Day 18 (Thursday, June 23, 2016)

We did not hike nor bike.  We packed up camp, checked in to our boat, and parked the truck and walked about a bit in “town.”  It really is a very basic place, built for the military. 

Question of the day:  Can you rent a U-Haul van to camp?  When we woke up this AM there was a U-Haul van parked in a camping spot.  I swear it was the same one we saw in a spot in Seward!  No tent or anything but an empty chair by the fire!  It says, “Rent me for $19.95 per day…” so maybe that is a great deal for a “rental!”  Put a mattress in the back and a cooler for meals and you are good to go!  Interesting idea!

The day was beautiful and sunny, which they say is unusual.  Whittier averages 15 feet of rain in the summer and 20 feet of snow in the winter!  Yes, 20 feet!!!  One of our captains said that in 2012 (and I think he said it was his first year) they had 40 feet of snow.  I can’t even imagine.  AND that is only on the ground.  The mountains average 100 feet, or more!  And this in Prince William Sound (aka Pacific Ocean) that doesn’t freeze because it is a fjord and they are “protected” by the surrounding mountains and more science that I didn’t catch.  It is also DEEP, as in most of our journey was 1,000 feet deep!  Andrew and I think it may be a future trip to see Alaska in the winter.  :)

The boat was a great adventure, suggested by someone we met at the Flight Deck.  We had lunch (basic Alaskan cod and chips (potato chips not fries) and their “famous” slaw so we had assigned seats to start.  It was interesting hearing the chatter as some groups were not sitting together.   Andrew had us booked awhile so we were fine.  A lady sitting next to us had just bought the last four available that morning and her family was split all over.  The gentleman across had booked the day before so his son was at one table, his mom at another, his daughter at yet another, and his dad at yet another!  

Once we had eaten we could walk around so we spent quite a bit of time outdoors.  It is just more natural when you are really out there, even though that boat could go really fast and the cold wind just whipped everything around.  The boat was fast-we covered 140 miles in 5 hours and go really up close and personal to three separate glaciers.  You can’t even describe them, and our pictures can’t do them justice.  You just have to experience them.  Their size, their history, their force, their scale, their color, their everything.  We watched one “calve” which means a large chunk broke off and crashed into the water below.  That same one also had several “slides,” which are basically “calves” that slide down the hill, looking like a waterfall but it is snow and ice. 

And the waterfalls!  Some small and barely visible, and some shooting out over the rocks and cascading down the sides of the mountains. 

And the otters!  There were rafts and rafts of them (that is what a group of otters are called, BTW!).  It was especially adorable to see them with little ones on their chests.  They just have that auto-smile thing going on, and they back float and flip and float some more.

 

We did see some kayakers near that really big calving glacier and wondered, “How did they get here as it is really far from Whittier or any other town?”  It turns out that a boat brought them and dropped them off.  Some will literally paddle and kayak and have made arrangements to be picked up on another day while some will kayak while the boat remains and head back the same day.  Andrew and I think that is something we may want to try someday!   :)

We did not get to see any other wildlife except the otters, eagles, and some other birds (kittiwakes).  Some saw a bear and some saw sea lions, but we did not. 

While we were swatting away bugs and  mosquitoes breaking down camp, we thought we might kayak the end of Prince William Sound upon our return to land.  It had buoys marking off a “beach” area and it was really very calm.  Unfortunately, it began raining while we were heading back to the harbor, and it was a cold drizzling rain, so we headed straight to the truck and got into line for the tunnel with everyone else. 

It is amazing how many people are in a town with hardly any permanent population, but the Alaskan train stops there and that makes for a bunch of tourists!  And there are those of us who randomly hear about Whittier and decide to check it out.

 

We are in Anchorage now, and are really roughing it in a Hampton Inn.  We have had such incredibly bad luck with our access to WiFi to upload our blog and catch up on some random things, we opted to use points and stay in a room with a view but also a connected bathroom with unlimited hot water!  We did grab a meal out of a real restaurant across the street from the hotel and as we were driving away Andrew pointed out a van lying on its side in the median.  It definitely wasn’t there when we went in.  No one appeared injured and there was an officer there already and others standing around.  You just never know.

We are heading down to Valdez tomorrow via Lake Louise.  We didn’t make that the last time we were here so it is on our list to make sure we get to it this time around.