and the total came up to $61. We took our time to enjoy the lunch and then I tried to snap a few more shots of the mountain at the viewing area outside the Deli before we reluctantly headed back down.

today's menu

Making the hard choices

Bison chili, $9

Inside the Deli

Chugach Mountain Range in view

One of the many shots that I took of the view before heading back down

After successfully completing the first excursion of the trip, we celebrated by stopping by the shopping area where Alyeska Highway meets the Seward Highway to check out the bakery and the Ice Cream Shop. MM ended up picking up a large cookie and we fought over which flavor to get at the Ice Cream Shop. The Ice Cream Shop is a local staple started by a retired couple and now is a popular tourist stop in Girdwood.

MM picking up the large cookie at the Alpine Bakery

The little boy helping us inside the Ice Cream Shop

Almost all the local stores have their own paraphernalia

A mini Girdwood history museum

People surfing the Bore Tide

Our choices for the day, but we plan to be back for more

MM's cone and cookie

After getting our Ice Cream fix, we started to head back to Anchorage. Our plan was to make a few stops along the Turnagain Arm and then pick up some food items at the local Costco. The gang managed to hit our first stop together - Bird Point. It's a good place to stop to view the Bore Tide, a special tide phenomenon at a narrow inlet or fjord when high tide turns into an observable or even surfable wave. We took a few photos at view point and the kids conked out in the car rest of the time. I stopped by Beluga Point (a good place to view Beluga whale migration) and Potter Marsh (a good place to view birds) to take pictures myself while kids rested in the car.

The view at Bird Point

MM enjoying the view and the short walk

A portrait take

Enjoying the ride

Beluga Point Turnagain Arm, a wedding photo session was taking place

Potter Marsh, known for its elevated wooden deck for bird viewing

The marsh

We stopped by the Costco on Diamond Blvd and C Street to get gas for the longer drive tomorrow and check out any local items. The gas price overall was a bit cheaper than California probably because there is no sales tax at Alaska. The items were quite standard. I did spot the dipnet accessory pack which I did not pick up. We ended up picking some microwave ramen and rice bowl and bunch of fruit. We feasted back in our AirB&B on ramen, rice bowl, and fruit. Kids stayed up to watch Marvel movies again and I turned in early to get ready for tomorrow - the drive to Denali State Park.