We have seen gorgeous scenery on this adventure to Alaska,
but going over Thompson Pass and dropping into Valdez was absolutely
breathtaking. It was a picture perfect
day and the Wrangell Mountains were there in all their glory. Valdez is located in a bowl with mountains
all around it. They were covered with
snow and against the blue sky – amazing!!!!
The Worthington Glacier greeted us and decided that we would drive up
the next day to the base. Little did we
know that the next day would bring low clouds and you couldn’t even see the
mountains. The weather didn’t keep us
from driving up to the base where we stayed approximately 5 to 10 minutes as it
was absolutely freezing outside of the car.
Driving back we stopped to see one of the hand dug tunnels on
the original road to Valdez as well as the beautiful Bridal Veil and Horsetail
Falls. There were so many falls coming
down the mountains, that they aren’t even named. Valdez was a place we had planned to stay
only two days, but when we heard about the glacier tour out of the port and the
thought of getting to seeOrcas in the wild, we decided to stay and booked the tour for
the next day. Before the day was over
we got a call that the tour had been cancelled.
Being the optimist that I am I convinced Bernie that we should stay
another day and guess what – they cancelled that tour as well. The water was just too rough. We will have to do this another time. In the mean time, we were sent to a wonderful
museum – the Maxine and Jesse Whitney museum on the campus of the local
community college. This is where we got
our pictures taken with the moose and the polar bear. We also visited the local Elks lodge where we
heard all about the wonderful things this lodge does for the local
community. An amazing group of people
and it’s always fun to connect with new friends in Elkdom.
Check out this breakfast at the Old Time Burgers cafe in the campground. Fortunately, we had been warned about the size of the portions and decided to share. Who is their right mind can eat a 4 eggs omelet, hashbrowns, 3 pancakes and toast to boot?
Hey Nancy & Bernie, such beautiful nature pictures!. I even liked to look at the bear and the moose. HaHa! We are looking forward to our trip to AK. I always loved camping in our Vanagon even if it was not as luxurious as in a R.V. I signed up as a blogger so I can read all the blogs of the Dutch sailors who are crossing the Atlantic like my two youngest brothers on the 'Gemini', a 46ft sailboat.They have had glossy seas, stormy weather with very high waves but are now safe op Horta, an island of the Azores. Still a long way to go to The Netherlands. We get their coordinates/position every day so we can mark it on a navigation chart and Max can look for weather predictions. It is fun to be so busy with it.
ReplyDeleteWow Valdez looks amazing. I love the falls and snow covered mountains. I am bummed that the water was too rough for a tour and possible orca viewing. BTW-I bet John could eat that breakfast.
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