Valdez, Alaska August 4, 2013

This morning we left early to finish our drive to Valdez. We soon found out that we were following the Alaska pipeline, which ends in Valdez. There are a few small towns on the way, but none of note.

The road for part of the way was full of frost heaves. We were ok as long as we went slowly. We left at about 7:45 and got to the RV Park about 2:00. We did stop a lot on the way here. From the top of the road down to Valdez is quite steep for a while, but after we got down the mountain, the road is in good condition. 

There is a spot where there is a view point of the Worthington Glacier. We stopped and walked down to the closest view area. It is possible to walk to the Glacier, but we didn't think Cindy’s back would take it, so we didn't take the walk. The Glacier seems to hang off the mountain, and there is a lot of water running off it. By the view point, there is a large pond where the water collects before going down the mountain to the river.

After we got to Valdez, we stopped at the Visitor Center and had a light lunch. We found out that we had got to Valdez in time for Gold Rush Days. There was to be a parade, followed by a free fish fry, which was followed by a contest where the kids make a boat out of cardboard and duct tape and have races to see who gets across a pond first. I will save these things for my next blog.

While we were at the visitor center, we unhooked the trailer and went to check out the various RV Parks in town. We settled on the Bayside RV Park. It is right at the edge of town and wanted a little less than the others, except for one that is quite a ways outside of the main part of town by the airport. There we could have boon docked, but it would have cost as much for fuel as it would to have full hook-ups by town. This RV Park is a large level gravel parking lot with lots of RVs parked side by side. There are no trees or grass, but the rest rooms and showers are very nice. The people running it are friendly. We only have 30 amp power, but don’t have to run the AC’s so that should be plenty. Another plus is cable TV and fairly good Wi-Fi in our 5er.

We found a Fish and Game observation spot, where we could watch the spawning salmon try to swim up the small shallow creek to spawn. The fish were thick in the water and it was so shallow that their backs were out of the water in a lot of the places. 

This is muddier than mine.

By The Fish and Game info place.

The Valdez Small Boat Harbor.

At the RV Park.

Thanks for visiting.

Glennallen, Alaska 8-3-13 continued

Here are the pictures I wasn't able to include yesterday.

Part of the views as we left Anchorage.

The Fireweed is almost to the top.

The river after leaving Palmer.

Different view of the same river.

One of several small lakes.

Parked by the above lake. Here I am looking at some mosquito bites. I think a bunch of them invited friends for lunch. My wrist swelled up so much that I couldn't wear my watch. And o boy does it itch.

The mountains on the way to Glennallen.

The first view we had of the glacier.

The river coming off the glacier.

The glacier at the view point.

Another view.

This was with the telephoto lens.

Goes way up into the mountains.

Several small lakes with Fireweed in the foreground.

The Wrangell Mountains with a view of the Copper River.

Glennallen, Alaska August 3, 2013

Today makes 3 months from when we left home. We have seen a lot of beautiful scenery. It has been good except for Cindy hurting her back. At least she is back into the picture taking mode.

 Today we headed toward Valdez. We drove 173 miles and presently are parked in a view area just south of Glennallen. I took us about 5 ½ hours with all the photo stops. From where we are parked, there is a gravel parking lot with breathtaking views of the Copper River and the Wrangell Mountains. I might have tried to park in the gravel, but was afraid we would high center getting through the first dip going into it, so we settled for the large paved lot. It is a ways off the main highway, so we hardly hear any traffic noise.

It is still about 125 miles to Valdez and we will drive it tomorrow.

On the way here we saw lots of Fireweed with the blossoms almost gone or all the way gone. The plants are still pretty with all the flowers gone. What is left is a red stem where each of the flowers was. Cindy likes to take flower pictures, so several are included.

On the way to our present location, we passed a view area of a large Glacier. I’m sorry, but I didn’t get the name. It looked like it went into the mountains for miles. We have included several pictures of it.

About 17 miles from Glennallen we hit road construction. There were 2 places we had to follow flag cars, and my clean truck is now a muddy truck, along with the front of the trailer. The weather report for Valdez says rain for the next few days, so maybe it will get washed by the rain. Prior to the construction, there were many areas of frost heaves. There were some grades to go up and down, but we had no problems.

We don’t have very good internet where we are parked, so the pictures will have to wait until tomorrow to get posted.

Thanks for visiting.

Anchorage, Alaska August 2, 2013

This morning, after a trip to The Moose is Loose for apple fritters, we left Soldotna and headed to Anchorage. Cindy couldn't get over all the Fireweed that was blooming everywhere. When she hurt her back, there weren't any in bloom, and now they are everywhere. The thing she heard was that when the blossoms reached the top, it was time to head south. As we went over the hills a lot of the Fireweed is blooming clear to the top, so maybe it is time to consider going south. We are going to Valdez first before heading for Washington.

Cindy was fairly comfortable traveling today, but a few of the bumps caused her to cringe. She does seem to be getting better, but it is still a ways to go before she is fully recovered. She did take a lot of pictures today, and I hope you enjoy some of them.

After we got to Anchorage and got checked into the Golden Nugget RV Park, we had a few things we wanted to get done. First we went to Costco and bought a few things. Next stop was Wal-Mart for one of Cindy’s prescriptions. After that we had to go to a fabric store to get some fabric for a quilt Cindy has been sewing by hand while we drive. She wanted to go to the Pfaff store to see if they had one of the embroidery patterns she wanted. They didn't have it, but told her where to find it on-line.

Next I had to go to the gas station to fill the truck. I had put 20 gallons of diesel in the truck in Soldotna, and haven’t filled it for 1700 miles. I got about 12.5 miles per gallon average and had to put in $465.00 worth of fuel. The diesel here in Anchorage is $4.11 per gallon. They were charging $4.54 in Soldotna. I put an extra 91 gallon tank in the truck, and am glad I did because I can sometimes go far enough to get fuel for a more reasonable price. I’m afraid that Anchorage will be the last fairly reasonable fuel for a while.

Tomorrow we are headed toward Valdez and will be seeing new, to us, territory. We probably will only drive about halfway, and have no idea where we will stay tomorrow night.

The mountains after leaving Soldotna.

Fireweed everywhere.

Still snow on the mountains.

Large fields of Fireweed.

A view of Portage Glacier.

The tide was out in Turnagain Arm.

Some of the mountains by Anchorage.

Thanks for visiting.

Soldotna, Alaska August 1, 2013 Last Hurrah!

We have decided to go back to Anchorage tomorrow. Cindy finally thinks she is well enough to travel. I hope so. She tells me she is tired of sitting here and seeing the same scenery day after day. She is moving a lot better, but still tries to do too much and ends up hurting for it. Our plan right now is to spend one night in Anchorage, then go on toward Valdez.

This afternoon I decided to have one last hurrah and go fishing one last time. I left about 1:00 this afternoon and went to my favorite place. There was no one there so I was able to get my spot in the river. After about the forth cast, I hooked a fish, but it got off. I got three on that didn't get away, but they were foul hooded, one from the tail, one from the back and one in the belly. The next fish was hooked in the mouth and I got to keep it. I caught several small fish. When I finally started to hook them right, it only took three hours to get my limit of six fish. They were all pretty nice fish. I thought the freezer was full before, but after rearranging it we managed to get all the fish in. It was a nice end to the salmon fishing for me.

We hope to be able to get some pictures on our way to Anchorage and Valdez. I’m sorry there haven’t been many pictures lately. Now that Cindy’s feeling better she hopes to be able to do better.

Thanks for visiting.