Another of those days that make this trip so worthwhile and so special.
We left our very quiet campsite early, and drove 60 miles to the little village of Whittier.
This place was created in 1942 when the US Army/Navy needed a second ice free port to transport materials to the interior of Alaska. They picked Whittier, but didn’t realize that there was a bloody great mountain in the way of the route to the interior, so undeterred, they bored a tunnel, 2 ½ miles long and threw a few train tracks down, and bingo, a route in!!
However, it was only in the year 2000 that the tunnel was converted to road traffic as well, and now you get to drive through the tunnel, on the train tracks, one way only.
Yes, you wait at the entrance to the tunnel, after first paying the toll, and can wait up to an hour to go through, coz you have to wait for the traffic coming from the other side, and the train, to clear.
It is all done with traffic lights, hand signals, prayers and mirrors, I think.
Still, it’s exciting!
We had an excellent breakfast of salmon omelette, wandered around the village a bit, looking at the 14 story high brick and concrete monstrosity, left over from the second world war, where 90% of the population live.
On to the good ship Emerald Sea, and off into Prince William Sound.
After an hour of watching water go by, listening to a really boring Forest Ranger talk about all the things we might see, but didn’t, and eating a surprisingly pleasant lunch of prime rib, salmon, salad and wild rice, we eventually rounded a corner and got to see tidewater glaciers. The two we saw were Beloit and Blackstone Glaciers and are the ones that reach down into the sea, and have chunks break off, small, big and megahumungous,
We have all seen National Geographic, and other nature programs, showing this happening, but to see it up close and personal, was just amazing. What you don’t get on TV is the atmosphere, the size and majesty of these things. The cracking and creaking of the ice, wondering which piece is going to break off next, and go plunging hundreds of feet into the ocean, creating a mini tsunami.
Also, the wind whipping off the glaciers is pretty cold. The captain of the ship was knowledgeable, and told us where to watch for a possible calving of growlers.
See how I remember the language!
Growlers are what the small icebergish size lumps of ice are called, and calving is the breaking off and the crashing to the sea.
We stopped for at least half an hour at each glacier, and finally, after a lot of teasing, Beloit Glacier delivered, sending trillions of tons of ice into the Sound, and scaring the crap out of the idiots in kayaks who were paddling around, too near in our opinion, but what do we know?
After another boring talk, mostly the same stuff regurgitated in different words, from the Ranger, we got back to Whittier around 6.15, in enough time to catch the 7o’clock tunnel opening. So, we sat there until 7.30, waiting for the two trains to go through, and then all the tour and cruise line coaches were let through first, because of their timetables. Good job we are patient, and didn’t sit there cursing and swearing, and complaining about those damn tourists. Not us!! We are not on a schedule.
We then drove to the peninsula town of Hope, had dinner at a place called Bearcreek Lodge, which was very cute, very Disneyish, and full of skeeters!
Afterwards, we drove down to the village itself.
It is a tiny little place, all the streets are dirt roads, and the local RV park by the creek flowing into Turnagain Arm, the main inlet near Anchorage, was heaving with tents, campers, trailers and RVs. When we asked why, everyone told us “ The salmon are running”
The silver salmon finally started their spawning runs, and there were fisherists all over the place, pulling them in left, right and center.
We went into the local bar, The Seaview, had a few brewskies, while listening to a local blues band…..Swamp Mamas from Baton Rouge, Louisiana!!
So, we finally got back to the coach at 1 in the morning, way too late for us oldies!!
We apologize for the pix, there were only 400 today to choose from!
We cannot get enough of this place and the scenery, and so we are snap happy!
Wildlife watch today was sea otter, bald eagles, seals, and icebergs!
