2024 Alaska Road Trip (Day 38)
This journal posting chronicles Day 38 of a road trip to Alaska and back with Diane, Kenny and Deneen.
Day 38 - Tuesday July 30th
We spent a full day in Valdez today.
Below is our gravel lot, full hookup, RV Park campsite. It worked well, considering it rained a lot. And the lady in the trailer beside us turned out to be right when she said the massive puddle we had near the trailer last night would be gone by today.
Campsite - Bear Paw RV Park, Valdez, AK
Kenny and I took a long walk around the various marinas, and I took photos of some of the artwork spread around town near the water’s edge.
My favorite was the sea monster below.
Sea Monster - South Harbor, Valdez, AK
I like how this shark has its eye on the belly of that Tesla charging in front of it.
Shark - near Kelsey Dock, Valdez, AK
Mermaid standing guard near the ferry terminal.
Mermaid - near Kelsey Dock, Valdez, AK
Looking across the Valdez Arm of the Prince William Sound, you can see the very end of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline (Alyeska Pipeline). Strangely we did not see any tankers loading. I read that the flow of oil has slowed down in the pipeline.
Valdez Marine Terminal (VMT) - Valdez, AK
This qualifies as another one of my favorite pieces of art in Valdez.
Kraken Meets Lighthouse - Kelsey Dock, Valdez, AK
The rabbits were prolific in the RV Park.
RV Park Wildlife - Bear Paw RV Park, Valdez, AK
After walking around the marinas and then doing some shopping, we hopped in the truck and headed off to see the Valdez Glacier, which is close to town.
On the way there, we spotted this black bear making a fast exit from the road.
Black Bear - near Valdez Glacier, Valdez, AK
The toe of the Valdez Glacier has receded back around the point you see on the left side of the photo below. But you can still see the glacial lake and some of the ice bergs from it floating around. There were a couple groups kayaking back around the corner to see the glacier.
Glacial Lake - Valdez Glacier, Valdez, AK
Valdez is on the north side of the Valdez Arm of the Prince William Sound. After we toured the Valdez Glacier, we headed down the road on the south side of the Valdez Arm and found a group of Bald Eagles. I particularly liked the one below of two eagles landing on a piece of driftwood that one eagle is already perched on.
Bald Eagles - Dayville Road, Valdez, AK
A little farther down the road, we pulled over at a viewpoint next to the Solomon Gulch Hatchery. The hatchery has a weir across the steam that prevents the fish from going upstream, and even so, shortly after that there is a tall waterfall that they would not be able to get past anyway.
What is suppose to happen is the weir directs the fish into the fish hatchery, but the fish ladder was closed and an uncountable number of fish were trying their best to get upstream and prevented from doing so.
I found it very sad, and a bit disheartening, that these salmon had nowhere to go, but their instinct keeps telling them to go upstream. On top of that the fish hatchery was not using them for anything either.
This photo is just a tiny section of all the fish.
Salmon Unable to go Upstream - Solomon Gulch Hatchery, Valdez, AK
However, the Sea Lions knew how to use them and they were delighted, and very fat.
Sea Lions Feasting on Stuck Salmon - Solomon Gulch Hatchery, Valdez, AK
In 1964 a 9.2 magnitude earthquake occurred in the Prince William Sound region of Alaska. Prior to this, Valdez was located closer to the outflow of the Valdez Glacier, but was mostly destroyed in the quake so it was moved a short distance away, onto more stable ground, on the north side of the Valdez Arm.
Below is the location of the old Post Office, that and some overgrown streets were all we could find of the old Valdez on a rainy day.
Remains of Old Valdez - Valdez, AK
For dinner we had some delicious Bison Sloppy Joes and Tots.
Bison Sloppy Joes - Bear Paw RV Park, Valdez, AK