Beautiful Valdez

 

Valdez is set in Prince William Sound, one of the most spectacular and unspoiled wilderness in the world. Two tragedies have tested the resilience of this community. Called the "Switzerland of Alaska," Valdez is ringed by snow-capped mountains. As the northern most ice-free port, the town the was established in 1898 as an outfitting point for miners taking the hazardous path trail over Valdez Glacier to the northern most gold fields.
In addition to the Gold Rush, Valdez’s rich history includes the 5-minute, 9.2 magnitude Good Friday Earthquake in 1964; construction of the Trans Alaska Oil Pipeline and Marine Terminal in 1970; and the 1989 Exxon Valdez Oil Spill and Cleanup.

 

Following a tip from young man at Valdez Tourists Center, we were lucky to find a Brown Bear munching on tender water grasses. We were on our way back from Peter Pan Seafood, where we bought salmon, cod, scallops and halibut.



The Valdez Small Boat Harbor is renowned for its quaint beauty. We agree. Nestled between the snow-capped Chugach Mountains, the azure blue waters provide safe haven to colorful boats of all makes.

While in Valdez we took a glacier and wildlife cruise on the Lu-Lu Belle, a custom-made seventy-five foot boat. Cruising through Prince William Sound, surrounded by the mountains of the Chugach National Forest, we were spell bound by the beauty. On our day-long trip, we watched fisherman harvesting salmon from the fjords, otters drifting lazily in the calm waters, breaching whales, puffins bobbing, sea lions noisily greeting us and Dall porpoises racing in and out of the wake made by the Lu-Lu Belle. Though we anticipated the grandeur of the Columbia Glacier, we were still in awe of the towering crystal blue wall of ice. We didn’t anticipate the constant noise made by the ice shifting. The weather promised to be calm, cool, but sunny day for our cruise. However, as we neared the glacier the temperature dropped 20 degrees, and we were all glad to have our winter coats as we stood on the deck watching the glacier calve huge chunks of ice into the frigid water.

Peter Toth, best known as a humanitarian artist, aspired to honor American Indians by carving a totem for each of the 50 states. This the 40^{th piece in Whispering Giants series.}

Valdez, because its harbor remains ice-free year round, is the terminus of the Trans Alaska Oil Pipeline. Over a million barrels of oil leave each day for the refineries of the lower 48. After 9/11, for security reasons, public access and tours of the facility were discontinued.

On our way out of Valdez this beautiful rainbow appeared over the harbor and mountains, a perfect ending to our visit.

 

Chapter 6 Welcome to AK (Tok to Valdez)

Finally, we made it!  "Welcome to Alaska" sign at the international border greets us.  This is a favorite photo op. We also had to change our clocks, again.  Alaska is so big that it has its own zone, Alaska Time.  Yukon Territory observes Pacific Time. Alaska Time is one hour earlier than Pacific Time, which means we are 4 hours behind our friends and family on the east coast and 3 hours behind those in the Midwest.



Looking south at the Alaska, USA and Yukon Territory, Canada border.

This is a cache, which is a safe way to protect supplies from scavenging bears, wolverines and squirrels. Many a man’s life in the North Country has been saved by food stored in a cache.

Tok Main Street Alaska sign welcomes you to have a great stay. Tok is the only town in Alaska that the highway traveler must pass through twice- once when arriving in the state and again on leaving. This is because no matter which road you use to enter the state, you must go through Tok.  (ps:  We are in Tok, again).

Trucks parked at All Alaska Gifts and along Tok mainstreet.

Stones and pebbles collected at Sourdough RV Park will make a bear paw print for Donna’s garden.

On one of our first days without rain, Bob and Tom fry up Missouri crappie dinner.

Pancake breakfast with reindeer sausage is a specialty at the Sourdough RV Park. Each evening at 5pm left over pancakes are used at a Pancake Toss competition. Winner receives free breakfast the next day.

Trumpeter swan and cygnet in small lake along Tok Cutoff.

A view of Wrangell Mountains from Copper Center.

Squirrel Creek Campground, bordered by the creek and a pond, is an Alaska state recreational park. We stayed two nights, enjoying peaceful walks, and the mid-night sun experience. We also began our training in tolerating mosquitoes.

Sunset over pond at Squirrel Creek.

Sunrise over pond at Squirrel Creek.

A puzzle: We watched a small plane land on a grass strip at the Tosina River Lodge, drop off 2 five-gallon fuel cans, and take off immediately. Why did he do this? (The guys checked the cans and found they were full).

Our first documented (picture of) Moose sighting. It was Tom and Jan’s first time to see a live moose in the wild.

Snow-capped Wrangell Mountains greet us as we head south on the Richardson Highway toward Valdez.





Worthington Glacier

From the paved path, we were able to get an up close view of the Worthington Glacier and adventurous climbers.





Thompson Pass, 2,771 feet, crosses the Chugach Mountains. The pass is credited for snow fall extremes. During the 1950s, record snow measurements as high 974.5 inches in one season, 298 inches for month, and 62 inches in one 24-hour period were documented.



Keystone Glacier runs along the Richardson Highway and its melt off flows under the road in many places.



Bridal Veil Falls

July 13, 2014 Chapter 5 Watson Lake, YK to Alaska



 



Watson Lake, Yukon, is known for the sign post collection that was begun by a homesick soldier during construction of the Alaska Highway in 1942.



We found signs from places familiar to us, and chose to put our signs with those.

 



Black Bear are common along the Alaskan Highway in the Yukon. We never fail to be thrilled to see bears, especially when they appear so close to the road.



Not all Black Bears are black.  This one is a rich cinnamon color.



An easy ten-minute walk along trail to stretch our legs took us to the picturesque Rancheria Falls.

The Nisutlin Bay Bridge, the longest water span on the Alaska Highway, crosses an arm of Teslin Lake. 



The highway parallels the lake for 34 miles providing a scenic drive bordered on both sides by mountains.



Whitehorse, a Klondike gold rush boom town, was at one time the largest city in the Canada, and has been the capital of the Yukon Territory since 1953. Situated on the Yukon River, it grew into the center for transportation, communications and supplies for the Yukon Territory and Northwest Territories.

 



A wonderful waterfront walking trail connects Whitehorse’s major parks and provides a pleasant, easy way to see the Yukon River.

 

 



The S.S. Klondike, a shallow draught stern wheeler, was built in 1929. It was the largest vessel on the Yukon River, carrying mail, general supplies, silver lead ore and passengers. Powered by a wood burning boiler, it required 6 cords of wood per hour. The wood was cut and gathered along the route while underway. This depleted all the trees growing along the Yukon riverbanks.


 

 



At the Yukon Transportation Museum is a very unique weathervane. A Douglas DC-3 airplane mounted on a rotating pedestal acts as a weathervane pointing its nose into the wind. Originally commissioned as a C-47 during WW II, it was later converted for civilian use as a passenger plane until 1970. For once the wind was in our favor, we watched the plane rotate.



 



Road construction delayed our departure from Whitehorse. So far we have been lucky not to have many road work slowdowns.



The snow-covered Elias Mountains in the Kluane National Park provided a scenic backdrop to our day’s travel.



We were not alone. Our slow-going on rough roads was rewarded with seeing three grizzly bears in less than a 30-minute time span. (Note: At the campground that evening, an AK native and frequent traveler along this route, told us that one was likely a grizzly that is seen so often along road he has been named "Fluffy".)



We were told to look ahead for the skid marks on the road that would alert us to slow down for the frost heaves. These are the result of the freezing and thawing of the upper layer of the permafrost on which the highway was built.



A rest area provided us a scenic overlook of the Kluane River.