Girdwood

our home away from home – well, the first floor was anyway

We spent a week in the town of Girdwood in the downstairs apartment of a lovely family.

Originally called Glacier City, the town was once located directly on Turnagain Arm, the extension of Cook Inlet south of Anchorage. Back in the day, residents made their living by supplying goods and services to the gold miners who established claims along the creeks running into Turnagain Arm.

During the 1964 earthquake, Glacier City sank ten feet below sea level and the town was exposed to frequent flooding. Most of the residents moved to a new townsite a few miles inland and renamed the town Girdwood. You can still see the “ghost forest,” a stand of trees killed by saltwater flooding, at the old townsite on the Arm.

Sue, our guard dog and bear alarm

Another generous Airbnb host sharing the local bounty – this time king (Chinook) salmon.

a whale skull – a neighbor’s front-yard decor

Girdwood survived the earthquake and relocation, thanks in part to a local ski lodge at the foot of Mount Alyeska. The lodge blossomed into the Alyeska Resort, known for its challenging ski slopes and luxury hotel. It’s the most popular ski resort in Alaska. In summer there are great hiking and fishing opportunities in the surrounding Chugach Mountains, and more people are opting to live here year round.

Alyeska Resort

We traveled about 12 miles south of Girdwood to the Portage Valley, carved out by the Portage Glacier. The glacier has receded back and around a corner, so you can only see it via a boat tour on Portage Lake, but there are many other glaciers to see and hike to in the valley. We spent the day totally surrounded by the Chugach Mountains and glaciers. Spectacular!