We have had another great week on our trip even though the weather has been rainy and cool for the whole week. The highs this week were the low 60's and the morning temperatures in the 40's.
We traveled the road through the Turnagain Arm. It starts outside of Anchorage.
There are lots of mud flats along the riversides. They are like quicksand.
We saw the remainder of a ice burg from a glacier floating in the water.
To get to Whittier you travel through a tunnel that is shared with trains. There is a fee schedule for vehicles.
The tunnel is one lane and there is a schedule for an approximate time that vehicles can be driven through the tunnel. It is a little flexible because of the trains.
We spent two rainy days in Whittier.
This was the view from our campsite. Lots of mountain waterfalls.
We went to Prince William Sound Museum in Whittier.
It tells about the ships in the area when it was first traveled.
There were displays about the railroad.
There were several war related displays with personal stories.
On our way out of Whittier we were delayed by a train going through the tunnel.
We stopped at the Begich, Boggs Visitors Center.
They had several animal displays.
Nancy found another old friend there Smokey The Bear.
There was part of a glacier that had fallen off and drifted into the lake area. They said it was about 1/2 the size that it had started out at a week earlier.
Just down the road we took the Portage Glacier Cruise.
The boats they use are enclosed on the bottom and have an open deck upstairs.
We took several pictures of Portage Glacier.
There were lots of big waterfalls.
Portage Glacier has a huge amount of snow, but has shrunk over the last 25 years the visitor center has been open.
We went through lots of ice chunks that are melting.
Next we stopped at Trail Lakes Fish Hatchery.
There were lots of small fish in the tanks.
It was interesting to see that out of 2,500 eggs they only end up with 80 adult fish.
We went to Moose Drop-In Trading post just to check out the fudge.
We were greeted by Morris the Talking Moose, it is started by the door opening.
It seems like glaciers are everywhere in Alaska.
We stopped at Kenai Fjord National Park Visitor Center.
It was surprising to see how fast the glaciers have melted since we were there in 2009.
We took the hike to the glacier. It was very rocky & filled with water in parts.
We walked through Seward.
While we ate lunch at a local restaurant we watched a group of sea otters playing.
The Alaska Sea Life Center was filled with lots to see & do.
They were celebrating 20 years.
There were tanks filled with all kinds of fish & other sea creatures.
This one was huge.
This seal was swimming in his pool.
The whale put on quite a show as he turned circles each time he passed the viewing area.
On the walking path was the sign for the mile 0 of the original Iditarod trail.
We stopped to check out the Fish Walk. They have set up boardwalks for people to fish from along the rivers to protect to river edges from erosion.
We went to the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge, it was originally started as a moose refuge and then expanded for all wildlife.
They have a big life size moose statue to welcome people.
Inside there were displays of the animals in the area & their habitats.
On the trails are historical cabins.
We drove to Homer. It's the Halibut Fishing Capital of the World.
There are several mountain ranges in the area & lots of ocean. That is the famous Homer spit in the middle of the bay.
We took a tour of the Alaska Sea Life Center in Homer.
They had lots of sea creatures.
We ate lunch at the Food Bus in Homer. It's a big red bus that is a restaurant.
We stopped to visit Nancy's sister Mary Ann, husband Dave, their granddaughter, Nikki, & Nikki's mom Jenny. They live in Anchor Point, Alaska.
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