Alaska Adventures Part Eight - Whittier Whistle Stop

After leaving Homer, the plan was to stop in the Portage area for one night, check out Whittier that afternoon, and then spend the following night at Cabela's in Anchorage again. Ahhh...plans...only to be changed at the last minute. It is making the trip more fun any way.

A quick stop at a pullover near Ninilchik gave us a grand view of the mountains/volcanos across the bay. We had to make a stop in Soldotna at yet another hardware store. I think this trip is turning into a tour of Alaska hardware stores. This one was okay, more fishing stuff than hardware it seemed. George was able to get a knife sharpener King had recommended so all was good. We also got fuel before leaving town.

Panoramic View @ Ninilchik (click to enlarge)

Bye-Bye, Kenai! (I missed it on the way in)

We were going to try to get a campsite at Williwaw Campground about four miles south on the Portage Glacier Highway. All indications led us to believe Williwaw was a popular campground so we made sure to have a backup plan in place. We kept our fingers crossed that the weekenders had left a spot available for us. Arriving at the campground, we found a nice campsite. Really nice. No hookups, but private feeling and a very large fire ring. Plus there were waterfalls from Middle Glacier cascading down the hillside behind our campsite. Woo hoo! We quickly changed our plans to stay two nights at Williwaw and skip Cabela's. We really didn't need anything at Cabela's any way. We would visit Whittier the next day and relax around the firepit at night. The flies were horrid here but nothing that a shot of DEET wouldn't handle.

Our Campsite @ Williwaw

View from our campsite

Middle Glacier

We slept in the next morning and then headed towards Whittier, about 7 miles away. But...there is a two and a half mile Anton Anderson vehicle/rail tunnel that you have to drive through! Yep, you share the tunnel with trains, luckily not at the same time. Since George and I are fans of the Railroad Alaska TV show, this tunnel has been on our bucket list for Alaska. Traffic heading from Whittier passes through on the top of the hour, and going to Whittier is on the half-hour. It does have a toll going to Whittier but not on the flip side. We easily made the 10:30 a.m. crossing. I was surprised by the number of glaciers in the area. There are several tour boat rides out of Whittier taking passengers to see up to 26 glaciers (we abstained).

Tunnel Entrance - Whittier side

Leaving the Tunnel (note the train tracks)

Possibly Seth Glacier

Learnard Glacier

The town of Whittier itself felt depressing. I am not sure if it was the gray overcast skies, the large abandoned building looming over the harbor, or what, but it just did not feel like a happy place. We needed to wash mom's Travasak (no thanks to one of our cats, Baby Girl). We were able to glean a little history of the town in the halls of the building housing the museum. Whittier was a vital port and railhead facility and need a strong defense. Several of the buildings were built during the Cold War to house military personnel. The Buckner Building was built to house over 1,000 troops under one roof. The Hodge Building could house over 700 people in its 1, 2, or 3 bedroom apartments. Both were able to withstand the 9.2 magnitude earthquake in 1964. Today the Hodge Building is the main residence for a majority of people who live in Whittier. (FYI - $1,000/month for the 3-bedroom.)

Buckner Building Then

Buckner Building Now

Hodge Building Then

Hodge Building Now (known as Begich Towers)

After our laundry was completed, we took a short ride around town. The Alaska Railroad yard takes up most of the town space followed by a couple of boatyards. There doesn't seem to be much more comprising the town other than the docks for tour boats so we didn't stick around too long. We were kind of disappointed in it all.

Multipurpose Building Today

Laundry was in the basement

Heading back to the campground, we lucked out waiting to traverse the tunnel. The train!! We saw the Glacier Express leaving Whittier and using the tunnel. The engine is at the back of the train for the return trip. No "summit shuffle" here which we found surprising. Does the engine push the train all the way back to Anchorage? After the train cleared the tunnel, it was our turn to go.

Train Engine Entering the Tunnel

On Tuesday morning we departed Williwaw and started our journey north towards Denali. George had read several reviews for a restaurant in Anchorage he wanted to visit, so we did. The food portions at Gwennie's Old Alaska Restaurant were good size leaving Mom and George with enough leftovers for the next day. The inside of the building was interesting with their rock walls and decor (no pictures though).

Breakfast Stop

Putting Anchorage in our rear view mirror, we started up the Parks Highway. Our plans were sort of loose once again on where to stop for the night. One option was a spot called Denali View South - another campground with no hookups. Reading our Alaskan campground book also gave us a place in Trapper Creek, due west of Talkeetna (tal-KEET-nuh). Prices looked decent so we made a last minute decision to stay here. We got the last pull through spot! What a difference in temperatures at Trapper Creek though. We went from using our heater last night in Williwaw to our air conditioner in the afternoon. At 82 degrees, this is the warmest day we have had so far.

Coming up the Parks Highway before arriving in Trapper Creek, we were able to see Denali for the first time. Wow! It was a fairly clear day and the views of the mountain were spectacular! It's huge! I am not sure if we will get another opportunity in the coming days to see the mountain. It all depends on the weather. 

Our First Sighting of Denali!

Getting Closer to The Mountain

My sister and brother-in-law are flying up from Western Washington and we will rendezvous with them tomorrow for several days. There will be more tales to tell for sure!

Alaska Adventure Part Six - Base Camping

We used our campsite at Kenny Lake RV Park as our base camp for local adventures. On Saturday, we went to Valdez, Alaska. It was about a 90 minute drive. Well, add about 15 minutes. I forgot it is road construction season here.

To get to Valdez by the Richardson Highway, one must cross Thompson Pass. At 2,678 feet high in the Chugach (CHOO-gach) Mountains, it is the snowiest place in Alaska. It averages 551 inches of snow annually! I wouldn't want to be a snowplow driver for it! Although, in the winter you do have job security.

Panoramic View from Thompson Pass

Just before reaching the summit of Thompson Pass is the Worthington Glacier. It almost comes down to the road and is easily accessible for visitors. The Chugach Mountains sure are majestic!

Worthington Glacier From a Distance

Blue Ice at the Glacier

Another View of the Glacier Up Closer

Coming down off of Thompson Pass, you pass through Keystone Canyon. There are several waterfalls cascading down the canyon walls.

Bridal Veil Falls

Then it was on to Valdez. The "new" one. On March 27, 1964, a 9.2 magnitude earthquake struck 40 miles west of Valdez and the resulting underwater landslide killed 30 people and did major damage to the town. It was deemed the ground under the townsite was too unstable to rebuild so Valdez was moved to a new site about four miles away. We visited two local museums about Valdez and enjoyed them both.

Sewing Room Exhibit at the Museum

We also visited the Valdez Eagle Aerie while there. It was one of the buildings moved from the original location. It's not what I would call an attractive building, but the fact they moved one of this size is impressive.

Valdez Eagles Aerie 1971

Valdez is also the terminus of the Trans Alaska Pipeline. One of the museums had a large display about the Exxon Valdez. What a mess that made. Did you know that ship (since sold and renamed) is not allowed by law to return to Valdez? The marine terminal used to give tours, but since 9/11, it is off limits. You can only view it from a distance.

Marine Terminal with Ship

On Sunday, we made the journey out to the end of the road at McCarthy. Whew! What an experience! McCarthy is about 90 miles from the campground, but it took 2.5 hours to reach. Once you reach the McCarthy Road in Chitina, it is 59 miles of mostly gravel road. Max speed of 35 mph. You start by going through a narrow cut through the rock and then over the famous Copper River. It is dipnetting season and people were camped everywhere along the road. Plus there were several fish wheels in the river near the shoreline.

Start of the McCarthy Road

Dipnetters

Fish Wheels

Bridge Along the McCarthy Road

Driving Across Said Bridge

When you get to the end of the road, you park your car and either walk or ride your bicycle across the footbridge over the Kennecott River. From there it is about a 15 minute walk to McCarthy itself, but we caught a shuttle ride to Kennecott.

Footbridge at the End of the Road

"Rigor Mortis"

McCarthy

The abandoned Kennecott Mill Town now is mostly part of the Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve. Some buildings and land still remain in private ownership. The town is located beside the Kennicott Glacier. When the copper mines were finally depleted, the mines closed in 1939. The town was abandoned, leaving everything, including dishes and hospital records, where they were. Some buildings are undergoing restoration by the National Park Service. The 14-story mill building looms over the town and must be seen to fully appreciate the gigantic size. The Power Plant is also quite impressive. It was able to produce enough steam-generated electricity to power the mines up in the mountains as well as the entire town.

The Concentration Mill Building in the Background

Looking Up At The Mill

Another View of the Mill

Abandoned Buildings (whitewashed one was the hospital)

View from the Train Station

Power Plant Builiding

Inside the Power Plant

Abandoned

More Rusty Abandoned Equipment

On the drive back to Kenny Lake, we spotted another cow moose. It is becoming a joke that if I have the wrong lens (the shorter telephoto) on my camera, we see animals. If I have my longer lens on, then the animals never appear.

Cow Moose

Who knows when we will have good internet service again so stay tuned!