The Glenn Highway is new territory for Kevin, but I came this way five years earlier on the Chitistone Goat Trail trip. This trip we catch only occasional views of mountains through the clouds. A lot of the spruce trees just look dead. We've decided these are the black spruce. Others really are dead - spruce beatle is taking a heavy toll. |
Alaskan Sampler - Valdez |
On the Richardson Highway (named after another engineer) Kevin gets his closest look yet at a glacier, the Gakona Glacier. We check out the Trans-Alaska Pipeline and Rainbow Ridge and turn back South. |
Just off the highway we push through a moose trail to view the sockeye (Red) salmon who've fought their way up river to a salmon spawning area. Even a non-fisherman can't help but be impressed. |
We stop briefly at Copper Center NPS visitor center then continue southward toward Valdez. The area is beautiful with glaciers and many rugged snow capped peaks. It's easy to see why it's call the Switzerland of Alaska. There are noticeably fewer bumps from frost heaves as we travel further South. Still, there are several waits for construction along this section, some as long as 20 minutes. |
Pulloffs for Bridal Veil Falls and Horsetail Falls in Keystone Canyon just outside Valdez coincide with the end of the construction zone. |
We check in at the Sea Otter RV Park on the Prince William Sound in Valdez and hurry to catch a video on the 1964 Good Friday Earthquake. The quake has been determined to be 9.2 on the Richter Scale with a 40 foot Tsunami. It killed 28 people on the Valdez docks and destroyed Valdez (later rebuilt 4 miles from its original site) and Seward which suffered from fires at the oil terminals as well as the direct result of the quake and wave. Prince William Sound emptied bottoming out a ship at anchor in Valdez three times. In Anchorage, Fourth Street dropped 10-15 feet. Across the state the Trans-Alaskan Railroad lines were destroyed and elevation levels changed. What a terrifying four minutes that must have been. Standing beside the sound you can't help but be aware of how vulnerable you would be in another quake. |
After the video we enjoy the surrounding glaciers and ships, shower and catch up on laundry. I don't finish until 1:00 a.m. A long day even here. But this day began in a tent at 5:00 a.m. No wonder. |
Day 8 The skies are clear enough to dry out the tent and rainfly, and I straighten up the camper. Our gear has gotten pretty scattered. Kevin tries fishing in the ocean with no luck. He has plenty of company and makes a couple of friends. The Sea Otter campground located right on the Prince William Sound and is wide open with no trees. But what it lacks in personality it makes up for with its views. Over a dozen glaciers surround the Valdez Arm set in the Chugach Mountains. |
As we leave Valdez we snap the camper key in two with the camper locked. We start calling the only locksmith this side of Anchorage, check out the small boat harbor, and hike a short way on the Shoup Glacier Trail through dense vegetation. Kevin tastes several of the berries, but doesn't find any that are ripe and sweet. |
The locksmith is new and can't help us. We plan to tent it that night, buy a little more food and call Alutiiq to have us a key when we drive back through Anchorage the next day. Fortunately this fits right in with our plans anyway, and our camping gear is still in the back of the extended cab. |
North on the Richardson Highway the Worthington Glacier stands out bright blue. The blue didn't show in evening light when we drove past the night before. But today, there's no mistaking it. Kevin scrambles over to the glacier. I watch a group of young people slipping around on the glaciers edge - they must not appreciate the dangers of the crevasses they are skirting. |
We study all the interpretive signs. Ice worms do exist and thrive at 32 degrees. Glaciers form U shaped valleys while erosion forms V shaped valleys. The glacial ice moves fastest where it is thickest and where there's plenty of water. The blue color results from all the other colors being absorbed by the ice and the blue light being reflected. The snow compresses into firn then into the glacial ice, trapping pockets of air into bubbles that sizzle if the ice is heated. Way cool. |
There are more construction delays, but this time they pay off. Kevin realizes he can crawl through from the back of the truck cab into the camper. He can open and close the camper door from the inside even though it's still locked. A little awkward, but more convenient than tenting in the rain and having to dry the tent again. Oh, yes, It's raining again. Everyday whether you need it or not. |
The Glenn Highway is new territory for Kevin, but I came this way five years earlier on the Chitistone Goat Trail trip. This trip we catch only occasional views of mountains through the clouds. A lot of the spruce trees just look dead. We've decided these are the black spruce. Others really are dead - spruce beatle is taking a heavy toll. |
The Little Nelchina Campground, part of the state parks system, is home for the night. It's raining. Mosquitos are bad. By now they're probably as bad inside as out. Around 1:30 a.m. I give up and apply Off just to sleep inside. |
Across the bay from Valdez, the Alyeska Marine Terminal is the northern-most ice-free harbor in the United States. It is the southern terminus of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline, a 48 inch diameter, 800 mile long pipe. The pipeline moves crude oil at rates up to 75,000 barrels per hour through a series of massive pump stations. Where the warm oil would cause icy soil to thaw and erode, the pipeline goes above ground to avoid thawing. Where the frozen gound is mostly well-drained gravel or solid rock, the line is underground. At Valdez the incoming oil is metered and sent to storage tanks or directly to one of about 70 tankers filled each month. |
Valdez is the drop off point for commercial fishing boats and crabbers, and supports the largest sport fishery in Prince William Sound. |
Photo by Kevin McBryde |
© Regina M. McMullan, 2000 |
