Surfing Bore Tide

Ron NiebruggeAlaska, Photos, Travel 2 Comments

A stand up paddle boarder surfing the bore tide, Turnagain Arm, Alaska.

A stand up paddle boarder surfing the bore tide, Turnagain Arm, Alaska.

The difference between the low tide and the high tide on Turnagain Arm on Monday was an incredible 43 feet!  Well 42.96 to be exact.  Last year we never did see a tide as low as Monday’s and this year only June 5th will be lower – mark your calenders it could be a great show at a convenient evening time.

When the water level rises that much in such a short period of time, the incoming tide begins as a wave of water sometime 6 feet tall or more.  This wave of water is called a bore tide.  The wide area of land you see just beyond the surfer was completely covered by water just a short time after this photo.

So given the extreme tide on Monday, expectations were high for a really large wave, and this brought lots of onlookers, surfers and photographers including a photographer from Seward (me).

For some reason a big wave never did form – as you can see here, the wave isn’t even up to the surfers waist.  I have seen plenty of bore tides just as big on my drives back and forth to Seward over the years.  But, it was a beautiful Alaskan evening!

Icicles

Ron NiebruggeAlaska, Chugach, Photos, Travel 4 Comments

Icicles formed overnight on an alder, Chugach National Forest, Alaska.

Icicles formed overnight on an alder, Chugach National Forest, Alaska.

We have been really busy since getting back home – so much to get caught up on!

In addition, I have been out the last few days on a video assignment.  Over the last year I have been shooting footage that will be eventually used as part of a new visitor center film.  The most recent request was for me to capture footage that conveyed the transition from winter to spring – not as easy as it sounds.   This image is a single frame of a time-lapse showing these icicles melting in the morning sun.

Home Sweet Home!

Ron NiebruggeAlaska, Photos, Travel 7 Comments

Aerial of Seward, Alaska.

Aerial of Seward, Alaska.

As much as I love to travel, I gotta say after 2.5 months on the road that it is nice to be home!  It is sure hard to beat the dramatic, snow covered mountains this time of year!

It should be a busy spring – I already have a fair amount of assignment work piling up – I’m looking forward to Summer!

This is a photo from a couple of Augusts ago – I had hoped to post a new photo of Northern Lights.  After a long, tiring day of travel from Arizona to Seward, I dragged myself out of bed at mid-night and went looking for the lights without success – that was painful.  So, I’m going with an older aerial for now.

 

Fountain Hills Fountain

Ron NiebruggeArizona, Phoenix, Photos, Travel 4 Comments

The world's largest fountain, Fountain Hills, Arizona.

The world's largest fountain, Fountain Hills, Arizona.

We are back in Arizona packing up gear and shipping it back to Alaska for our return home.  It has been a great trip, but it will be nice to be home.

I knew before I returned to Fountain Hills that sunset and the fountain would correspond this time of year.  When I saw clouds staring to form last night I knew I would have near  perfect conditions.

Colorado River Kayaking

Ron NiebruggeArizona, Nevada, Photos, Travel Leave a Comment

Janine kayaking in a cave on the Colorado River, Arizona.

Janine kayaking in a cave on the Colorado River, Arizona.

Thursday, after I wrapped up my time at the NAB Conference  we brought  couple of friends from back home kayaking on the Colorado River – one of my favorite things to do when staying in Las Vegas!

Since I had photographed this stretch of river a couple years ago, and because all my dry bags were back in Alaska – I decided not to bring my camera.  Big mistake!  This cave which had visited before looked spectacular – much, much better then before.  So  the following day (last Friday), Janine and I bought a dry bag at REI and drove back to Willow Beach, rented kayaks and repeated the trip.  That was ok with me since it was so much fun paddling on such warm weather.

So why was the cave so much better?  Since the temps were in the mid 90’s, the demand for electricity to power air conditioners in Las Vegas has increased substantially.  To produce the extra electricity, they had to push far more water through the turbines at Hover Dam which increased the water level a fair amount over our previous visit during the cool month of November  Evidently the extra water level is perfect for filling the cave, and that really increases the access to the amazing sight.

I have said this before, but I would really like to do a over night trip on this stretch of river, it is really beautiful.  We even saw some desert bighorn along the banks!