{"id":4725,"date":"2010-07-14T10:45:19","date_gmt":"2010-07-14T15:45:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.howderfamily.com\/blog\/?p=4725"},"modified":"2022-02-03T07:31:57","modified_gmt":"2022-02-03T12:31:57","slug":"whittier-alaska","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.howderfamily.com\/blog\/whittier-alaska\/","title":{"rendered":"Kenai Adventure, Part 2"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Whittier is a scenic town of perhaps two hundred people on the western side of Alaska’s Prince William Sound. There are dozens of picturesque villages dotting the coastline of the Kenai Peninsula so that’s not why I stopped here on a cold, rainy morning in July. No, I wanted to experience its rich concentration of geo-oddities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Harbor<\/a>
Harbor at Whittier Alaska<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

I do have to admit it’s a pretty hamlet in its own right, with little fishing boats bobbing in the harbor and mountains towering on practically every side. There’s even a glacier on the outskirts of town that creaked and groaned as we sat in our car with the windows rolled-down, listening. Why would we be waiting in our car in rural Alaska? Well, that’s because the only way to drive in or out of Whittier is through a tunnel, and it’s only open in a single direction at specific times throughout the day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The Amazing Tunnel<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"Anton<\/a>
Anton Anderson Memorial Tunnel<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Thus the weirdness begins simply by driving into town. Sure, one could always fly or boat into Whittier. However, then one would miss the amazing Anton Anderson Memorial Tunnel<\/a>, “North America’s Longest Railroad-Highway Tunnel.” I’ve wanted to visit this spot for awhile simply because I have to admit that I have a thing for superlative tunnels<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Whittier Tunnel burrows directly through Maynard Mountain for 2.5 miles (4 km). Indeed, trains and automobiles use the same narrow channel through solid rock, the only overland connection between Whittier and the outside world that doesn’t involve serious mountain climbing. I shot some great video of a train entering the same tunnel we drove ten minutes later that I’ll post at a later date.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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County Counting Extravaganza<\/h2>\n\n\n\n