The Hagarstream is on the road

[Mike Leary]

Great pics! Sounds like the trip is going great. Coach running well? Things fine down here in the lower 48. All the best, J & M

[Smartstream]

Originally Posted by Mike Leary

Great pics! Sounds like the trip is going great. Coach running well? Things fine down here in the lower 48. All the best, J & M

Hi Mike, Thanks, Irene does take some great pics, the problem is picking a few to post. The coach is doing fine making that rattling marble sound going down the highway.

[Smartstream]

This is our very first ice berg sighting, Portage Lake.



Today we go to Whittier. It was used by the military as an ice free port for supplies during the war. Only problem is they couldn't get to it because of a mountain in the way. So they dug a 2 1/2 mile long tunnel big enough to run a train through it. Many years later they decided to allow cars and trucks through the tunnel. It is controlled by a computer and allows trains one way for 15 minutes, then cars and trucks single file for 15 minutes, then trains 15 minutes the other way, then cars and trucks 15 minutes the other way. The next hour same again. It operates from 5:30 AM until 11:30 PM. This is the entrance.



As you leave the staging area traffic is metered like a freeway on ramp. Speed limit is 25 mph and cars are spaced 100' apart. RV's and trucks are spaced 500' apart and buses 1600' apart. Motorcyclists must wear helmets, not required in Alaska, and convertibles must have the top up. No pedestrians or bicycles.



And we exit the tunnel. Yes it is a toll tunnel. It should have cost us $20 but the ticket girl fell in love with Rascal and charged us the car rate of $12 round trip.

[Smartstream]

Entering Whittier. There are 254 residents and I believe many more boats than that.



It seems people from other areas keep boats here to be able to fish in Prince William Sound.



There are very nice marinas and a handful of shops.



The lady that runs this shop has a pet reindeer.

[Smartstream]

Meet Jolie.



This is the Coast Guard Office/caboose.



This is the shipping area. The building to the right is abandoned military housing, it had 1000 apartments.



This is another military housing that has been converted to civilian apartments and currently has about 290 units. It is the main housing in town.

[Smartstream]

This is another military building converted to civilian housing. We only saw a few single family home on the far side of town, everybody seems to live in the apartments.



The large abandoned building.



Looking across the bay.



The town.

[Smartstream]

This is our campsite in Whittier. More dry camping.



We were right next to this stream coming right out of the glaciers above us.



We also found this nice little park at the far end of town.



This stream was crystal clear.

[Smartstream]

Leaving Whittier we re-enter the tunnel.



Back to our ice berg.



It is sitting right in front of the visitor center for the lake/glacier. At first Irene thought it was a model on display but I thought otherwise. Actually I think it floated too close to the beach and is now stuck aground.



A small chunk that floated ashore. Kind of interesting structure.



This ice berg fascination might seem silly to some but remember Irene and I both grew up and lived in Los Angeles so seeing an ice berg is big stuff for us.

[Smartstream]

This area used to be the city of Portage. It was destroyed in the earthquake of 1964. This entire area was under 10' of water which killed these trees.



This is our next stop.

[Smartstream]

It is kind of neat to watch the elk swim across the pond.



Something must have caught their eye.



The next generation.



I'm not exactly sure what her problem is.

[Smartstream]

Next we have musk ox.



They are certainly interesting looking beasts.



And also very shaggy.



The little guy at nap time.

[Smartstream]

And we must have bear.



Everybody around here is big into naps.



The local black bear.



Black bear from above. The have an elevated cat walk that goes through the bear pen.

[Smartstream]

They called these guys Wood Bison. They are near extinct and they are raising these guys to be released into the wild next year.



They to can be very shaggy.



This guy was enjoying the scratching post.



And we must have young ones.

[Smartstream]

Then we have the mighty moose.



This guy was chowing down. They said a moose eats 50 lbs. of brush and twigs a day.



They also enjoy a break.



Seems to be nap time for the elk too.

[Smartstream]

Last we have the caribou. We have yet to see a caribou in the wild.



They certainly have a large rack for their body size.



Another of Rascal's fans.



Rather interesting critters.



Again wondering about the fascination for wildlife, remember Los Angeles.

[DIR1]

Rascal seems to be BIGGER with each picture!!! great pic's by the way...hugs to you guys... Keep having fun!!! gail

[Smartstream]

Hi Gail, Rascal is doing his best to live up to his name. I wish I could post pictures but not here, Dawson City.

[Smartstream]

Hello again. We haven't been eaten by mosquitos but I think the internet service has been. We are in a park with not only very slow service but it
is also timed. So I'll try to bring you up to date before I run out of time.
We spent a few days in Anchorage getting caught up and running errands. I was able to post the last bunch of pictures from Anchorage. We headed
to Palmer and visited a reindeer farm then to Wasilla and visited a farmers market, excellent cinnimon rolls. Ice cream at Houston and camping at
Talkeetna, an interesting little town. Visited a birch syrup farm, similar to maple syrup but not quite. It was overcast and raining so naturally
no chance of seeing Mt. Mckinley. We stayed in Cantwell but it was more of the same the next day. We did drive through Denali National Park but
weather was not our friend.
On to Fairbanks and a visit to the Wooden Bowl Factory and wandering around town. From there we visited Santa at the North Pole and on to Delta Junction and Tok. They told us to stay another day in Tok because the weather was supposed to clear tomorrow and be nice for several days. We took out chances and headed to Chicken. Fortunately the farther we went the nicer the weather got. As we came around the hill looking down into Chicken all we saw was aluminum. The WBCCI caravan was there heading toward Tok. They had come across the Top of The World Highway in the rain and were all covered in mud. We visited with some of them that evening, no Classic Mohos among them. The next morning we head across the dreaded dirt highway and had a very nice sunny day. We got to Dawson city and we were told it was the first sunny day in weeks.
For now we are alive and well and enjoying everything but decent internet service I will try to post more when I can.

[Smartstream]

To continue we went by the Alyeska Resort at Girdwood, way more than we could afford.



They have a gondola tram that runs to an exclusive restaurant at the top of the mountain. Irene called and ask if dogs were allowed on the tram. They said if you hiked to the top they could ride down but they could not ride up. I told Irene I couldn't hike to the top of the hotel let alone to the top of the mountain.



We then drove by to Crow Creek Mine to look around.

[Smartstream]

You could pan for gold here for $20 or just walk around for a few bucks.



We just walked around.



There were several folks looking for gold. I don't know if they found any. At least it was a pretty spot