Going on the Prince William Sound Cruise in Whittier

We had another cruise scheduled that would take us over to Whittier and Prince William Sound. The drive to Whittier was about an hour and a half and you have to leave a little earlier because there is a one lane tunnel to the town. You can only go through the tunnel to Whittier on the half hour. The tunnel is a little over 2 miles long through a mountain and is shared by all vehicles and a train. I have never seen or driven in a tunnel like this. We got to Whittier and it is a small port city with lots of fishing vessels and a few boats for daily cruises.

Some history on Whittier!

The city itself is a historical area, established by the U.S. Army during World War II. The Federal railroad to Portage was completed in 1943 and became the primary debarkation point for cargo, troops, and dependents of the Alaska Command.
In 1948 the military began construction of the first of two buildings for their military personnel as the Port of Whittier was then recognized as an ice-free, deepwater port strategically located to Anchorage and Interior Alaska. This remained active until 1960 at which time the total population was 1200.
The City of Whittier was incorporated in 1969. Today, less than 300 people reside in the town supporting the Alaska State Ferry, the Alaska Railroad, freight barge, commercial fishing, the Small Boat Harbor, recreation and tourism with an annual visiting population of over 700,000.

One of the two buildings was damaged by the tsunami caused by the earthquake in 1964.  It is still standing because it has asbestos and would cost to much to remove. The remaining building was remodeled and now houses 80% of the city's population.

The cruise ship took us to several glaciers and we got really close and could hear the cracking and calving of the glaciers. We also got to see the harbor seals laying on the ice that had calved. All of the glaciers were of awesome proportions and one was 1700 feet high. This cruise was much smoother as the waters were protected by Prince William Sound. But once you get close to the glacier the weather changes and it becomes very, very cold! We also saw a humpback whale several times and its tail. They are really cool to see in the open waters. There were many sea otters just floating in the water. They just float on their backs and look so cute.
After getting off the vessel we had to wait to go throught the tunnel as you can only leave Whittier on the hour. Everyone lines up and heads back to their destination. We arrived home around 8:30 making it an 11 hour day, but worth every bit of time.

the abandoned building

80% of the residents live here