Driving South from Anchorage you travel along Turnagain Arm, a tributary of
Cook Inlet named by Cpt. James Cook after once again having to turn around
in his explorations of Alaska's huge coastline.

Hundreds of small waterfalls can be seen during the spring snow melt and 
evidence of the winters avalanches are common sights.

Road work to minimize avalanche danger and damage is ongoing and is resulting
in more areas to get off the road and enjoy a wonderful part of Alaska that is 
usually driven through quickly on the way from Anchorage to the Kenai Peninsula.



Alaskan Slide Show featuring images from MSN/Alaska

Beaver still have a stronghold at Beluga Point and there is an excellent
rest area and observation trail with interpretive signs.
Watch for Sheep on the hillsides, sometimes coming right down to the road     
(some make the trip from cliff to roadway with devastating speed)
Beluga Whales can often be seen during high tides, Beluga and Killer Whales 
chase fish up the inlet, resulting in a beaching every few years.   

The mud flats look solid during low tide but have claimed many lives with the 
quicksand action of the fine glacier silt. Local Dive Rescue teams have developed
pneumatic rescue devices to actually "blow" people out of the mud. 

A Black Bear was known to have swam across the inlet in the 2002 and you will 
occasionally see Moose both along (and in) the road and always be "Bear Aware" 
when hiking in the area as both Grizzly and Black Bear are know to inhabit the entire 
Turnagain Arm region.

The small community of Hope is across Turnagain Arm from Anchorage and can seen at the base of the broad valley
where there was a thriving Gold Rush Town in the early 1900's.

Driving back into the Mountains you will find tailing piles left over from the large scale dredging operations that scoured
 the valley for its treasures. 

The Russian River is a legendary for it's Salmon and a prized destination   for anglers from around the World.
 

Alaskan Slide Show featuring images from MSN/Alaska

More Alaskan Images can be found on MSN/Alaska