2016 Epic Road Trip - Day 65

Day 65

July 17, 2016

Anchorage, AK to Whittier, AK

We took a drive from Anchorage to Whittier, AK to see the shipping port where much of Alaska's goods arrive by ship and are then transferred to freight trains for distribution throughout the state.

Whittier was a good location for the port, but the mountains reach clear to the water.  So, they had to make a tunnel through the mountains for the trains to pass. 

At some point, it was decided that it would be too expensive to make another tunnel for cars, so they decided that the tunnel would be shared.  15 minutes for cars, then its the train's turn, then cars going the other way, then train the other direction.  All I can say is that it was a tight fit through the tunnel.... 

There are glaciers in the mountains surrounding the Prince William Sound at Whittier.  They reach clear to the water and were incredible to see.  Where silt and glacial water run under the frozen ice of the glacier, you'll see a blue hue.  Really pretty.

The water is so blue, the sky so bright and the glaciers and mountains are so immense - a real sight to see.

Chunks of the glacier "calve", or break off and fall into the water.  Takes the birds no time to find the iceburgs and chill out on them.

A seal basking on the floating pier in the Prince William Sound.

On the drive back to Anchorage for the night, we saw a wildfire eat McHugh Creek, along the road.

Helicopters scooping up buckets of water from Cook Inlet to pour over the fire.  The newspaper showed a picture of small planes using a red fire retardant on the mountains.