Prince William Sound Plus

Thursday July 6th through Thursday July 13th from Glenallen to Valdez

Prince William Sound - a jewel beyond compare

Enjoying it - up close and personal

On Thursday July 6th, we left Williwaw Campground, drove around the Turnagain Arm through Anchorage to Palmer where we washed the two vehicles and shopped for groceries, then we headed toward Glenallen following the Glen Highway. The corridor through the Mat Su Valley is beautiful with numerous farms and rivers.  It was quite lush and green. We had considered staying at the Sheep Mountain Lodge and RV park there, but fortunately we didn't, since that evening, just after we passed through, a huge mud slide came through and wiped out  the hillside near the park, along with 80 old junk vehicles, burying them deep in mud and water at the bottom of the hill...a disaster avoided!

The massive Matanuska Glacier spreads for miles

Dramatic views as we were leaving the Mat Su Valley

We camped for several days at the Tolsona Wilderness Lodge, which was "roughing it" to say the least. It was definitely not our definition of the ideal campsite and the owners there need to do some serious maintenance work before the buildings and bridges collapse under the snow and rain. We explored the areas north and south of there, including Paxson and Tangle River Inn (on the Denali Highway), Copper Center, and Chitina (on the Edgarton Highway heading toward Wrangall St. Elias).

Camping on the river - has a new meaning -
(brown color is caused by decayed organic material in the water)

Campsite at Tolsolna Wilderness CG

Fish Wheel used by the native people - an
efficient, low energy way to catch lots of salmon!

Food cache - Native people placed the food in it and the dogs
as guards under it, for surplus food storage

Wrangall St. Elias Visitor Center pathway.

Yummy blueberry pie at the
Tangle River Inn - Denali Hwy

Richardson Hwy heading north from Glenallen

Denali Hwy tundra - austere beauty

Gulkana Glacier surprise

Twilight colors tint the sky - Denali Hwy

Tangle Lake - Denali Hwy

Papa is going local!

My handsome husband!

Practical art

Dusk settles in on the drive home

We drove as far as we were comfortable on the Edgarton Hwy east toward Wrangall St. Elias National Park. The rains over the previous seven days had made the dirt road rough and very muddy - and with numerous washouts on the Copper River, driving it was not recommended by the NPS ranger we spoke with. We got as far as crossing the Copper River, just east of Chitina and that's where we stopped, once we saw the flooded mud-covered campground. We were glad we didn't camp there that night!

Beautiful clear Liberty Falls where we ate lunch.

Chitina home

The Dramatic Copper River

Historic Town of Chitina

Complete with (local) moose

Copper Center B & B option with simple pleasures, 

Or, how about the Copper River Princess Lodge???

On Monday, July 10th, we left and headed south to Valdez, where we camped for four days at a KOA campground just outside of town. For us, Valdez is an ideal small Alaskan town. It's located in the center of spectacular scenery - on the Prince William Sound, surrounded by high snow-covered or glacier-covered mountain peaks, and blessed with enough commerce (oil and fisheries) to keep it healthy and thriving. It has survived several monumental environmental disasters (the Exxon Mobil oil spill and the earthquake and massive Tsunamis of March, 1964 that destroyed the entire town). Perhaps because of these disasters, it has a vibrant personality and the people in Valdez are survivors who are making the best of what they have. And they appear to be thriving!

The town is cute, clean and dressed up with flowers and there are tons of activities and fun things to do here. The food is good at the restaurants and the public facilities are clean.  This town obviously has adequate money and support from oil and the fisheries industries and it shows! We decided to stay another day to play. And yes, we did have lots of fun!

Right away, we noticed that not only do people in this town enjoy an active lifestyle and art, they also have a sense of humor and read...Yes! Our type of place.

For Eric!

1/2 lb of freshly caught shrimp from the bay - yum!

Right away - we liked this place!

-

Personal garden while fishing

Little free library - we added some extras

Rabbits all over town - all colors, all sizes - oops

Local bakery with a twist

Window seat at dinner

Our ride for the next day

A use for every little old thing...

Hey, let's do that on Wednesday!

Across from our campground

On Tuesday, we took the Stan Stephens glacier and wildlife cruise out to Meares Glacier and back. We were able to be in the pilothouse and talk to the captain as we explored the various fjords in Prince William Sound. We crawled slowly through the chunks of ice that had broken from the glacier (small to very large) up to the face of the glacier where we could watch it calve. We observed numerous otters relaxing in the waves and seals resting on the ice. And we even spotted a humpback whale and had Dall Porpoises jump and chase our wake.

Our route from Valdez to Meares Glacier

Highly regulated Purse Seining fishing for salmon.
1.2 million fish were brought in that day. 

On our way!

Tranquil waters

Meares Glacier - over 100 ft high

Quickly - it's chilly out here!

Iceberg art

Bergie bits in all shapes and sizes

Navigating through these chunks of ice is a bit tricky

Wave action caves

Sea Lion hotel

Artsy ice

Yep - that's a humpback whale!

On Wednesday, Ernie treated me to a day of kayaking with Pangaea - an 8-hour guided trip to Shoup Bay and the Shoup Glacier. It was in the mid-60's and clear and gorgeous. You can't ask for more when out on the water in this incredible place!

Lunch break

Ready to eat?

Ice cave...no we're not going in there!

Our patient guide - Nelson

Paddling in Shoup  Glacier Bay

Shoup Glacier - we could walk right up to it!

This is the life!

Minks whale carcass

Bird island - Black-Legged Kittiwakes and Glaucous Gulls

Waiting to be picked up

Ernie decked out in his gear

Arriving in port

End of a fabulous day - sigh

Life and vacations just can't get any better than this! Oh, we are so spoiled.

This afternoon, we drove across the bay to the fish hatchery to watch the salmon returning to spawn. The waters were churning with pink salmon and the sea lions who were enjoying gorging themselves on the plentiful buffet. Golden eagles were hanging back high in the trees, but we failed to spot any bears...just wait until this evening when all the people have gone, though.

The fish hatchery consortium has ensured that enough salmon populate this area of the sound in order to ensure a healthy amount of fish for both commercial and private interests. They work with fish and game to regulate the number of salmon released each year and the number of hours of commercial fishing each month so that the supplies are not depleted. On Tuesday, 1.1 million pink salmon were caught and yesterday, 800,000 were caught by the commercial industry. Each day the hours and limits are posted. This system appears to be working well in Valdez.

Sea lion feast

Bird envy

Salmon waiting to head up the fish ladder

On our final day in Valdez, we took another tour of the town and visited the museums. We even met one of the local ladies from the garden club who is responsible for the lovely flowers all over the town. Charming and dedicated!

1900 - 1935 miner cabin collectibles salvaged
from various old cabins in the area.

Rare local PWS furfish

 This beautiful specimen of furfish from Prince William Sound is one of the few that was caught and mounted. It has adapted ideally to the frigid local conditions. It is also rumored that a new variety of this species has been sighted, which sports unique goretex scales and thinsulite fat insulation. The museum is requesting a donation for their collection.

She had to replant this garden since the local marmot
family enjoyed the flowering kale and pansies so much!

Colorful flowerbox

Tomorrow we drive north - away from this beautiful place to begin heading back toward BC. We hope to find some sunshine and warmer days ahead, but will miss this stunning, ever-changing landscape.