Rakesh stopped the vehicle on the side to give us time to figure out our direction on the map and decide our next destination.
“He’s following us.” Behind us was the same guy in the AWCC vehicle who had asked us to leave the place while we were watching the black bear.
“He wants to make sure we really leave! Let’s leave and then figure out where to.”
We exit the AWCC road. “Any coffee place nearby?”
“Nothing close by. But there are a couple, 25 minutes or so away.”
“On the way to Seward?”
“No. It’s a detour we have to take.”
“I’m ok to drive. Just tell me the route.”
“Ok then. And anyway, there’s nothing to do in Seward today.”
“Let’s go.”
On the way, we crossed Portage Lake.
“There’s a scenic point here.”
Rakesh pulled over, and we got out to take a look. It was another amazing location – sunlight beaming down from one side and clouds covering the tops of the mountains on the other. There was an Indian couple in matching green sweaters clicking a lot of pics.
We also took a lot of snaps – especially focused on one person in the group. “These will be good snaps for matrimony websites.”
As we drove towards the cafe, we came to a toll gate – but it was manned, and we had to pay $13.
“Is this your first time?” the lady staff asked.
“Yes,” Rakesh replied.
“Here you go.” And she handed him the toll receipt and some pamphlets, which Rakesh kept aside in the car. “Go to lane 3 and wait for the green light.”
Rakesh got the car moving, and we saw a bunch of lanes ahead. He went into lane 3, which was empty, and waited.
“What is this? 6 lanes that go into the tunnel?” There was no other vehicle on any lane, but we still waited as the lady had said. Once the light turned green, Rakesh moved. And the 6 lanes merged into a single lane that entered the tunnel.
“We are going on top of a railroad track!”
“And there’s no other lane. What if a car comes from the opposite side?”
“Or what if a train came from the other side?”
“There is some space on the side.”
“Or Rakesh will go in reverse. Like Tom Cruise doing a stunt drive!”
We were literally driving on top of train tracks in a dark tunnel, which had lighting at periodic intervals. The speed limit was 25 mph, and there was an indicator displaying the speed of our vehicle – Rakesh stayed just under 25.
“Rakesh is going right through a mountain.”
The tunnel ride was nearly 5 minutes long, but there was finally light at the end of the tunnel!
“We are surely not continuing on the train tracks. It says take left.”
As Rakesh took a left onto the main road, we noticed a long line of vehicles waiting to enter the tunnel.
“They held up all the cars because of Rakesh. A VIP,” we joked.
I later found that the tunnel is called the ‘Anton Anderson Memorial Tunnel’ (also known as the Whittier Tunnel). It was built in 1943 by the US Army and served as Alaska’s main supply line during the war. 1941 is when Japan bombed Pearl Harbour; this was constructed after that and provided strategic military benefits. Pearl Harbour is straight down south of Alaska.
We entered the town of Whittier, and Rakesh parked the car in a parking lot. It was 8 pm. The cafe we came in search of had closed.
“Let’s just walk around.”
There were a row of shops and outlets – most had closed.
This is a port town, and we saw plenty of boats docked on the water. A lot of scenic views welcome you in Whittier – docks, boats, pristine waters, snow capped mountains, fluffy cotton clouds, sand and greenery.
Moorthy used his pro camera to take plenty of snaps of the scenery and of us.
“Moorthy, you go. I’ll take some snaps.”
He joined Rakesh to sit on a rock while I clicked. Just as he got up and walked, his foot hit a strong cable that was sticking out of the ground and tripped him over. He went down on his knees on the gravel. Got a little bruise but seemed ok – there are these small incidents that you don’t really think about at that moment but come back to bite you later on.
“I’ve seen that building in some photos before,” Raghav said, pointing to the one building that you’d see when stepping into Whittier – it was a weird multi colored building in white, pink and blue.
“That seems to be the only building over here where people can stay.”
There was no other structure that looked like a residential place.
“The whole town stays in one building?”
We later found out it was called the Begich Towers Condominium, and almost the whole town stayed there!
“This Wild Catch Cafe says open. Let’s check it out.”
Since it was near closing time, they said we couldn’t dine in. We picked some coffee – Kaladi Brothers Coffee (KBC), which we found in different places in Alaska (they are a coffee roaster brand started in Alaska, and we had also seen a couple of their cafes during the trip; even in Jitters, we remembered seeing some connection to Kaladi Brothers). We ordered the mixed berries cheesecake and a salmon burger. We ate in their outdoor seating area. The food was good.
It was past 9 pm when we exited Whittier.
The lane lights were all red, but another light a little further ahead was green.
“There’s no other car around. Maybe we can go?”
“No – it’s red. We should wait.”
We debated for a while. “Maybe that lady who was there when we came has left, and there’s no one.”
“Can’t be a manual system.”
“But then why is it red for so long even though no vehicles are here and nothing is coming from the tunnel?”
It was a bit of a wait before the signal turned green, and then Rakesh started. That was when we found that the pamphlet the toll gate lady gave us had information about how this tunnel operates.
“That’s why she asked you whether this was your first time here.”
The pamphlet explained the 6-lane system and the rules to be followed within the tunnel. Oh well, too late for us!
Whittier was also marked in some places as the “Gateway to Prince William Sound” – I had never heard the term ‘sound’ before used in the context of a place – ‘sound’ as per the dictionary refers to a wide body of water connecting larger bodies of water. Some operators run cruises from Whittier into Prince William Sound.
Even though we had seen many scenic sights by now in Alaska, we still weren’t bored of them – if you do visit Alaska, it’s definitely worth a ride to Whittier through the tunnel.