Portage Valley and Whittier

  Whittier, Alaska
Tuesday, June 30, 2009

Spent the day with our TN friends on a road trip. 




First stop was the Portage Valley Visitor Center--fantastic exhibits and film; this is the best visitor center yet.    
The view was unbelievable—glaciers and icebergs in the lake; even pieces of glacier ice next to the shore. We were all in awe! 





Drove on to Whittier through the tunnel, which is only one way--both trains and cars use it.   Had to wait about 30 minutes before we could go through. It's 2½ miles long; of course, talking about earthquakes was not the best topic. 



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Whittier is a picture-perfect port; glacier mountains surrounding glacier blue water.  Walked along the boardwalk, talked to the fish & wildlife man, watched the eagles, and saw people fishing from shore for herring & pollock.  Ate fish n chips at Swiftwater Seafood, which was very good—not as good as Homer though.

While waiting for the tunnel, the view of Billings Glacier is beautiful. 

It was a long drive but well worth it.  The scenery was soooooo incredible--don't miss seeing this part of Alaska!