Day 73 Valdez, Alaska

We left Seward, Wednesday, Aug. 23, and headed to Whittier.  It was only about 85 miles so there was no hurry and, as it was not raining, we were able to enjoy the scenery.  We camped at Williwaw Campground, a Chugach National Forest Service campground.  We took a hike after setting up and went to the visitors center about a mile from the campground.  The visitors center sits right on the end of Portage Lake coming from the Portage Glacier.  We also made the short walk to Williwaw Creek viewing platforms to watch salmon in their spawning beds.  Quite amazing to see dozens of salmon appearing to idle while going upstream just in such a small area. Remember the "Find It: puzzles in "Highlights Magazine" for kids?

Williwaw Creek Salmon (Highlight's finding picture - how many Salmon)

We were looking forward to the Phillips Glacier Cruise the next morning and the trip through the shared tunnel.  It rained all night and was still raining and windy the next morning.  At the tunnel check point, they informed us that all cruises had been cancelled.  Though disappointed, it would not have been a pleasant day on a boat with that wind and rain.  We made the best of the day by going out to Girdwood, along the Seward highway.  A surprisingly nice, small town at the base of a ski area only about an hour from Anchorage.  We explored in and around the upscale resort hotel built for the ski season and the cruise lines use it as a lodging area near Anchorage.  It rained all day at the campsite but not in Girdwood. It was still very cloudy so the poor visibility prevented our going up Mt. Alyeska on the tram, but, instead, visited a wildlife park at the Portage-Whittier road turn off. We left Friday morning and headed toward Valdez.  We had checked out the possibility of a glacier cruise here and found a good alternative.

On the way to Valdez, we stopped in Palmer and spent about 5 hours at the Alaska State Fair.  A very nice small state fair.  We toured the 4-H building, the livestock building, the arts and crafts, and the garden and flower displays.  Size wise, it was more nearly the size of one of our larger county fairs, but had the feel of the state fair.  Since we were there during the middle part of the day, the crowds were not huge, but we could see them growing as we were getting ready to leave.  We drove on east on the Glenn Highway for about an hour before camping at the Glacier Park campground, at the viewpoint of the Matanuska Glacier.  We were just across the valley and above the glacier.

Matanuska Glacier

Just after an early breakfast we hiked out the wooded loop trail that gave us some different views of this glacier and even the new snow on mountain peaks then continued on to Valdez.  It was just over 200 miles but had some spectacular scenery.  As we traveled east, the Wrangell Mountains began coming into view.  They are part of the Wrangell-Saint Elias National Park and Preserve. When we turned south at Glennallen, we traveled several miles within view of these spectacular mountains.  We crossed the Chugach Mountains to get into Valdez and there were many high glaciers in view most of the way.  Not far from Valdez, we passed through Keystone Canyon, a narrow cut with several waterfalls along the way.

Bridal Veil Falls

We had made arrangements to take a cruise on the Lu- Lu Belle for our glacier cruise.  We had two outings on the Lu-Lu Belle Sunday.  The first was a short way out into the Valdez Bay for a church service.  Very nicely done and what better cathedral for worship.  

The glacier cruise yesterday afternoon was amazing.  We were able to see wildlife, including otters, a couple of humpback whales, scores of Stellar Sea Lions, dolphins and many birds.

Stellar Sea Lion haul out (how many can you count)

 The cruise was scheduled for about 5 hours, but we were gone for 9.  We spent at least an hour whale watching then more than an hourfloating just a quarter mile from the face of the Columbia Glacier.

Columbia Glacier

 We watched glacier calving and could hear the glacier groaning and cracking as it tumbled it's way to the sea.  Captain Fred built the ship and during the winters schedules cruises out of Port Angeles, Washington.  He and his wife have been shuttling the ship back and forth for 38 years.

We will be heading toward the Alaska-Yukon border this week and then south toward Washington. We would like to view the northern lights before leaving Alaska, but it doesn't appear possible here along the coast with the rains almost daily.  Maybe when we get north and inland.

Jeannette's turn:

Our son, Matt, commented that I have been "slacking" in sharing comments about the trip, so here goes. I'll set aside my pots and pans.

One becomes accustomed to the convenience of communicating with cell phones, texts, email, but that becomes challenging in the distant lands of Alaska and the settings we've been experiencing--remote campsites in 5.5 million acre forests, lake and inlet side villages and even Anchorage with 300,000 population. Case in point is the planning required to refill Rx and even coordinate with the Ohio physician's office and a pharmacy with the four hour time zone difference and when there are no pharmacies for the next week's travel! 

However, reminders of home come unexpectedly. We don Buckeyes wear from time to time, getting a positive response and a few minutes' chat (usually positive!). Surprising, though, was that on the day we were on the wildlife cruise at Resurrection Bay/Seward, our shuttle bus driver was from Mount Vernon (our Ohio hometown) and had even picked strawberries at our Green Valley farm! That same day one of the tour boat crew was from Dayton, the park ranger from Cleveland and the young couple who camped beside us hail from Cincinnati! I still have to mind my P's and Q's 7,000 miles from home!

As I mentioned in a former message, it has been sort of a game for me to adapt to the more limited shopping choices here, but I still found turkey bacon (yes, Matt) and even better than I buy at home. Speaking of food, the food offered by vendors at the Alaska state fair were varied from mid Ohio! Yes, there was pulled pork, corn on the cob, kettle corn and tacos, but not my favorite fat filled, unhealthy sausage on a bun with onions and peppers. Equate Alaska with seafood and you'll find offerings of shrimp, oysters, catfish and salmon. My choice of a quesadilla filled with crumbled salmon, melted mozzarella and salsa was a treat to my taste buds! 

I've seen my share of pit toilets, puddles and potholes, but would not miss the grandeur and remarkable NATURAL beauty of this trip for ten times the inconveniences. We've done our best at making alternate plans when ours didn't work out and found that what the Lord had in mind was much to our pleasure. Never again would I have the opportunity to pray with fifty-ish Andy, owner of a tiny, dusty, Homer, Alaska bookstore, steadily becoming blind from rare inner eye inflammation. At the end of the day, I put my head on my pillow and am so thankful to be traveling with such freedom, expectation, discovery and the sweet companionship of Sparky. Oops!! I mean my God given partner in life and wonder, Dick.