Today we drove to Whittier, a small coastal town about 45 minutes south of Anchorage, and separated by mountains. The area is one bowl after another, all surrounded by mountains and glaciers. The views are spectaular, though the only photos we got were on our 35mm camera. Sorry.
Anyway, Whittier was cut off from the rest of the landlubbing world until recently, when a 2-mile long tunnel was blasted through the offending mountain (which, by the way, is a one-lane tunnel - cars and trains must share the lane, which means Anchorage-bound cars, Whittier-bound cars and the Alaska Railroad vie for time slots every fifteen to thirty minutes, and the road and the rails run together). The town was built in the 50s as an Army base with an ice-free port. One big apartment building housed all the personnel, which today houses nearly all the residents. Small shops, a pharmacy, doctor, etc., are found in the building, and tunnels connect different areas of the town. During winter, much of the activities are done underground or in the one building. It's crazy. But it's encircled by massive mountain peaks, glaciers, waterfalls and Prince William Sound, so the backdrop is stunning.
We also hit the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center, kind of like the San Diego Wild Animal Park, but with moose instead of giraffes. We got to see our first grizzly bears, who played right in front of us, with only a fence between. There were also elk, caribou, a bald eagle, a porcupine, rare wood buffalo and musk oxen.
And while Brandon was out grocery shopping at the end of the day, Chloe and Malcolm were having a blast with shaving cream, as you can see.
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