7/1 to 7/8
While here in Anchorage, we had some time to relax. There were nice parks with walking trails which we took advantage of. We also spent some time walking around downtown Anchorage which is very beautifully landscaped. We went to Ship Creek where many fishermen were fishing for the Salmon that had swum up the river to spawn. On July 4 the fireworks show was after a double header amateur baseball game between 2 Alaska teams. They have an amateur league here. We enjoyed the ball games very much and the fireworks show was awesome. The city supposedly spent $12,000 on the fireworks. We went to The Ulu Factory. What?? You don’t know what a ulu is? Well I will tell you. It is a knife made for cutting up food and nearly everyone who comes to Alaska buys one. They are on display in every kind of store even Walmart. However not all ulus are “The Ulu”. To be the original it must have the name “The Ulu Factory” on the box along with a Bear emblem. You can find them at all price ranges and some are even made in China. But of course you should only buy the original if you want the best. We did not get to see them make the blade because the guy was gone to lunch. It looks like a 2 man operation so there is no way they could make enough for all the tourists that are in Anchorage let alone all of Alaska. Kind of funny. We drove down to Whittier so that we could take a Prince William Sound cruise. The trip down was along the Turnagain Arm with mountains on both sides. Just before arriving in Whittier we had to travel through a tunnel. The tunnel is one-lane, and cars and trains take turns traveling through it. Vehicles must wait in the staging areas on either end of the tunnel when the train is using the tunnel. Tunnel tolls are charged according to the vehicle class. We were in our pickup and it cost us $12. Had we taken the RV it would have cost $35. We had to plan ahead so that we made it through the tunnel in time for our cruise. The town of Whittier has a population of 290. It is mostly a tourist town however they do operate the trains year round. Whittier was established during WII as a port and petroleum delivery center
tied to bases further north. It remained active until 1960. There are 2 very large building remaining from that period when the populating was 1200. Now most of the residents live in one of those buildings. It also houses the post office, Dr. Office, bank and other businesses. We found that very intriguing and unusual. About 100 people were on the cruise. We viewed many glaciers and also saw beautiful mountain vistas. The glaciers are so fascinating to me. Most of Alaska’s glaciers are located in the mountainous regions surrounding the Gulf of Alaska. The coastal mountains intercept the storms that travel through the Gulf of Alaska, into Prince William Sound and finally through the Chugach National Forest. When the storm clouds reach the forest, they are forced to rise to get over the Chugach Mountains. As they rise, the clouds begin to cool forcing them to expel their precipitation. In the high elevation of the mountains, where glaciers are forming, this precipitation comes most of the year in the form of snow. In fact, upwards of 100 feet of snow can fall annually. Some of the glaciers come down to the water. We were able to get very close to them. The ship captain set for long periods of time so that we could get good pictures and to watch for the glacier to calve, which means to drop off some of the ice. He told us to listen for a cracking sound and then to look in the direction of the sound. Sure enough we did see several times when the glacier calved. We only got a picture of one. When the sunlight strikes glacial ice, most of the colors of the spectrum are absorbed – only the blue wavelengths are reflected to the eye. That is why the glaciers appear blue and the blue color is more intense when it is cloudy. Most all of the glaciers are receding which means they are melting faster in the summer than snow accumulates in the winter. This is due to the change in weather in the northern regions.