Portage Valley Road

We stayed at this campground on the road to Whittier just 1.7 miles off of the Seward Highway

This small glacier comes right down to the campground. Easy walk as long as the bears don't mind.

This building at the campground is full of dry wood and has a central fire pit and chairs. There are also several BBQs. Very unusual for a campground to offer this type of facility. Maybe we'll go back and get a closer view. 

This rest stop is just 1 mile down the road from the campground. The glacier reflects the beautiful blue light and the lake is also blue. 

Portage Lake. In 1900 the lake didn't exist - it was all glacier. Since that time the glacier has been retreating and no longer reaches the lake.  Maybe the 12' of snow a year will sustain it!

The pass on the left (Portage Pass) was used by the historic Idiatrod trail.

The original train tunnel was modified to allow vehicles . One lane only. Trains always have priority and never stop. East bound vehicles traffic is on the half hour and west bound on the hour. The cost is $12 round trip.

Inside the 2 mile tunnel there is a safe house every 1500'. You'll see why earthquakes are an important consideration in a picture below.

Alaskan Wildlife Conservation Center right on the Seward Highway at the Portage Rd. They take care of injured or orphaned or animals that can no longer survive on their own.

Hi! I'm Walter

I'm BJ a brown bear

 And I have big claws

These dead trees are the result of the 1984 earthquake. The ground dropped 5-10'. As a result an extreme high tide will flood this area and kill the trees. At the same time the salt water preserves the trees and they may remain for a hundred years. The area is very large and it's just hard to imagine the power of a earthquake.

Black bear and raven

Bald eagle hanging out at the center

A shop in Whittier

We ate lunch here in Whittier

This red fox was in cavtivity to long to be returned to the wild.

 What's up?

Walter again

And BJ

Black bear

 Think I'll take a nap

Wood Buffalo were once thought to be extinct. In 2003 they received 13 buffalo from Canada and they are all scheduled to be released in 2014 as the herd size increases. There are 3-4 areas in Alaska that these animals are ideally suited for. They are also better suited for the extreme cold and weather than the plains buffalo.