We finally awoke to a sunny and WARM morning, so Sara and I sat outside while I drank my coffee and read a book (the first I have had time to start!) and enjoyed the view of Turnagain Arm Bay! Tide is out, so the sand/mud formations look like the layers of the Grand Canyon. We pulled ourselves together and got on the road at noon, still not sure where we're staying. We must go somewhere to empty the tanks, so we knew that we would pass the Portage Valley RV park where we stayed on our way south (where we waited for the Mama moose and baby in the pond). So we headed there and decided on the way that we would see about visiting Whittier- which is no easy task. We stopped at the visitor center to get the scoop on the tunnel, and while there, I happened to notice something under the RV - upon investigation, it seems to be the heating pad that goes on the water tank to keep it from freezing. I had noticed it hanging last time I inspected the RV after one of those rough roads, but it was not hanging to the ground - now the edge is tattered and it was hanging by cords. So I rolled under the RV and used my hiking stick to identify the pad, then rolled it up with a thin bungee, and tucked it up. I think I can do a little better job with zip ties later this eve (Lynn, remember our Zip Car in Boston that had the whole front bumper held on with zip ties? - so I'm a strong believer in zip ties!!). But back to Whittier - This is the town that has a one lane, 2.5 mile tunnel (the longest tunnel in North America) and is the only road in and out of a town that sits in Prince Willian Harbor. AND, the one way tunnel handles trains and cars going both directions, all controlled by scheduled "Release times" - i.e. All vehicles line up in designated size lanes (cars, buses, RV's, trucks), then pay a fee ($13 roundtrip for the RV), and then wait for your turn to drive at 25 mph over the train tracks in the tunnel for about 10 mins - it's a little like trying to draw a straight line for 1 mile! We came out into a true fishing village, quiet, charming, but authentic (lots of rusty, rotting boats amongst the new vessels). We took Sara to explore the town, and happened upon Campground Road, which had not been mentioned in the books, so had to check it out. As we came upon the campground, which was a bit rough, we heard the creek and waterfall sounds, so followed some trails until we found the source - many waterfalls of melting snow coming down to form Whittier Creek. We thought we had made a discovery until we turned around and found 4 other people following us - guess we didn't discover it after all! We then walked end to end in town (including going through a long corrugated tunnel that takes you under the railroad tracks), hoping to find an outdoor restaurant with fish - outdoor wasn't the problem, but finding fresh fish here is difficult! The China Sea was advertising fresh fish, but we just couldn't bring ourselves to eat at a Chinese restaurant in Alaska!! So we chose Swiftwater Cafe with halibut fish and chips, got it to go, and sat out at the marina to eat near Sara. I must say the halibut was delicious, much better than the last we had, and even the breading was so fresh and light, but still a $20 meal! But if the food supply trucks have to pay that tunnel toll, I guess food will be expensive!
Linda partook of the espresso ice cream on our way back to the RV, Sara picked up a few morsels at the local dumpsters, and I am driving or I would have had one of my Alaskan beers! It was 5:40 and we knew our way out of the tunnel was open at 6pm so we hurried to the wait lines - going in had about 50 cars and RV's, but as we pulled up for outbound, there suddenly appeared over 150 vehicles waiting to get out . Amazing since I didn't see more than 50 people in the town all day, and all these vehicles were going out of town together - wonder what town looked like after we left?! They say population is 220 and they have one "condo" building, 14 stories tall, that used to be military housing, and now houses most of the residents of town - just a different way of life!! But we finally got our green light in row 4 of the RV vehicles to go back through the tunnel. Just a few miles out the other side was Portage Valley Campground where we were staying, and the all important dump was located! Did the dirty work and set up camp for the night, then taking a walk through the back of the campgrounds to their waterfall and letting Sara get a good off leash run. And then, back to the zip tie repair that will hopefully hold us together til we have our appt at RV repair in 5 days!