In the morning, we decided to drive to Whittier to see if the weather was different on the other side of the mountain. Slightly improved but not much.
4 miles up valley from the campground is the tunnel. Interesting story.
WW2 the army need to get supplies to Alaska for defense while the ALCAN was being constructed. They authorized construction of a railroad from Whittier to Anchorage and Fairbanks. To get from Whittier, a train tunnel was dug through the mountain. (Here in AK, the coastal mountain range is very rugged and often the mountain starts right from the sea) Since it began as a military camp, even today 98% of the occupants live in just 2 big buildings.
After the war, people desired a way to drive to Whittier. So what they do now is share the tunnel. Once an hour, the tunnel opens for west bound traffic and on the half hour, east bound traffic. But trains have priority so some delays are to be had. The tunnel is just wide enough for a big tour bus, so our RV was no problem. Interesting experience, driving on railroad tracks.
Then we drove back to Anchorage, spent some time downtown (just another big city) and found an RV park on our own, no help from GPS
1 comment:
Stuart and Shar:
Enjoyed again seeing the photos and hearing more about your experience in Denali. Yes, Whittier is an interesting place.
After all of your adventures, and misadventures, I imagine the cruise back southbound will be for the both of you a combination of welcomed comfort and relaxation and a plesant way to enjoy the passing scenery.
-Pat
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