Whittier, AACC, and Girdwood

We all wanted to drive through the Anderson tunnel to Whittier for two reasons:
1.  We wanted to drive through a tunnel that a train also goes through.
2.  We wanted to see a town where everyone lives in one of two buildings.

So off we went.  The tunnel is one lane and cars and trains take turns going through it.  It uses a computerized traffic control system that regulates rail and highway traffic. The tunnel is 2.5 miles long and takes 6.5 minutes to travel through.  It is the longest highway tunnel and longest combined highway/railroad tunnel in North America.

The tunnel entrance.

Inside the tunnel.

Waiting our turn.  

Once you are through the tunnel, the tiny town of Whittier is nestled at the base of mountains that line a fjord that extends into Prince William sound.  More than half of the population of 220 lives in a 14 story condominium that also houses the city offices.  The remainder of the people live in a condominium called Whittier Towers. 

The Wild Catch Cafe

A train entering the tunnel. 

We had lunch at a small diner called the Wild Catch Cafe, drove around the town (which didn't take long), watched a train enter the tunnel, then took our turn going back through.


After stopping briefly to give the dogs a break, we went to the AACC, or Alaska Animal Conservation Center.  Again, even though the goal here is to rescue orphaned or injured animals, I get sad seeing them penned up.  However, we did get to see some animals close up, and that was nice for picture taking.  Here are a few pictures we took.

Jackie, Steve and I drove into the town of Girdword later in the afternoon because I wanted to see Alyska, the great ski mountain of Alaska, and to shop at the Mercantile store there.  OH MY GOSH!  I am so glad we never tried to come here to ski!   I wouldn't even have made it down the bunny slope!  

Back at the campground, we had another great group of people to visit with around the campfire, and there was even a guy playing the guitar for us.  It was a great evening! This community campfire pavilion is really great.