The morning at the Portage RV dawned bright and sunny so that the surrounding mountain ranges looked glorious. It was a 'Sound of Music' moment!
The 40s built tunnel that serves both rail and autos, takes about 7 minutes to drive. Our truck wheels played in the track groves but at 25 mph it was easy to keep a little to one side. It was exhilarating! Joan made movies and tried to capture the moment we saw 'light at the end of the tunnel'. The town of Whittier, busy terminus for trains and ferries, begins immediately upon leaving the tunnel. You have literally passed through the mountain range from the Portage valley and reached the coast of Prince William Sound. It's a striking contrast.
We had arrived in Whittier by 10 am but wouldn't be leaving on the ferry until 2:30. There was to be a long, but warm day ahead in this small town of 400 unusual souls.
Directly across from the ferry parking was a public boat launch. The lady controling the traffic in this very busy spot agreed to let me launch my kayak on the outside of the dock away from the traffic. With Bob's help carrying it across the street and down the long dock, I was able to launch quite painlessly. I paddled out of the huge harbour and across Prince William Bay to a seabird rookery on high cliffs. Three waterfalls came down the cliffs onto the shelf at the water's edge. I hailed a small boat that was working along the base of the cliff. They were scientists netting and tagging birds in hope of tracking their migratory patterns. Each time they hurled the net, thousands of birds would lift off, fly out a short way, then return and settle. I was happy I had a wide brimmed hat. Bob was waiting to help me lift out when I found my way back to the dock.
The ferry was small and the ground support very lean. At 11, the office doors opened and a single counter person added us to a hand drawn list of passengers because the computers 'were down'. The compound for vehicles was kept locked until a customer parked in front of the gate and went in to fetch the second worker who brought the key, checked ID and allowed entry. Blarney needed a ticket, "Just to keep track, no charge," she said. The numbers were worn off the parking lanes so the guy directed people by saying, "the one with the drain cover!" Once we were admitted the gate was closed. We looked out like caged animals. Lucky Blarney was small enough to crawl under the gate because no pets were allowed through the building to the great world outside.
We had heartbreak issues with Blarney. We expected to have visitation privileges on board the 6 hour ferry journey but found out quickly that this probably wouldn't happen. "On the short trips the car deck is closed!" the lady told us. "But the web page said we could go down every hour!" On board, after agonizing over Blarney's fate of 6 hours in the trailer alone, we discovered our worst nightmare was true. Our neighbour in the line said about his dog, "Oh, he's fine. He's used to being alone all day." Blarney had never been alone longer than about 4 hours and never in the trailer. As the journey neared its end, we were near the head of the line to go below. All was well. Blarney was as excited as we were and he held his bladder like a trooper on parade.
Loading was also a strange thing to behold for folks used to the double ender BC Ferries. We loaded in the stern but left through a starboard side gate. Big rigs had to do a couple of shuffles to make the turn. The boat is small, probably no more than 30 cars and expensive. Our fare was $463 while Bob with less length cost in the $300 range but well worth it thanks to the weather.
The scenery on the run through the Prince William Sound was absolutely stunning. Once again we were blessed with clear, sunny skies. It was mountain view after mountain view with camera clicks and oohs and ahs non stop.
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