2024 Alaska Road Trip (Day 32)
This journal posting chronicles Day 32 of a road trip to Alaska and back with Diane, Kenny and Deneen.
Day 32 - Wednesday July 24th
Today was our first full day staying at Williwaw Campground, and we spent our time on a 26 glacier boat tour out of Whittier, AK that we had booked months ago.
To get to Whittier you have to pass through the Anton Anderson Memorial Tunnel. The tunnel was originally built as just a train tunnel, and provided a link the rest of Alaska to Whittier which has an ice free deep water harbor and I believe originally primarily used by the military. In 2000 the tunnel was converted to handle both trains and cars. The trick is that it is a one way tunnel. So the cars and trains line up on each side and are released in batches.
I remember that last time I was here, I was the last car into the tunnel on the batch we were on, and I could see a train engine following directly behind me…
The photo below is as we entered the tunnel on the west side. Our campground is only a few miles west of this on Portage Glacier Road.
Anton Anderson Memorial Tunnel (West Side), Portage Glacier Road, AK
Once in Whittier, we found a parking spot and met up with John and Pat. Since we were early, we walked around town and the marina, which was not hard because Whittier is a small place.
There was a large cruise ship in town, which holds way more people than the entire town holds.
I thought the reflection of the cruise ship at the terminal building was cool.
Cruise Ship Terminal, Whittier, AK
Our boat for the 26 glacier tour was the M.V. Bravest, shown below in the foreground to the cruise ship. The M.V. Bravest has a history in New York City as a ferry before being converted to a tour boat, and apparently helped in the rescue of passengers from the airliner that crash landed in the Hudson River in 2009.
M.V. Bravest, Whittier, AK
John and Pat were with us, and we were able to get tables on the M.V. Bravest next to each other.
Below is an image of Deneen and I with our drinks even before we left dock.
Inside M.V. Bravest
As we traversed the Prince William Sound on our glacier tour this military transport plane did a low flyby of us.
Military Transport Plane, Port Wells, Prince William Sound, AK
Below is Kenny as we pulled into College Fjord to see several glaciers and listen to the ice bounce off the hull of our tour boat.
Kenny, College Fjord, Prince William Sound, AK
This gallery is of some of the glaciers we saw during the tour. Note the third photo below where Diane captured some ice calving from the Harvard Glacier. The last photo, of Ripon Glacier, makes me think that the glacier is barely holding on.
The crew of the tour boat netted some of the floating ice and then served it in their Glacier Ice Margaritas. Diane and Deneen, and I think John and Pat had several. I stuck with Alaskan Amber beers.
M.V. Bravest, Glacier Ice Margaritas, Port Wells, Prince William Sound, AK
Part of the boat tour traversed through the Esther Passage, and while doing so this gorgeous small motor yacht passed us going the other way. I particularly like the couple relaxing on deck chairs on the bow.
M.V. Discovery, Esther Passage, Prince William Sound, AK
Here is Kenny and Pat on the bow of the tour boat.
Pat & Kenny, Blackstone Bay, Prince William Sound, AK
Here is a larger view of the bow of our boat. Notice me in the far left leaning out to try to get a view, then Deneen in the middle realizing she did not have a view, and Kenny with the binoculars and a great view. I am pretty sure that is John just obscured by Kenny, where you can see John’s back and his camera’s lens sticking out front. Unfortunately Diane took many of these types of photos, so she is not in very many.
Steve, Deneen, John?, Kenny, Blackstone Bay, Prince William Sound, AK
The M.V. Bravest was a catamaran with some very powerful engines, just look at the rooster tail wake it leaves.
Another one of the glaciers we visited was the Blackstone glacier, and apparently at this point we were behind schedule so when we left they really poured on the power.
After a great boat tour of many glaciers (too many to show here), it was time to head back for dinner.
Below is a photo of us lined up on the east side, Whittier end, of the tunnel waiting our turn to go through. We ended up being delayed a fair amount, the trains have priority and one came through from the other side causing us to wait longer for our turn.
Lining Up for Tunnel
Train Engine in Tunnel
When we finally got into the tunnel, the photo below shows what it looks like. Notice that we are literally driving on the railroad tracks. As we enter the tunnel, a stop light spaces all the cars out.
Anton Anderson Memorial Tunnel, Portage Glacier Road, AK
John and Pat were in their rental car, and the four of us were in my truck. After we exited the tunnel we stopped and decided that for dinner we would get takeout sandwiches from a local Girdwood restaurant and take them back to John and Pat’s rental house and enjoy them with some of the wine they brought from Oregon.
Below is a photo of yet another Alaska Railway train we waited for today.
Alaska Railway Engine, Portage Glacier Road, AK