I was going to call this “Turistas Cuatro”, but I think we actually have a new resident instead. My apologies for automatically thinking this was a tourist.
Whittier, Alaska
A man drove off the MV Kennicott of the Alaska Marine Highway system upon docking in Whittier. For some reason, he felt the overwhelming need to use his GPS… in Whittier… population 200. It would seem that the GPS unit told the man to make an immediate right, which took him down the small boat ramp, and into the harbor at high tide. The Subaru was submerged to the antenna. A former Marine, witnessing the event, jumped into the water, broke a window with a needle-nosed pliers, and rescued the man and his two dogs. Unfortunately, the cat did not make it out of the car.
Whittier is… quirky. In fact, it has been called “The strangest town in Alaska”, which is really saying a lot. Almost the entire population of the town lives in a single, WWII era “high-rise” built by the U.S. Army.
For the longest time, the only way into Whittier was from Prince William Sound, or by the Alaska Railroad which has a spur rail line running through a 2-1/2 mile tunnel under the mountain. A road now runs alongside the track for the tourists to explore the town, which takes roughly ten minutes. Although the setting is absolutely beautiful. There is no doubt about that.
The Cheechako is to be stationed at Elmendorf/Ft Richardson in Anchorage.
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