We saw in our travel book pictures of Portage Lake with icebergs in it. We never expected to see them on the shoreline when we drove into the Visitor center. It was unbelievable! The color of them is the same as the glacier that was coming down the side of the mountain.
I bet these are something to see...crashing into the water!
Did a little kayaking....what happened to Bill?
There he is..."Bill gone tour guide!" :-)
The town of Whittier is on the other side of this mountain. During World War II, a military base was built and the only way to get there was by boat because it is near the ocean. A railroad was built to transport supplies and oil by land. In the 1960's people could get there by land if they paid to put their vehicles on the train flatbed. Finally...in 2000 they made it possible for cars to go through the tunnel. It cost $20 to go through and since there is only one lane...you have to take turns with the trains that uses the same tunnel. The little fishing village of Whitter has now turned into a tourist town with shops and restaurants. Not only can it now be visited by land, there are yachts, cruise ships and ferries that line its shores.
The weather in Alaska is like the weather in Wisconsin sometimes....one minute it is sunny, the next it is raining. One day it's 70, the next it is 50. We have had two days of that kind of weather; but can't complain because most of our trip it's been pretty nice weather. Haven't pulled out the winter
coats and gloves .....yet!
Camped at a beautiful National Forest. Now that I have a Golden Card...all National Parks, campgrounds, and sites are half price or free. Hey...I found another nice thing about getting older:-)
If you look on the banks of this crystal, clear river...you will see white splotches. Those white splotches are the remains of salmon that the bear have eaten. I wish I could have seen the bears splashing in this stream, catching fish; but it's not the season. I needed to see some wildlife so we went to a Wildlife Conservation Center....
We hated to resort to this but.....I wanted to see more than bunnies, roadkill or stuffed animals at the Visitor Centers! One of the caribou were close enough to the fence for me to touch their antlers. They look velvety and they feel the same way. I know the rules are......
"Don't Touch the Animals!" but...you know how hard it is not to touch things that look soft.
These Kodiak cubs were abandoned last November on Kodiak Island. Since Kodiak cubs spend the first 3 years of their lives learning how to survive from their mother, they would not have been able to fend for themselves. The caretaker said that humans are unable to teach them those skills so they will be fenced in the rest of their lives. That was kind of sad to hear. They were 55 lbs. when they were found, now weigh about 150 and can reach up to 1500 full-grown! When mature, standing upright, they can be 13 feet tall! Being this close...glad they were behind the fence.
All the animals looked a little mangy
...they were shedding their winter coats.
Hey....winter's over....come on out!
I was wondering why so many of the tree looked dead. The sign said that in 1964 when the big earthquake struck the Anchorage area, (only 50 miles away) the lifting of the earth made this area flood
with the ocean salt water which killed the trees.
As the sign states...the town of Portage was destroyed by the earthquake. If this cabin was part of the original site of the town in 1964...they were a little behind in style and development :-)
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