Disembarked our cruise ship in Whittier for the drive over to the Kenai Princess Lodge. The tall building at the base of the mountain Nancy thought was a hospital . Wrong! It was where most of the locals live after the 1964 earthquake wiped out the town. Our cruise director Liz said the top floor is where the Airbnb is. On the way to the lodge we stopped to visit the Alaska Wildlife Conservation center. They rescue wild animals that have been injured or young ones that were abandoned. In natural environments we saw brown bear, black bear, moose, wood buffaloes, black tailed dear and many other small animals.
The drive from Whittier to the lodge was on a highway rated by National Geographic as one of the 10 most scenic drives in America. Absolutely fantastic views!!
In the afternoon we took a guided tour of the small town of Cooper Landing. Nancy & I were the only ones on the tour given by Lorraine Painter which was great and very personalized. She was a former dog sled musher and we met her last 2 dogs and her husband. Visited a local homestead and met and sat with Larry the owner who had built the log cabin from scratch 50 years ago with his wife and kids. Stopped at scenic viewpoints, visited the town museum and the very unique town cemetery. The town’s school is kindergarten though 12th and currently has 14 students in the whole school and 1 teacher.
The resort is fantastic and very rustic. It is separated into little lodges with 4 cabins in each lodge.
