Heading out the Kenai

July 17, Friday

We headed out of Anchorage today in the late afternoon along with plenty of other folks judging by the lack of block and dry ice. This is our last road adventure before getting on the Babkin for a week in Prince William Sound. We rolled into town on the 14th and headed to Whittier to get on the boat for a brief but meaningful cruise. We were honored to be included at a memorial for the Von Wichman's late mother, at the foot of Tebenkof Glacier.  Chum salmon were returning after spawning providing endless entertainment for the boys and dogs. It was a beautiful ceremony attended by close friends and a bald eagle. The weather came in the next day and we headed back to Anchorage (who hears Michelle Shocked singing every time they read it?) where the weather is more mild. 

Whittier is a small Alaska town in Prince William Sound. It is about an hour from Anchorage.  The proximity of the two is as the crow flies, and was amended for vehicles by the U.S. Army during WWII. Whittier was originally a fuel depot, and to be able to get supplies to Anchorage the Army blasted a train tunnel through a mountain. People eventually settled in Whittier, inhabiting an old Army barracks, the harbor was used by fishermen.  The only way you could get your boat to Whittier was drive it through the sound from another coastal town or put it on the train. Tractor trailers, personal vehicles and individuals would use the train. It wasn't until 2000 that the tunnel was modified for vehicles. It is 2.5 miles, single lane and in the summer it opens at 5:30 and closes at 11:15pm. The direction alternates every half hour and the train still uses it as well. Pretty interesting situation. 

So the kids wore themselves out playing before before we hit the road again. We are ready for fishing and rainy weather, new lures and new boots. It is freeing to set out in our little home, despite the radio that doesn't work for some reason. We will spend the night in Hope, across Turnagain Arm and eighty miles from Anchorage.