On our way we stopped at Portage Lake.
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| View of the Portage Glacier |
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| salmon berries |
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| Fireweed. |
After we left the Portage Lake area we stopped at a look out point to admire falls originating from the glacier.
Next we passed through the Anton Anderson Memorial Tunnel—the longest (2.5 miles) highway tunnel in North America, which provides limited access to Whittier. Since it is only one lane, cars heading into Whittier can access the tunnel on the half hour while cars heading out of Whittier can use the tunnel on the hour. The one-lane tunnel must be shared by cars and trains traveling in both directions, and it usually needs to be aired out in between trips (with jet turbine ventilation, another first!). This unique design that enables a single lane of traffic to travel directly over the railroad track saved tens of millions of dollars over the cost of constructing a new tunnel. Historical note...the tunnel was originally built during World War II to get military supplies in Alaska.
We were sad to leave our guide Eve Sapp at Whittier. She had been a truly wonderful tour guide throughout our 8 day land tour. She even provided each of us with a sheet summarizing our 8 day land tour plus a sheet of tips for excursions during our cruise.
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| map showing the Fairbanks, Denali, McKinley and Kenai lodge locations on our land tour |
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| view of the Golden Princess docked in Whittier Views of Whittier from our balcony on the Golden Princess:    |
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