Solstice on the McArthur River

Summer in Alaska is short, and we feel the pressure to enjoy the warmth and daylight all summer, but there are a few days that we are especially intentional about being outside. One of those days is Solstice.

Solstice in Alaska means the sun shines until the wee hours of the night, and although it dips below the horizon in the southern parts of the state, it never gets dark.

We had planned to be out in Ekuk with friends this year for the solstice, but when an injury changed our friends’ fishing plans for the season, we sat down to brainstorm ideas for how we should enjoy our solstice this year.

Our weather window suggested a shorter adventure, so we left out the day before solstice for the McCarthur River.

The McArthur River is known for its beautiful white sandy beaches and great salmon fishing that occurs later in the summer. The McArthur lies almost directly across Cook Inlet from Nikisiki and far away from McCarthy, which my kids initially confused it with.

As we neared the river, Woodsen started pointing out strips and sandbars and asking if I had any preference where we landed. We’ve been to the McArthur once before, and that time we landed on a beautiful sandbar with a cut bank on one side and dense trees on the other.

This time, I hoped to check out options closer to the glacier, where we could have better visibility for bears. I also imagined finding a spot where the kids could play in the water away from the rapid current of the main channel.

As I tried to explain my vision to Woodsen, I couldn’t help but think how silly it was that I was being picky about the sand bar we landed at. That thought was short-lived, though, because I spotted exactly what I was hoping for as we flew down river from the glacier. A tiny little teal pool tucked safely in a large landable sandbar.

After flying over a few times, we landed and taxied up to the pool.

It was better than I could have dreamed. A sandy beach on one side and shallow water throughout.

The kids had put on their bathing suits before we left home in anticipation of fun in the sun and water, and as we unloaded, they beelined it to the water.

The sun, clear water, and soft white sand were simply dreamy.

While kids played, Woodsen and I set up to cook dinner. Brauts were on the menu.

After dinner, we set up the tent, gathered firewood, started a fire, and the kids happily played.

Despite the continued sun, our watches and melting little kiddos reminded us it was time to start bedtime. The older girls and I headed out to keep the noise down by the tent and explore.

First, we checked out the river, then we headed to where I had seen more small pools of water in the sand from the airplane. The girls were delighted when we got to the pools, saying, “It’s like a maze of sand and water.”

Eventually, we made our way back to our camp, and Atlee picked bouquets and gave silly tutorials on how to make them.

She’s shown a natural talent for arranging flowers since a very young age, and her bouquets are always beautiful and bring me so much joy.

I ran out of hands to hold her bouquets, so we decided to decorate the tent by digging holes in the sand, burying the bouquets, and adding back the rocks the kids had placed there earlier.

We let the kids stay up late, but as the evening cooled down, we all opted to crawl into the cozy tent and sleep.

Soon we were waking up and enjoying a solstice breakfast.

After breakfast, the kids found a nearby bush, turned it into their den, and happily played for hours.

While cleaning up from breakfast, I thought I heard voices down the beach. When I looked, I saw two little kids and their parents way down the beach. Of course, we had to meet them. Woodsen stayed at camp while Eska slept, and the rest of us headed down the beach to find new friends.

It was an instant connection. They had two kids that were four and six, Logan was a pilot, who we later realized, worked with Woodsen at Guardian for a while. Like me, Stacy was also in the medical field and enjoyed watercolor painting. In no time, we were jabbering about our mutual curiosity about the mind-body connection, homeopathy, telepathy, alternative options for educating our kids, and many other things.

We finally walked back to the plane, and we found that the pilot of another plane that had landed was an old acquaintance of Woodsen’s.

Never a dull moment on a sandbar in Alaska.

Our sandbar visit eventually ended as both parties were leaving that afternoon. The weather deteriorated shortly after they left, and we packed up and headed home. It was easy to jump into the warm airplane with warm memories of the most fantastic time at the beach replaying in our heads.