Forest fire smoke was NOT going to put the kibosh on some tourism!!...We headed out of Anchorage for the long drive to Valdez. We couldn’t see the beautiful Wrangell/St Elias mountain range...but still enjoyed the trip!! (Many thanks to my sister for sharing photos she took of ME...and many others she took with her fancy shamancy REAL camera!!)
North of Palmer we spotted cottongrass growing along the road. Naturally, we had to stop and collect some!! Added a bouquet of them to dry hanging from the van clothesline...along with the dried dandelion flowers and a baggie of dandelion seeds...
We stopped at the Wrangell/St Elias National Park and Preserve. Very inspiring short video shown at the visitor center...a so cool “fish wheel” on display...and got my National Parks “passport” stamped....
As we got closer to Valdez, we were able to see some of the mountain range. BEAUTIFUL!! The mountains around Valdez are NOW my MOST FAVORITE!!...SO tall...SO many of them!!...breathtaking!!
Interesting points along the way...highway frost heaves (well...not interesting—just annoying!!)...
Trans-Alaskan pipeline and the Valdez terminus...
snow plow road guides...
Dog and Horse Freight Trail...
railroad tunnel of 1906...
Worthington Glacier...
Keystone Canyon...
Bridal Veil Falls...
Horse Tail Falls...
very ingenious set up for a swiftly running stream—to divert water around a section of major road repairs!!...
nice little Valdez Chamber of Commerce with fish viewing platform (no fish to view yet!!) but beautiful fireweed/pushki/mountain scenes....
Made it to downtown Valdez!!
Quaint harbor town...full of tourists and fisherfolks. We’ll have to visit the museum next time...it was too late when we arrived...and we left the next morning too early!! We DID see...the boat harbor...and ferry terminal...and many artsy fartsy things around town...and LOOK at that FIREWEED!!
Quaint harbor town...full of tourists and fisherfolks. We’ll have to visit the museum next time...it was too late when we arrived...and we left the next morning too early!! We DID see...the boat harbor...and ferry terminal...and many artsy fartsy things around town...and LOOK at that FIREWEED!!
Trail of the Whispering Giant wood totem...
Lovely dinner at the Fat Mermaid Cafe...with live music—a Hawaiian singer who serenaded us quite nicely!!...
Solomon Gulch Fish Hatchery replete with Stellar sea lions, otters, and sea gulls feeding on the newly released fish...
and a smoky sunset over Shoup Bay and a mountain range.
BTW tidbit # 1: Valdez feral rabbits!! Quite a tourist attraction...and bane of the locals!! They were SO CUTE!!...and EVERYWHERE!!...ALL colors—really just look like someone’s pets...they were NOT very afraid of all of the tourists downtown!!
We overnighted at the 48 hr limit harbor parking lot. Woke up to an ethereal foggy harbor scene.
We headed back over to the fish hatchery...it was low tide...and we hoped that bears just might be down on the sand flats enjoying the remains of any fish left over from the seal/otter/bird feeding frenzy of the evening before...but alas...no bears there, only eagles...
There was a naughty black bear lurking around an apartment complex dumpster on our drive over!!...we passed by several times after spotting him...one time there was trash EVERYWHERE, so he obviously got IN!!...and the next time, some poor apartment dweller had obviously cleaned it all up!! Probably a DAILY occurrence in their neck of the woods!!
We decided to hike the Pack Trail of 1899...and we were the ONLY hikers on the trail!!...double YAY!!...It was a lovely hike, NOT too strenuous...beautiful boreal forest and scenic vistas!! There are good interpretive signs along the trail, but the displays were old and not photo friendly!!...and I can’t find the info anywhere on the internet...so...you’ll just have to hike it and read all of the interesting info yourselves!!
Saw some salmon berries that would be delicious when ripe...more witch’s hair moss and nursery trees...and even a little forest graffiti!! Quite a bit of wildlife...a squirrel and several grouse...and of course birds. I didn’t hear a single golden crowned sparrow in Valdez!!...which was weird since I’ve been hearing them EVERYWHERE else!!
Saw some salmon berries that would be delicious when ripe...more witch’s hair moss and nursery trees...and even a little forest graffiti!! Quite a bit of wildlife...a squirrel and several grouse...and of course birds. I didn’t hear a single golden crowned sparrow in Valdez!!...which was weird since I’ve been hearing them EVERYWHERE else!!
Overnight, the forest fire smoke had continued moving east...so we actually got to see some better views of the mountain range on the drive back to Eagle River!!...YAY!!
BTW tidbit # 2: Pushki and Devil’s Club—2 annoying plants in Alaska...however, they are EASY to see...so ...easier to avoid ...except they are everywhere!! I don’t mind them in the least!!...as I’ve said before—ALASKA—WONDERFUL!!...no poisonous snakes, poisonous spiders, poison ivy, fire ants, Lyme disease carrying ticks, scorpions, disease transmitting mosquitos!!....what’s a few moose and bears...and even GIANT Alaskan mosquitos (joke—state bird of Alaska!!)??...when we’re talking about dealing with billions of other NASTY creatures in the lower 48!! LOL!!
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