Jun 16, 2013 - On to Valdez

This morning Judi said since it was only going to be a short drive today she wouldn't have too many photos to deal with this evening. Boy was she wrong! These last 3 days the scenery has just gone from great to wow! While having breakfast, we heard & then saw Trumpeter Swans taking off from Willow Lake. We now know why they're named "trumpeter" - they really do trumpet as they take off. We were able to get photos right from the breakfast table. Does it get any better than this? We, almost reluctantly, left Willow Lake & headed to Valdez. We...

Sep 2, 2012 - Valdez to Palmer

Leaving Valdez this morning. Took a brief walk during a period of mist rather than rain. Clouds are extremely low & we're at sea level here. The drive to Palmer was scenic especially after we got out of the clouds north of Valdez. The Keystone Canyon has been cut by glaciers and has steep walls, glaciers, & lots of waterfalls. The vegetation is like a rain forest. Then we took Glenn Highwat over to Palmer. We're staying a few miles out of town in Mt. View RV park. We had very little rain today...just the mist/sprinkles around Valdez.

Sep 1, 2012 - Valdez

I'm catching up as we had trouble accessing wifi for a couple of days. All day and more it rained & rained...at least 40 hours of rain. Jim went fishing & I stayed in the RV. At least we had cable tv, so I was able to watch some college football including the Huskers. Jim caught no fish but did see a young bear scamper across the road. The scenery in Valdez is gorgeous, but I can't see a lot of it with all these clouds. We had to leave Eagle's Rest RV park due to its being full tonight, so we just moved across the road to Bayview. It's...

Aug 12, 2012 - #5 Alaska - 1st week, July 28 - Aug 5

# 5 - 1st Week, July 28 - Aug 5 Our first week in Alaska started with a visit to Eagle, a sleepy little community on the Yukon River near the Canadian border. It ended at Valdez, a bustling seaport at the head of Prince William Sound. We were determined to slow down and absorb as much as possible of Alaska during our projected 4 weeks in this huge state. We drove only 710 miles this week (1500-2000 is more typical when we are trying to get somewhere), and spent more than one night at several places. This is difficult for me, because it...

Aug 5, 2012 - Valdez AK Pop 3,976

August 5 – 9, 2012 Valdez, Alaska – Human population 3,976 (and 4,000 feral lop eared bunnies) We drove along the snowcapped Chugach Mountains on the way to Valdez. We stopped at Worthington Glacier, the most accessible glacier in the state. At one time the glacial ice came within a few feet of the parking lot; today the ice has retreated a good ways up the mountain. Around the bend were some spectacular waterfalls! Valdez is the southern end of the Richardson Highway and the trans-Alaska pipeline. We can see the oil terminal across the...

Aug 1, 2012 - valdez, AK

On the way to valdez got a good view of the pipeline. campground,gave me a room (house) with a view, mountians out every window. Crusied Prine William sound, started with seeing the Cornella Marie of the deadliest catch. On the curise we got to see all kinds of critters, pictures say it all. Learned that ice bergs that always look white, is because the air/sun exposure bleaches them out. one pic is of one that turned over showing the blue ice underneath. Got so close the the glacier, could not get it all in one pic, so took short vidieo to...

Jul 31, 2012 - Wildlife And Glacier Cruise In Prince William Sound At Valdez

7-31 Wildlife and Glacier Cruise In Prince William Sound A Beautiful Day In The 60s Staying At The Bear Creek Cabins And RV Park We woke up to such a beautiful morning we decided to do a little picture taking in Valdez before our afternoon cruise. We stopped first at a small creek right along the highway where the salmon go to spawn. From the overlook deck we could see about 4 salmon digging their way into the pebbly bottom of the creek near the shore. We drove back up the Richardson Highway through Keystone Canyon to get photos in the sun...

Jul 30, 2012 - Valdez, AK Part 2

The next day after the magnificent bear viewing we woke to a marvelously sunny day. Sunny days are few and far between in Alaska's coastal regions. This summer was a very wet and cold one altogether. We decided to take a road trip with Brenda and Ron to Worthington Glacier, about 30 miles up the Richardson Highway from Valdez. It was a great day for strolling on the glacier but the terrain was much more challenging than the Matanuska Glacier we had done. Given that my middle name is not Grace and Brenda was getting tired, the girls decided...

Jul 30, 2012 - 7-28, 7-29, 7-30 First 3 Days In Valdez

7-28, 7-29, 7-30 First 3 Days In Valdez, 50s, Drizzly, Ugly, or Just Plain Rainin’ Staying at Bear Creek Cabins and RV Park Valdez is advertised as “the activity center for Prince Edward Sound” for both summer and winter activities. People go to fish there for both salmon and big halibut. Valdez has the oldest fishing derbies in Alaska, and awards thousands of dollars in prize money every year. Over 600 inches of snow fall in the nearby Chugach Mountains yearly, making snowboarding, skiing and ice climbing some of the best in the world....

Jul 29, 2012 - Valdez

A cold morning with lots of fog and low clouds but at least it was not raining. Because of the fog and clouds I stayed in the RV and did two loads of wash in the morning. After lunch I went out Dayville Road to see if I could possibly see the Mama Grizzly and her four cubs but she was not around. The fog and clouds had dissipated some so I decided to drive north on the Richardson Highway to Worthington Glacier and see what I had driven through the other day coming in when I could hardly see the road because of the fog and clouds. There is a...

Jul 29, 2012 - Head Banging

When we left the Homer Spit, we stopped at the Kenai Peninsula town of Seward for a few days and then drove the scenic Glenn Highway to Valdez. I am convinced that if you wish to drive Alaska and only have a limited amount of time to travel you must stick with the coastal towns. In Seward and Valdez, the jagged, snow topped mountain peaks, gigantic ice flows and steely, glacier fed rivers all convene for a spectacular landscape. Seward is located on Resurrection Bay on the eastern side of the Kenai Peninsula. It is a docking port for...

Jul 28, 2012 - Glennallen and Valdez

Oh my what a fabulous couple of days of wildlife! But first... We left Palmer on July 27th and headed to a campground just outside of Glennallen. Except for the fact that I saw my life flash in front of my eyes when someone (not mentioning any names Wayne) headed down some steep and windy mountains forgetting we had a jeep behind us. As the dogs and knife set flew and I about fell out of my seat we got it under control. I didn't take any pictures the first part of the trip since we had covered it the day we walked on the glacier. Somehow, I...