A bit of Alaska -- 3 -- Skywatching

Potter's Marsh from the last post is along the shore of Turnagain Arm, which is a narrow branch of the Cook Inlet. Well, it may not look terribly narrow here, but the narrowness will come in later when I describe a phenomenon we observed there between taking the pictures on this post. There were several areas where you can stop for a good view. That fog bank looked ominous, but it turned out to be a beautiful day.

Turnagain Arm got its name because Captain James Cook sailed up the arm in his search for the Northwest Passage -- you know, that theoretical sea route between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans that explorers of the 1700s were so sure existed. He sent out a boat to look further into it, and they didn't go very far before coming back to tell Cook that they had had to "turn again," because all it was was the mouth of another river.  Perhaps Cook should have spent more time investigating, because he then set sail for Hawaii where he was killed by natives.

The roadway and railway were carved out of the steep cliffs of the Chugak Mountains, where a sharp eye spotted the Dall Sheep below. (or is that above?)

At the end of the day, after other adventures which will be chronicled later, we were treated to this lovely sunset on the way back to Anchorage.

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