Whittier

Until 2000, the Prince William Sound village of Whittier could only be reached by boat or railroad train. The 2 1/2 mile railroad tunnel through the mountain was modified to share automobile traffic with train traffic. It is a single lane and so vehicles must wait at either end for their turn to use the tunnel. There is a $12 toll. We waited about 30 minutes for the chance to drive the tunnel.

It takes about 6 minutes to drive the full length of the tunnel and I must admit I found it kind of creepy - it felt very confined. As we were driving through - I remembered we had just heard there had been an earthquake in nearby Anchorage earlier in the day. Whittier used to be a military base - and they built several large buildings for their operation.





The building (below) is the abandoned military building. This is sort of creepy, also. The windows are mostly broken and it has been vandalized. It is kind of a blight on a beautiful landscape.




This is a pretty little town, in spite of the abandoned military base. It seemed to be bustling with activity while we were there.

Portage Glacier

Portage Glacier, located just a few miles off the Seward Highway was a worthwhile side trip.
Such a beautiful little lake.
We loved seeing the "icebergs" floating in the lake!
There is a very nice Visitor Center.

We had the opportunity to view the lake from several vantage points, since we decided to go to Whittier - just a few more miles further. The highway passes around the lake.

Love that blue glacier water!

Kachemak Bay

Mount Redoubt (above), as seen across Kachemak Bay from Homer, and (below), more views of the bay as we left Homer - heading for Anchorage.
A last look at the community of Homer.

Homer Fishing

Homer has a reputation for being the best place to catch halibut.
All the charters depart from the Homer Spit and we went down to tour the harbor and businesses on the Spit (sorry I don't have a good picture of the Spit).

There is a lagoon on the Spit, with a salmon fish hatchery in it.
The king salmon who return to spawn. . . well, there isn't anywhere for them to do it.
So all the salmon returning to the lagoon must be caught.

We spent a few hours trying along with hundreds of other fishermen.
We saw several caught, but we were not among the lucky fishermen.

It was cold and windy. Our fishing stamina only lasted a few hours each day.
I enjoyed seeing what others were bringing in. These three halibut were among a half dozen caught by a local family.

This (above) is the Homer Slough - a low marshy brackish pond. It is right next to Michelle's cabin, and is an important bird habitat.

Beach grass at Homer.

Homer Beach

My daughter, Michelle has been living in Homer, Alaska for a year.

She has a small cabin on the beach. It was pretty cold and overcast most of the time we were there, but at low tide (about 9 pm), it was fairly clear and so I went out and walked the beach.

I was rather shocked to learned that driving a vehicle on the beach is permitted. It was annoying. I was all set for a peaceful stroll, and there were teenaged boys joy riding around in circles on the beach!

Exit Glacier

Exit Glacier is a few miles outside the town of Seward. There is a visitor center and several options for hiking to the glacier. We opted for the 1 mile hike to the side of the glacier.

Our hike brought us up very close to the glacier.

Prince William Sound - Seward Highway

Another really beautiful highway is the Seward Highway.
We followed it all the way to Prince William Sound - and the charming town of Seward.