Portage Valley, Whittier, Girdwood, Alaska
The boondocking site just outside of Seward was great. The views and the quiet night, off the Seward Highway, was what we were looking for.
We packed up and set out for the Portage Valley. This is where the Whitter Tunnel begins. The Bryon Glacier is on the Portage Valley side of the Tunnel also. We had taken a quick run up here a couple of days ago and checked out the Williwaw Campground. This is a national campground and we found camp sites big enough to take our rig. We got there early in the afternoon as to find a good spot, number 45, in the back corner on the east side. We set up in only 15 minutes. The leveling system, on our Cedar Creek 5th wheel, has reduced our setup time. In the past, we had to carry planking and had to move the 5th wheel on and off until we were leveled. The leveling system starts with the push of the button. We stand back and it self-levels in just a couple of minutes. No planking to transport or move around. Just stand back and it does all the work and beeps when it’s done. Last year when we decided to trade in our previous rig, a Montana 5th wheel, we made a wish list. This leveling system was on the list ever since we had seen other rigs on the road with this system. About 2 weeks ago the leveling system was out of adjustment and set up on a 6-degree angle. We were able to manually lower the legs at the time. After entirely shutting off the system then restarting, it reset the controller and was back doing its job. We think this is a tool worth having.
The next day, our first stop was the visitor’s center just up the road. There is a lot of information about the glaciers and activity in the area. We watched the video and it was time well spent. We discovered the Bryon Glacier path was a short distance away. So, we drove to the parking lot and walked the 2 miles, roundtrip path to the Bryon Glacier. It’s an easy walk getting close to the snow and glacier. We also enjoyed climbing up the rocks. The glacier is receding at a fast clip since the late 1800 and probably before. The glacier is crushing and scraping the rocks with newly forested land following the clearing.
We made a trip over to Whitter. To get there you have to travel through a 2 1 /4-mile tunnel. This tunnel was built by the government during the Second World War to create a military base. The tunnel was built to service one train track. The tunnel operates and allows traffic to flow in one direct on the hour and the other at the ½ hour. Then sometime in between, a train actually comes thru at its own time. Twice a day bigger rigs and RVs are permitted to travel thru with the other vehicles. You drive on the tracks and it’s a neat experience. There is not much to see or do in Whitter. There are a few local, quaint shops and restaurants. It’s a small fishing village built out of the military buildings left standing after the War. At the far side of the town lies vacant army living quarters. At the end of that road is a very nice little community park, surrounded by some residential homes. There is a beautiful, fast-moving waterfall off to one side of the park running into the Cook Inlet. The water is running off the mountains and glaciers. It is very, very cold.
We were driving north on the Seward Highway and Cathy saw a sign for the Alaskan Wildlife Conservation Center. We entered with a small fee and found this is a Center for rehabilitating rescued animals. Some will have a permanent home there. There were black and brown bears, elk, wood bison, caribou, Sitka deer, lynx, and a number of smaller animals. We took a lot of pictures. Our timing was great as they were just getting ready to feed the brown bears large slabs of salmon.
Girdwood, Alaska is just north of Portage Valley. It is about the ski resort. We found a 4G signal and spent time there updating our blog and doing our business and e-mail on the web. There was a small grocery for us to pick up a couple of items. The drive along the Cook Inlet is beautiful even though all of our trips back and forth were rainy and overcast. The views were still awesome.
The weather was cloudy and rainy a fair amount. We were boondocking and had to run our generator a lot. We were comfortable, but we had no internet or cell service. We enjoyed our time at the campground and were able to hike from the site out to the waterfall and down along the river. It’s an area preserved and would be a cold and hostile place in the winter. The mountains are on all three sides and it would fill up with snow and would not get much sunshine. As we had been there 4 days, it was time to head north. We planned to move up to Wasilla and get ready for our time in Denali.
Comments
Unbelievably beautiful photos. Love your blog. It makes me feel like I am right there with you.💜