Last weekend, I took my pint sized partner in crime and our dog down the Turnagain Arm of the Cook Inlet. This is a fjord here in Alaska and is minutes away from our hometown of Anchorage. There are many creeks, streams, and rivers to play in on the 50 mile drive, and we set out to conquer a few and document the journey.
The first major creek that ends in a beautiful waterfall is McHugh Creek. As seen in the pictures below, the creek makes it way out of the Chugach Mountains and into the holding pond before being release into the inlet. The waterfall is about 30 feet higher than the pond as it enters the field of vision, and it is exceptionally cold. My kiddo walked around the edge of the pound, but could not get deeper than the edge of her flip flops as she said she would freeze to death.
My dog on the other hand had a blast swimming and retrieving sticks out of the pond. GO MAXWELL GO!
We hopped back in the truck and drove several more miles and came across an unnamed creek that ended in a beautiful waterfall, see below.
The waterfall enter the field of vision approximately 12-15 feet above the ground we were standing on. I love the gentle nature of the stream as it makes for much easier viewing. I think my favorite part though is all the lovely green foliage and moss growing everywhere. Winter is terribly long here, the first snow comes in October and the snow doesn't burn up until mid to late April, so the window of green is short. The long Summer days extend approximately 20 hours a day here, and all Alaskans soak up as much Summertime as they can get.
We camped at the Bird Creek campground that evening. The campground isn't extremely active as the Coho Salmon fishing hasn't begun. We had a nice spot. I took the following picture of our camping spot around 11pm. The mountain behind us is Bird Ridge.
We took it easy Friday night and I went to bed pretty early as Saturday morning we were going Go-Karting on the 15 miles of offroad ATV trails in the valley surrounding Bird Creek. The go-kart might not look like much but I recently rebuilt the motor using all billet aluminum parts. It has a billet rod, billet flywheel, 255 dynocam, 26lb springs, ported and polished, high flow exhaust header, and a highflow Carb. Needless to say it runs with the big dogs. Just needs a paint job.
Here is my daughter thinking she is too cool for school at the beginning of the trail head.
We made our way down the twisting gravel trail. It was full of mud holes and large rocks, which is perfect for a days ride. We drove about 2 miles when we came across this wood and steel bridge passing over Penguin Creek. It looked like a great place to stop, let the dog get a drink of water, and have the kiddo play on the shores of the Creek, while I snapped a few photos.
I would say for a $200 investment in someone's old gokart I found on Craigslist and another $300 or so on the engine rebuild. This little buggy will be perfect for my daughter when her legs get long enough for her to reach the peddles. Until then, her and I will buggy around in it together.
After we returned to the truck we packed up all our stuff and returned back to our home in the city. We had a great time and it is truly wonderful to be able to get off work on a Friday afternoon, pack up the kid, dig, and camping gear, and see all this wonderful nature in the matter of mere minutes. Alaska is a truly exceptional place to live.
I am now sitting here at work, downtown Anchorage, Alaska, waiting for next weekend, so we can do it all again.
The views from my desk in order: South, South-East, East.
Cheers, until the next adventure.