June 27 - Alaska Day 10 - Prince William Sound

This is the last full day of the trip and it's a drizzly morning.

We are heading for a cruise of Prince William Sound today. Hoping for some cool sea birds, seals and a whale. Time will tell.

Our first stop is the Portage Glacier Visitors Center -- I was here earlier on this trip but really didn't stop to look around. We watch a really nice video and I visit a room describing the reintroduction of the Wood Bison to Alaska - the bison came from the Alaskan Conservation Center which we are visiting tomorrow.

We then board are vans so we can get thru the Whittier (Anton Anderson Memorial) Tunnel. The tunnel is 2.5 miles built during 1941-1943 (and it takes a little over 6 miles to drive thru - we timed it).

 It was built to withstand -40degree temperatures and 150mph winds. It's a one lane tunnel shared by trains and cars (going both directions). Obviously, a crossing schedule is maintained to ensure safety. Miss the time slot, you've got another 1 hour wait.

Thankfully, we have no trouble making it thru the tunnel to Whittier. This is where our Prince William Sound cruise begins.

We have about 20 minutes to walk thru town.

I so love fishing harbors.

A little squabble among the sea gulls.

The big yellow/orange building is where all the city services (hospital, etc) and most (if not all) of the ~200 residents live.

This building (Buckner Building) was built in 1953 and served a similar purpose as the yellow/orange building. The Buckner Building is abandoned due to asbestos.

Here we go on the cruise!

As we pull away from Whittier, there appears to be a glacier (at least a lot of snow) in the mountains above the city. Leading to several waterfalls.

Our first stop is a Kittiwake breeding ground with lots of nice waterfalls.

We were told there were only a few nesting birds this year. Reason is unknown but definitely concerning.

A bald eagle is sighted in the trees.

Several glaciers are seen.

At one of the glaciers, the water flow is so intense when it hits the rocks that the water shoots out like a fire hose.

We spot a few sea kayakers paddling in the ice. (I've always wanted to paddle here - maybe someday.)

More glaciers.

Coming into the Hidden Waterfall.

Not much wildlife seen on the cruise (a few birds) but it was still a fantastic day!

Back in Whittier, there are two Bald Eagle perched near our vans.

That's the last full day of the trip. It's gone fast.

Great day!