Whittier, AK

We drove to Whittier via the tunnel off the Seward Highway. The tunnel is used by vehicular as well as train traffic. Nearby Whittier Glacier was named for the famous poet, John Greenleaf Whittier. The town was first built as a port by the U.S. Army during WWII and remained an active military facility until 1960. It is now a small inlet village, one mile square. It is famous for its fishing expeditions and cruises to view the glaciers and wildlife in Prince William Sound, a fjord of Passage Canal. The majority of the townspeople live in one of the two large condominiums built by the Army in 1948. There were other military buildings all connected by underground passageways. The tunnels allowed movement during the cold winters. The largest building, once Alaska’s biggest, was badly damaged during the 1964 earthquake and remains empty.

We had a delicious lunch and met the school’s only elementary/middle school teacher. There are 35 students in her class. She said that most of her students live in her building, and they all use a tunnel to the classroom, which is located behind the larger condo. We left for Seward when the rains canceled our plans to take a cruise.

When we left Homer three days later, the sun was shining brightly, the breezes were warm, and we decided to return to Whittier. We were fortunate to claim the last two tickets for an amazing cruise of the Sound. We saw many glaciers, icebergs, sea otters, and a wide variety of birds. Our captain, cruise director, and U.S. Forest Ranger were friendly, informative, and knowledgeable. We were on deck most of the six hour tour, mesmerized by the mountains, glaciers, and sea life. We even saw a glacier calving (parts of the glacier breaking away into the water). The ranger told us that such a warm, clear, sunny day is rare in the Whittier area.

In bottom left, note Gloria holding Flat Samuel (cutout of our grandson) toward an iceberg with a large glacier in the background. He gets lots of attention at our various stops for those who know about Flat Stanley. He is holding Flat Esther, his pet.