Four days of enjoyment in Valdez, AK

When we arrived in Valdez, we could not believe what we were looking at as the scene in front of us unfolded.  With the cloudless sky and the bright sunshine, the harbor of Valdez was a like a preview of what Heaven will have in store.  The terrain, water, viewpoints, etc are perfect.  We were so "cranked" up we failed to take pictures thinking we had 3-4 days to do it.  BAD DECISION.  The clouds moved in, the rain followed, and we lost our chance to share ALL of the beauty with you guys.  Trust me.  Valdez is not to be bypassed on a trip to Alaska.

We went on another wildlife/glacier boat excursion with Stan Stephens Glacier and Wildlife Cruises.  Even though we missed the Orca and Humpback whales, the trip was well worth it (see the pictures).  The six hour tour had many highlights: scenery, birds, Steller Sea Lions, glaciers, icebergs, waterfalls, cascades, and stories of mining for gold. 

Many, many drives in our car allowed us to see a bear, get close to the restricted area of the terminal for the Alaskan Pipeline, revisit some waterfalls, visit gift shops, eat at some decent restaurants, and see a $12.99 small watermelon and $9.95 pound of bacon at the local Safeway supermarket. 

We were given some salmon fillets yesterday.  Steve managed to make them edible.  We froze a couple for future use.  We are going to a potluck tonight at the RV park.  The owners supply the salmon from the grill and we offer a side dish.  We leave here tomorrow morning.  We will retrace our steps to Fairbanks and then go down to Denali National Park.  It may be a while for a new post to be uploaded.

Remember to click on a picture to enlarge it's size to make details more vivid.


Alaskan crab legs at Totem Inn

Our excursion boat

Valdez harbor at low tide

Alaskan pipeline termination point - load 52 tankers per month - open all year

Valdez Arm of Prince William Sound - you should have seen this in the sunshine without clouds!!

"Hard rock" gold mining tunnels

Gold mine structures were destroyed by tsunami after 1964 earthquake

Anderson Falls - one of hundreds

Cascade with snow at shoreline - these mountains get 800-1000 inches of snow each winter

Black-legged Kittiwake

Pigeon Guillemots being bashful

Thousands of icebergs 10-18 miles from the glacier

Iceberg

Video of icebergs and the boat traveled through them

Steller Sea Lions - we saw 400-500 in three colonies

Male sea lion - 900-1200 pounds

Video of sea lion colony - not real clear - listen carefully to hear their barking

Tufted Puffin

Iceberg with Black-Legged Kittiwakes

Highest coastal mountains in North America - up to 7,000 feet sea level to top

Ice jam 8 miles from Columbia Glacier (in background) - no hope of getting closer

This ice jam is caused by icebergs getting hung up on the bottom of the fjord - only 40-60 feet deep at the moraine

Video of the ice jam - a harbor seal will appear on the ice

Bald eagle resting on ice jam looking for lunch

Crew members netting a chunk of ice

Success!  MAW holding the chunk of ice - very dense and heavy

Commercial pink salmon fishing boat

Successful catch!

Notice this boat's name (click on the picture - it gets bigger)

The Indiana has a full net

A Dall Porpoise close to surface and our boat

Eagle on nest

Pilot boats - Pilots meet each tanker and act as captain of their ship all the way to the tank farm dock

Postcard enhanced picture of what we saw the first day - decided to wait until next day to take pictures - DUH!!

Aerial view of Valdez Pipeline Operation (end of 800 mile run)

Town of Valdez was moved 4 miles after 1964 earthquake and tsunami

Surf Scoters in bay near oil tank facility

Black-Legged Kittiwakes roosting on lower ledge of a bridge

Our campsite - full services, but little ambiance

Large black bear spotted maybe a mile from the RV Park

Valdez Glacier north of town

This Kittiwake picture is for Norm, our neighbor

Sweet camping spot across the bay from town (at low tide)

 

Glimpses of the beauty - even at low tide and cloudy!