THRU THE TUNNEL TO WHITTIER

Our day trip yesterday took us thru the 2nd longest highway tunnel in North America, and the longest combined highway/train tunnel on the continent.  On the other side of the tunnel, is the small town of Whittier, located on Prince William Sound.  The tunnel was originally built during WWII, as a way to connect the Alaska Railroad to a secret port, less vulnerable from attack by the Japanese.  Up until about 15 years ago, it was used only by trains.  Then, it was reconfigured to allow the combined use of trains, and vehicles.  They use an alternating system of one way traffic, except when a train goes thru, vehicular traffic is stopped on both ends of the tunnel.  

 We waited on the Whittier side of the tunnel for this passenger train.

There isn't a lot to do in Whittier, but we did drive around, had lunch, and toured the small museum.  Due to a slow Internet connection, I'm not able to post all of the pictures I took, but perhaps down the road, I'll get them posted. 
 

On the way back to the motor homes, we stopped at the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center in       Portage.   We were able to see most all of the native Alaska wild animals, including Black and Brown Bears, Moose, Elk, Caribou, and Lynx.  From the critters, it was back to the motor homes, parked at the Alyeska Ski Resort in Girdwood.

This morning, we drove the short distance from Girdwood to Anchorage, and we're now parked at one of the Wally Worlds, waiting for our 1:20 appointment with the Vet.  The likely scenario is....... when we have blood test results, we'll leave Anchorage, and head on up the road.

We have mail to pick up in Tok, and from there we've made the decision that we need to get back to the lower 48.  My dental situation requires us to be parked near a dentist for up to a couple of weeks, and I would rather not do that way up here.  So, it's going to be a quick trip back down the Alaska Highway, with not a lot of activities other than just driving.  If I miss a day or two, it's because we're parked in the boon tullies, with no Internet.