Visiting Whittier

 Although we visited Glacier National Park and College Fjord prior to Whittier, I'll share those photos in a later post. I'll get the land ports complete and then move on to the sea. I assure you, it will be worth the wait.

We arrived in Whittier, Alaska, on May 14. It was turnaround day. Those who were booked for the one week cruise left the ship for their land tour or to fly home, while others who had done the land tour first, or flown into Anchorage joined us later in the day.

Whittier was home to the US Army during World War II, when the facilities including the port and railroad were built. The base was closed in the 60's and in 1964 the town sustained significant damage from an 9.2 earthquake which sent a 13 meter (42 foot) tsunami into the community.

Later the town became a port of call for cruise ships. The train you see in the photo transports passengers to and from Anchorage, the nearest airport. Something I learned is the tunnel (Anton Anderson Memorial tunnel) between the two communities can only be used in one direction by the vehicular traffic or train at a time. Vehicle convoys can enter the tunnel in alternating directions every half hour, however trains can cause delays of a half-hour. Thus, one needs to be conscious of the timing. I had thought I might transfer to Anchorage for part of the day but was warned I might not make it back to the ship in time!

Although I've no photo of it, the highway was busy with trucks and SUVs pulling small boats - probably close to 20 in the convoy. The train pulled out from the station at the same time heading for Anchorage.

The marina was a busy place. Later I spent part of the afternoon watching the boats come and go, and be transferred back up the ramp to the waiting trucks. Seems to me, people in this area have to learn patience...there's a lot of waiting one's turn.

The snow on the tops of the surrounding mountains appeared to be deep. 

I found the patterns in the snow interesting. 

A few of the close to 1600 passengers that joined the cruise ship that day, stayed at the hotel next door. The hotel has just 25 rooms so it was definitely just a few.

I wandered off ship around 10 in the morning, planning to go for a walk around the port area, browse a few shops and stop at a local restaurant for lunch. I quickly discovered that very few businesses were open.

I walked along the boardwalk that ran part of the way on the ocean side and spotted this husky. It was a bit camera shy and never barked as people walked by. 

The one shop I found open was a combination gift and fudge store. I avoided the fudge, but did purchase a book to read. "Tip of the Iceberg" was written by Mark Adams and details his journey around Alaska to re-trace the nineteenth-century expedition of Edward H. Harriman. It was a great read, especially as we had visited several of the places that the Harriman expedition visited in 1899. The author provided details and information, both from his own adventures and that of the Harriman expedition that made my own travels more interesting.

There were several restaurants on this point, and I had thought I would stop at the Ocean View cafe but unfortunately it was closed. Apparently there was one restaurant in town that was open but I missed it. 

Back at the ship, I spent the rest of the afternoon on the top decks watching the marine traffic and later, the play of the sun on the mountains. An interesting note, the building you see in this photo, the Begich Towers, is the home of most of the residents of Whittier. It contains, not only the 200 or so residents, but a theatre, laundromat, post office, police department, mayor's office, medical clinic, mini-mart, and in the basement, a church. The building is also connected underground to the Whittier school. The building was constructed in 1953 to house approximately 1000 people, so despite all of the amenities, it's pretty empty. There are units available to rent and currently a three bedroom, one bath is available for sale at a mere $64,500 USD. If one could tolerate the winter weather, it would be a good place to live in a town under one roof.

One thing I missed out on and didn't realize until that evening was the museum. Other passengers mentioned it, and as I've said at almost every port, I have a reason to return. It was a mostly quiet day in Whittier but enjoyable just the same.

Next - Glacier National Park