Whittier to Anchorage

Disembarkation Day: Whittier, Alaska.  The ship was docked when we woke up.  The first three photos show the view from our balcony from left to right. Whittier is a city at the head of the Passage Canal and is a port for the Alaska Marine Highway. This was once part of the portage route of the Chugach people native to Prince William Sound. Later, the passage was used by Russian and American explorers, and by prospecting miners during the Klondike Gold Rush. The nearby Whittier Glacier was named for American poet John Greenleaf Whittier in 1915, and the town eventually took the name as well.  

 

The white spot in the middle right is something else the town is known for - The Anton Anderson Memorial Tunnel, the only land access to Whittier.  More on this later. During World War II, the United States Army constructed a military facility, complete with port and railroad, near Whittier Glacier and named the facility Camp Sullivan. The spur of the Alaska Railroad to Camp Sullivan was completed in 1943, and the port became the entrance for United States soldiers into Alaska

On March 27, 1964, Whittier suffered over $10 million worth of damage during the Good Friday earthquake. Measuring 9.2 in magnitude, this earthquake is the largest in U.S. history and second largest ever recorded on earth.  It caused tsunamis along the West Coast of the U.S. The tsunami that hit Whittier reached a height of
43 ft and killed 13 people.

We started our trip to Anchorage with a loop around Whittier.  Whittier is often call, "the town under one roof".  That's because most of its 272 residents live in the Begich Towers Condominium.  This 14-story building was completed in 1957 and contains 150 two-and-three-bedroom apartments plus efficiency units. The Whittier School is connected by a tunnel at the base of the west tower so students could safely access school on bad weather days.  I suspect the children take that route most days as Whittier has an extremely wet climate, averaging 197 inches of precipitation per year.

The other large structure in town, the Buckner Building, was completed in 1953, by the military. It is now abandoned.

I hear there are two hotels for visitors

This is the town side entrance to a pedestrian tunnel running under the railroad tracks to the harbor.

Last sighting of our ship as we head out of Whittier.

Black bear out for a stroll at the head of the canal.

Learnard Glacier

Doesn't look like much, does it?  Well, it's the Whittier entrance to the Anton Anderson Memorial Tunnel. It's actually two tunnels, one 2.5 mile long and one 1 mile long. The first time I came to Whittier, the only way to go through the tunnel was by train.  It was converted to bimodal use by 2000.  Vehicular traffic is dictated by the train schedule. 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 enables a single lane of traffic to travel directly over the railroad track which saved tens of millions of dollars over the cost of constructing a new tunnel.  The tunnel is the longest (2.5 miles) highway tunnel in North America, and the first designed for -40 Fahrenheit temperatures and 150 mph winds. 

The interior is exposed rock, and contains several "safe-houses", which are small buildings that are used in case of severe earthquakes, vehicle fires, or other emergencies. The tunnel also contains several pull-outs, which are reserved for disabled vehicles.[7] As motor vehicle speed in the tunnel is limited to 25 miles per hour (40 km/h), it takes about ten minutes to travel from end to end. 

Once through the tunnels, indicated by dotted lines in the middle right of the photo, we emerge into the Portage Valley.  It is named for the Portage Glacier.  This glacier is now behind a curve of the lake so you can't see it. I saw it from the visitor center in the late 1980's.

This is Explorer Glacier.  Photo taken from the "You are here" spot on the above map. 

Our next stop was the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center.

Wood bison were once considered extinct but now the US has a population of wild wood bison for the first time in 100 years. In, 2015, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game released a total of 130 wood bison along the Innoko River near the community of Shageluk.  So, what differentiates wood bison from plains bison? Plains bison have massive heads with short noses and have clearly defined shaggy capes that cover the upper portion of their bodies. Woods bison, on the other hand, have large triangular heads and have less defined shoulder capes and head hair, and they have more distinctive and bigger shoulder humps.

Bison are grazers and feed primarily on grasses, sedges and forbs. Wood bison are the largest land animal in the entire Western Hemisphere! A large, mature bull wood bison will often weigh 2,250 pounds versus the 1,900 pounds of the smaller plains bison. A mature cow wood bison will weigh in at about 1,000 pounds. Calves are born from May to July, are a reddish color for a few weeks, and weigh in at 40 pounds at birth. They begin to grow horns and develop a “hump” at about two months. 

A mother and baby muskox.  Despite their name, muskox are members of the goat family. They’re an ancient species of arctic mammal with a thick outer coat consisting of long (up to 36 inches) guard hairs that cover a dense underfur known as qiviut. Qiviut is considered to be one of the warmest materials in the world.  

In the summer of 2019, a muskox calf was rescued from an oil facility in Prudhoe Bay, Alaska. The staff of several companies in the area assisted with the capture of the orphaned female muskox after she was separated from her herd during a bear attack. The AWCC worked with the Alaska Department of Fish & Game to relocate the calf to our facility. After the successful relocation, the AWCC took Artemis in, nursing her to health and working very closely with Large Animal Research Station (LARS) through the University of Alaska Fairbanks.

Analysis of motion picture footage has determined that force generated in a clash between muskox bulls is equivalent to that of a car running into a concrete wall at 17 mph. 

Two men riding snow machines on Hugo Mountain near Kotzebue, Alaska, found our grizzly bear, Hugo in 2000 abandoned and with hundreds of porcupine quills embedded in her paws. 
She was severely dehydrated, malnourished and was unable to walk or eat when she was brought to the AWCC. Although she has made an incredible recovery, she cannot be released back into the wild because she does not have the necessary skills to survive on her own. Hugo was the first bear to be given a permanent home at AWCC. She loves catching fish in the stream, playing with her fellow brown bears, JB and Patron, and playing with hay bales she receives for enrichment.
Hugo is AWCC’s only grizzly bear. Grizzly bears are a type of brown bear. They are smaller than coastal brown bears because they do not have as much access to rich fish runs. They also face colder and more brutal winters than the coastal bears. Grizzly bears are found throughout the United States, whereas coastal brown bears are found only in Alaska. Brown bears are omnivores, so they eat deer, moose, fish, as well as leaves and berries.

Their mother killed a moose calf in a local resident’s backyard and as result, the man was afraid the bear might try to attack his dog. The man killed the sow*, not knowing she had cubs nearby. Once he saw the two cubs, he called the area wildlife biologist to notify him of the situation. The biologist, who happened to be a former gymnast, daringly climbed to the top of the skinny tree the cubs were hiding in. He was able to grab the smaller male cub by a rear leg, holding on to the tree with the other hand. He climbed down and lowered the cub into a fish net. The second cub was more of a challenge; she was a large female cub and acted aggressively. The biologist climbed to the top of the tree, injected her with a sedative, then grabbed her by the scruff. As he began to climb down, the skinny birch tree began to bend and crack. The tree bent all the way over, delivering the biologist and the cub safely to the ground!
After they were rescued and monitored, JB and Patron came to live at the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center in 2004. The siblings have since thrived! They can both be found wandering their large wooded enclosure, digging holes in the ground, or catching fish in the stream running through their enclosure! The siblings also enjoy roughhousing with each other and their fellow bear, Hugo.
*In Alaska, killing a bear in defense of life or property is legal.

JB and Patron are both coastal bears, commonly referred to as brown bears. Coastal bears tend to be larger than their cousins the grizzly bears because they have better access to rich fish runs. They also do not face as cold and brutal of winters as the grizzly bears of interior Alaska do. Bears are omnivores, so they eat deer, moose, and a variety of birds as well as leaves and berries. Brown bears can weigh up to 700 pounds and stand as tall as 9.5 feet!

This bear was hanging out in a "cave".

While this one just ignored all the people looking down at it 

Elk in Alaska are limited to island habitats with temperate, maritime climates. They feed on a variety of plants at different times of the year. During the summer months, they favor grasses, forbs, willows, and other leafy greens while in the winter they munch on branches and twigs of trees and shrubs. The last native elk were found in interior Alaska during the “Ice Age” and died out many thousands of years ago. Modern elk populations were derived from Washington and Oregon elk being transplanted to islands in southeast Alaska and Kodiak.

Twix, a male porcupine, was orphaned in May 2018 in Juneau, Alaska.  He was one day old when found with his umbilical cord still attached. Raising Twix from infancy has allowed us to learn a lot about porcupettes, including their needs and natural behaviors. Porcupettes nurse from their mother for up to 4 months and can eat vegetation after just a few weeks. As an orphan, Twix was bottle-fed with goat milk because it is gentle on the stomach and very nutritious. Porcupettes are born with their quills that harden within hours of birth.
Most of the animals were elusive so I had to use the photos of the AWCC website. 

The raven is a year-round resident of Alaska and nests from the Seward Peninsula and Brooks Range, throughout the mainland, and down the Aleutian Chain and Southeast Alaska archipelago.
 Many Native Alaskan beliefs depict the Raven as a “trickster” spirit. Long recognized as one of the most intelligent birds, the Raven also has a less than savory image throughout history as a scavenger that does not discriminate between humans and animals. Ingenious and versatile, Ravens are members of the crow family, which includes jays and magpies. They are found everywhere in Alaska and adapt to very different terrain, from deserts to mountains- a feat requiring high intelligence.
 

Wet coyote.  I believe this one is Aurora, she was discovered on the runway of the military base, her mother and littermates nowhere to be found.  She was relocated to AWCC in 2017. Aurora was named after the northern lights, known as the Aurora Borealis. Aurora is smaller in size than her male companion and has distinguished colored markings on her body.  
Coyotes weigh between 22 to 35 pounds with males weighing more than females. Coyotes breed between January and March, giving birth in the spring to an average of five to seven blind pups. Coyotes are often referred to as the “song dog” and are the most vocal of the wild canids. Coyotes are carnivores with a varied diet of snowshoe hares, moose, rodents, caribou, marmots, ground squirrels, muskrats, fish, and insects.

Togiak came from a litter that was living in a den in the flight path at the military base in Anchorage, Alaska. When the United State Department of Agriculture went to relocate the den, Togiak was left behind by his family and was transferred to the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center in 2016. Togiak was named after the Togiak National Wildlife Refuge by the Ahklun Mountains in southwest Alaska. 

The weather was not good this day.  Off and on rain, wind and temps in the 50's. 

The most we saw of the lynx.  Don't know if it is Calvin or Chena.  Calvin the Canada lynx was rescued in the Bethel area after his mother was killed. He arrived as a 6-pound kitten.
Calvin is very vocal and energetic and keeps his care takers on their toes. Lynx are the only felines native to Alaska. A lynx’s feet are the same size as a mountain lion’s even though a lynx is one quarter the size. A lynx’s large feet relative to body size help act as snowshoes so they can stay on top of snow.

Chena the Canadian Lynx arrived at the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center in 2014 after being rescued from North Pole, Alaska.
From a young age Chena had been kept illegally inside a small chicken coop and as a result, has developed multiple physical handicaps. Since coming to AWCC, Chena’s life has improved dramatically. She can often be seen eating full chicken breasts and bathing in the sun.

Snappy is our male Great-Horned Owl. He arrived at AWCC in 1999 from Anchorage after suffering a gunshot wound. He is a partial wing amputee and has a permanent home at AWCC.
Did you know? Despite popular belief, owls cannot turn their heads all the way around. They can, however, turn their heads about three-quarters of the way around in either direction. This is possible because their eyes are conical, so large that they cannot be moved within their sockets. This head motion, therefore, allows them to accurately detect sound and movement.
Birds such as bald eagles and great horned owls have a variety of feather types. Flight and tail feathers are long and strong, while contour feathers are smaller and softer, providing birds with their streamlined shape. Down feathers are fluffy and provide insulation by trapping in air next to their bodies.

Adonis arrived at the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center in 1995.
A bald eagle develops its white head feathers when it becomes mature at the age of 4 or 5 years old. Adonis already had his white head feathers when he arrived at the AWCC, so it is estimated that he is about 25 years old.
 Many eagles migrate south for the winter, but some remain in Alaska year-round. Visiting eagles frequent the AWCC to rest or hunt near the Turnagain Arm.

*Even though it is illegal to harm an eagle under the Bald Eagle Protection Act, an estimated 2,000 – 3,000 eagles are shot or injured in the United States each year.

Storm

In June of 2013, Jade was picked up by joggers on a running trail in Anchorage believing he was orphaned. Foxes are known to be very curious animals so it’s possible that Jade may have just been exploring his new surroundings when he was found. Because it is illegal to take a fox kit as a pet, Jade was brought to the AWCC where he has been given a permanent home. Jade has become a favorite animal at the AWCC and can be seen “wagging” his tail around curious visitors while enjoying the occasional raw egg.

 
Wolves are carnivores with moose and caribou making up the majority of their diet throughout much of Alaska. In southeast Alaska, Sitka black-tailed deer are their most common prey animal. There are an estimated 8,000 wolves in Alaska, which is the only state in the U.S. in which wolves have never been included on the Endangered Species List. They range over almost all of Alaska’s territory. At birth, pups weigh about 1 pound, but full-grown wolves can weigh anywhere between 100 and 150 pounds. Wolves depend on their unique and highly-developed social structure: the pack. Pack size averages 5 or 6 individuals and is led by an ‘alpha’ pair of wolves.It is vital to a wolves’ mental and physical health, as well as survival, to not be alone.

Bri and Deshka were born at Triple D Game Farm, an accredited zoological facility in Montana – but have no relation.   The two were brought to AWCC for the specific purpose of becoming ambassadors for their species.  Bri gets her name in reference to the Bering Strait Bridge. Bri loves working with our animal care staff, training for educational programs, and playing with Deshka. She can often be found sleeping on the roof of the hut found in her enclosure.
Deshka gets her name from a river found in the Matanuska-Susitna Valley in south-central Alaska. She has thrived since arriving at AWCC. She is naturally shy, but she has become the “alpha” of our pack. She can often be found howling at the Alaska railroad trains as they chug through daily!

Lothario (pronounced La-Thar-E-O) was born in 2015 and came to the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center in 2016. His name comes from a charming and seductive male character from a play during the 1700s. He is a black phase wolf, and, along with our other male wolf, Dirus, comes from the Zoological Wildlife Conservation Center in Oregon. Lothario was born in captivity for the purpose of being an animal ambassador for his species and educating the public about his wild counterparts. Lothario loves to play and you will most likely see him with a toy or ball in his mouth.
 Lothario is a black phase Gray wolf with ancestral roots which trace back to Alaska. Black phase wolves are usually born pure black and, as they age, each year their coats will shed out and when it grows back in the color will be slightly lighter. Many black wolves will be gray within a few years. Wolves are carnivores, and therefore moose, caribou, and deer make up a large part of their diet. As a pup, they can weigh as little as 1 pound, but full-grown wolves can weigh anywhere between 100 and 150 pounds.

Dirus (pronounced Deer-Us) was born in 2015 and came to the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center in 2016. Dirus’ name comes from a Game of Thrones character, Dire Wolf, whose fictional name is Canis Dirus. He can often be found rolling in the grass or bathing in the sun. 
Dirus is a white phase Gray Hudson Bay wolf with ancestral roots which trace back to Ontario, Canada. Dirus will remain in a white phase, or as a white wolf, for his entire life. Hudson Bay wolves are sub-species of Gray wolves – very similar to the Arctic wolves of Alaska with slender bodies and long legs.  

Kobuk was brought to AWCC in the spring of 2016.
He was found as an orphan in Valdez, Alaska after his mother had been chased off by dogs. Kobuk had become dependent on searching through trash cans for food, so to stop this bad habit of his and any potential conflicts it may have caused with humans, Kobuk was rescued and transferred to AWCC. Kobuk has since thrived! He loves climbing trees, playing with balls filled with honey and blueberries as well as interacting with our animal care staff.
What’s in a name? Kobuk was named after Kobuk Valley National Park, as a tribute to the 100th Anniversary of the National Parks in 2016. Despite their name, black bears are not always black in color. To tell them apart from brown bear, instead look for traits like taller ears, straighter face profiles, and a lack of a shoulder hump.

Kobuk was playing with a stick when we were there. 

After the AWCC, we headed north to Anchorage.  This trip took us along the Turnagain Arm, a lovely drive when the weather is nice.  Anyway, we happened to see a tidal bore.  A tidal bore is a tidal phenomenon in which the leading edge of the incoming tide forms a wave of water that travels up a river or narrow bay, reversing the direction of the river or bay's current. 
There are about 60 places in the world where this is something to watch.  Alaska’s most famous bore tide occurs in Turnagain Arm. It builds up to 6 – 10 feet tall and can reach speeds of 10 to 15 miles per hour. It takes not just a low tide but also about a 27-foot tidal differential (between high and low tide) for a bore to form in Turnagain Arm.

We got to the Hotel Captain Cook for our two-night stay, and this is the view my sister had from her window.  Much better than ours.