Monday, January 19, 2009

Day 10 Jan 10th




Part of the uniqueness of living in rural Alaska includes the fact that our town is not connected to any road system. Hence we have the Alaska Marine Highway system which means we have to take a ferry to get to the road system. In the winter that means a 6 hour (or longer) ferry trip to get to Whittier. Our high school sports teams spend a lot of time on the ferry. The time does give kids time to do homework. Since we were going to be gone for a week Cadi had a bunch to get done. The one picture is of her working on the ferry. The other picture is as we waited for the tunnel to open so we could drive into Portage valley. This tunnel was put in during WWII to get to an ice free port. For years the only way you could get through the tunnel was by train. You would drive you car onto a train car and sit in your car as it chugged through the tunnel. Several years ago they upgraded it so that cars can drive through but it is only one way so you wait until the direction you want to go is open and then you drive through. I think it a little over 2 miles long.

4 comments:

  1. Wow! What a great opportunity to gain insight into your life in Alaska.

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  2. dumb question, is the triangle the actual tunnel or something totally else?

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  3. The triangle is the entrance to the tunnel.. Not a dumb question...

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  4. Well that makes it easier to understand why there is no Target there LOL! Really amazing.

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