Alaska Living

Thursday, April 23, 2009

Travel In Alaska (Work Commutes)

Trains! The Whittier Tunnel was closed due to a massive rock slide for 6 weeks. They reported rocks the size of houses. Whittier is only accessed by one 3 mile long tunnel (which is one land and both cars and trains share). It is the longest tunnel in North America. Anyway, somehow the train track was not affected by the rock slide, which was a 1/4 mile before the tunnel, off the road. So for 6 weeks, the state of Alaska opened the passenger train early (risking avalanche possibilities) for residents and workers needing to get in and out of Whittier. What was cool about this is that it was free and it was the first time I've ever been on a train. it was an awesome experience however, after riding it twice a week for the six weeks, I was excited when the road reopened and I could get to Whittier a lot faster. It was really nice kicking back and letting someone else do the driving while I chatted with the locals and drank my chai tea in a really plush cabin, while I watch the winter wonderland roll by out the window. This train started in Anchorage and ended in Whittier but you could jump on it in Girdwood or at Portage. I rode it all the way from Anchorage the first time (6 hours round trip for a 2 hour round trip drive) but then figured out that I could sleep in a little and drive "faster than train speed" down to Portage and just meet it there for a 30 min. ride to Whittier. Still loved it!

Planes! This is my main form of transportation. It's exciting, breathtaking and down right scary at times. It's like a box of assorted jelly filled donuts, you never know what you will get (unless you look for seepage on the ends) "smile" There are days, I'm like "Wow, I can't believe they pay me to do this" and others that I say "Wow, they don't pay me enough to do this." "smile" However, I have an amazing bush plane company with amazing well trained pilots and a great safety record. So, most of the time, I kick back with my tunes and enjoy the views. Regardless, I'm always glad that I'm not sitting in a traffic jam trying to get to work.
Automobiles! Not photos but (sorry) but yea, I have some pretty cool shots of driving to Whittier. Turnagain Arm is beautiful.








Planes

The Amazing! Here are some of the most beautiful spring flying shots I took this year. On these days, I'm loving life and wishing I could share it with all you!




















The Ugly (Below). Here we were leaving Chanega trying to fly into Tatitlek but there was a storm hovering right over the village. Although we had a rockin ride, we landed just fine.