BAREFOOT BEACHCOMBING

July 2023

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The cruise part of my adventure ended this morning. The ship docked in the tiny city of Whittier, Alaska which is nestled along Prince William Sound. Whittier has the odd distinction of being housed almost entirely under one roof. All town services are sheltered from the often inclement weather in a unique and practical way. Virtually all of Whittier’s approximately 272 residents and city services are housed in the 14-story Begich Towers, originally a Cold War outpost for the US Army. In addition to housing the residents and city offices, there is also a school, church, grocery store, post office, and healthcare center within the building. The city encompasses 12.5 square miles of land. Location 60°47'N 148°41'W.

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Whittier is a deepwater port, but the cruise ship dock can only handle one ship at one time. And ships typically spend the entire day in port turning around the ship for the next set of passengers. Our ship will be returning to Vancouver over the next week covering the route we traveled in reverse.

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The only land access to Whittier is through the Anton Anderson Memorial Tunnel, a mixed-use road and rail tunnel that goes through a mountain. The 2.5-mile tunnel, which was originally constructed as a railroad tunnel during World War II, opened to vehicle traffic in 2000. It is North America’s longest highway tunnel. The tunnel has one lane, so it only supports traffic in one direction at a time. Buses, trains, and other traffic all have to alternate with traffic coming from the other side. The traffic alternates every 30 minutes.

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We disembarked the ship and boarded buses (deluxe motorcoaches in touring parlance) taking us on an all-day sightseeing trip on the way to Denali. I'm staying at McKinley Chalet Resort for two nights. The resort is located at 63°44'60"N 148°54'00"W and is owned by Holland America. It's about 300 miles north of Whittier. Bordering the Nenana River, the lodge has timber styled buildings and is only 3 miles from the entrance to Denali National Park.

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On the bus trip, we stopped at a cool marsh site with a series of boardwalks. The marsh is called Potter Marsh and was inadvertently created when the nearby railroad tracks were installed and has been an great habitat for birds and mammals.

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We also stopped for lunch (which was include) at a cool place called Settlers Bay Lodge. They had sandwiches, salads, and freshly made cookies. And there was a huge outdoor deck overlooking the Alaska Range mountains.

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The McKinley Chalet resort has two full-service restaurants, a bar with scenic views, an espresso bar, and music entertainment areas. The newest part of the resort, called Denali Square, contains fire pits (with smores!), live entertainment, and views of the mountains.

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Tomorrow, we will be touring Denali National Park, but tonight I will be going on a photography tour chasing the midnight sun.