July 24
The drive to Valdez was another spectacular adventure. Mountains, glaciers, greenery, lakes, rivers, waterfalls and wildflowers.
We arrived in Valdez with enough time to get gas, set up our motorhome at Bear Paw RV Park on the Bay of Valdez.
We ate lunch and headed to the Stan Stephens Cruise Ship which was only 5 minutes away for an afternoon cruise. The glaciers are amazing. Along the way we saw eagles, sea otters, sea lions, porpoise, puffins, waterfalls, glaciers and absolutely stunning scenery!.
We met a woman who had a group of adults that was on a camping adventure guided tour. She was setting up food for her group to eat. If you are adventurous and want to learn more about a camping tour check out, Get Up And Go. https://getupandgotours.com/
Fun Facts:
We went over the moraine. How you know you about to go over a moraine? There’s a dark line across the water and that’s where it lies underneath.
A Moraine is material left behind by a moving glacier.This material is usually soil and rock. Just as rivers carry along all sorts of debris and silt that eventually builds up to form deltas, glaciers transport all sorts of dirt and boulders that build up to form moraines. They are like an underwater mountain that are within 50 feet of the surface. The depth of the sound can be over 1,000 feet.
Small Icebergs along the sound melt within 24 hours. The larger ones take 3-4 days to melt.
We experienced hearing and seeing a glacier calving. When a glacier breaks off and falls into the ocean, it's called "calving." Calving is a natural process where chunks of ice break away from the edge of a glacier, creating icebergs. This can create a dramatic, loud sound and results in the formation of icebergs that then float away.
Fun Facts:
Sea Otters have 250,000 hair follicles per square inch, humans only have 50 per inch. They do not have any fat like other mammals to keep them warm. Their hair keeps them warm and because their hair is so thick and they have no fat they have no predators.
July 25
It was lovely taking our time this morning. Off to Safeway to shop and stock up. Had lunch at Oldtown Diner - a hamburger and hand cut fries with a delicious dipping sauce.
The Valdez Visitor Center was informative about the town and the taxidermy displayed was excellent. The gift shop, Northwind Old Fashioned Candy & Soda Store across the street was charming. I'm not sure why "gift shop" isn't included in the name?
Fun Fact:
This Historical Building was the childhood home of Alaska's first governor Bill Egan in 1986.
Off to The Solomon Gultch Hatchery., which was fascinating!
It was so much fun watching the sea lions catch the salmon and the seagulls swarm around them thinking they'll get some. Across the street was a beautiful waterfall.
Fun Facts:
- It's one of Alaskas largest enhancement fishery programs.
- It's mission is to ensure sufficient numbers of wild salmon return every year to increase the harvest of both sports and commercial fisheries in the Valdez area.
- The facility is permitted to incubate, rear and release 270 million pink salmon and 2 million Coho salmon annually!
- It's North America's largest Pink Salmon Hatchery.
July 26
It was a rainy day when we decided to take a scenic drive to Glacier Lake. As we walked around the peaceful surroundings, we had the pleasure of meeting three wonderful people from California. We shared stories about our travels, swapped tips on exciting places to visit, and enjoyed getting to know nice individuals.
We made another trip to the hatchery for some fishing. Despite the rainy weather and our tight schedule—since we had to catch the ferry at 5:30 AM the next morning—Douglas managed to reel in a beautiful Pink Salmon. It was time to get my own fishing rod, so we headed over to Prospector Outfitters. The adventure keeps going!
July 27
The crisp morning ferry ride from Valdez to Whittier started out drizzly and cloudy turned into a beautiful sunny day. Beautiful scenery. We loaded the motorhome & Honda on the ferry. They are very good at calculating every foot of space.
Arriving in Whittier we set up camp and exploring the charming town of Whittier that is on the Prince William Sound. We wanted to book a kayaking trip or rent kayaks. Nothing was available for a guided tour throughout the weekend and they no longer rent kayaks to individuals.
After walking around for an hour meandering in the shops and admiring the boats and the sound, we went for a hike. We drove up the mountain to Horsetail Falls and enjoyed a 40 minute hike. Back to the motorhome to cook dinner and enjoy a low keyed evening.
Leaving Whittier, our journey took us through the renowned Anton Anderson Memorial Tunnel. This one-lane tunnel stretches 2.5 miles, making it the longest highway tunnel in North America. Driving through it was quite an eerie experience!
0 Comments