7/2/12 WHITTIER, AK

We had planned to go to Girdwood today but Norm read about a special July 4^th celebration that Whittier puts on so we passed by Girdwood for now and drove straight to Whittier.  The scenery between Anchorage and Whittier is very nice. We pulled over in one of the many scenic overlooks just south of Anchorage in the Turnagain Arm area where Beluga whales are often seen.  No Beluga’s today but we did see some dall sheep on a mountainside.  The views of Turnagain Arm were beautiful surrounded by snow capped mountains.  Are you seeing a theme here?  Yes, every place in Alaska is surrounded by snowed capped mountains.   It was very overcast and cold today, in the 50’s.  We got a campsite at Creekside Campground which seems to be the only one in Whittier.  Not great, gravel with a lot of big rocks, very unlevel and no hook ups.  But it is close to town.  We are in a site with a view of the harbor on one side, the snow capped mountains on the other and the creek right out our back window.  The water is running fast, we can hear it from inside the rv with windows closed.  It’s very soothing, there’s something about running water that makes everything seem nice.  To get to Whittier you pay a toll to enter through a long tunnel.  There is only one lane of traffic so you have to pay and get in line until the other traffic is stopped so you can go through. They charge according to your vehicle/length.  Our 25 foot rv was $20, vehicles are $10 and larger rv’s are $35, that’s round trip.   It also shares the same tunnel with a train and that train has the right of way.  We had 40 minutes to wait our turn so went inside the rv to have lunch.  After driving through the tunnel it’s just a few miles into Whittier. 

7/4/12 WHITTIER, AK

Whittier had scheduled a fireworks display for July 3^rd at 11:00 p.m. but postponed it due to low cloud cover and rain.  We walked the harbor and on the way back to the rv spotted an Eagle.  We watched him for a long time and eventually saw another.  They were building a nest.  The big guy would fly off and come back with a branch in his beak or claws, put it in the nest and the little gal would stomp around on it.  It was fun to watch and we got some pretty good pictures of it. 

They did have a parade and BBQ on July 4^th at noon even though it was still raining.  We decided to attend the BBQ that was held under a pavilion right on the harbor overlooking the ocean.  It was so nice to see the townspeople come out for that with their children.  We met a woman that was also from Texas.  When I asked her where she said “a little town north of Austin, Georgetown”.  WOW.  I was shocked to come all this way and meet someone from my very home town.  She was traveling here on a missionary trip with the First Baptist Church to help out this little isolated coastal town that struggles to survive.  I’m not sure what all they are helping with, but they helped cook and serve the burgers, hot dogs, hot chocolate, lemonade, sodas and cake.  Whittier has a population of under 200 and they all live in a 14 story condo that towers above all else in Whittier, which isn’t much.  A very small little boardwalk down by the harbor with a few small shops and restaurants.    We had a nice conversation with a pastor and his wife that moved here last summer from Texas.  It was interesting to hear their thoughts on their first winter in Alaska.  Snow got up to 40 foot high, the children were playing around the street lamps, as in you could walk right by the street light, the pole was covered up with snow.  WOW.  I can’t imagine.  The school, K-12 is located behind the condos and they have an underground tunnel to access the school.  Sorry kids, no snow days for you.  The kids play in the tunnel when it’s too nasty to go outside.  The pastor’s wife said she struggled to stay positive, upbeat and cheerful for the town’s people.  And that people get very strange, start saying very strange and bizarre things as the long dark winters set in.  We asked about the northern lights.  They described them as spectacular and said they were very close, not far off in a distance like you would think.  But it was too cold to stay outside very long to see.   To bad it’s so rainy; we would have like to take some of the hikes we saw on the map of Whittier.  We get out to see as much as we can even if it’s raining, but it’s raining too much and cold on top of that.  We spent the rest of the day inside and worked on our flooring project, nailing trim in areas where we could.  We still need to glue down some vertical pieces on the stairs that won’t stay but the glue is to cold to work with. That will have to wait.  It’s nice to have a rainy day project and this is something I enjoy.  It also saves my back to work on it a little at a time.  We spent the rest of the evening reading some of the literature of Alaska we had gathered from various visitor centers.