Valdez, Alaska

Friday, Aug 29
Ian and I arrived in Valdez early this evening. This is our last destination before leaving Alaska, giving Ian a chance for one last fishing trip to fill our freezer with salmon. We went back and forth as to whether or not bother coming here, and even this morning we were vacillating. Finally, we decided to go the 100 miles out of the way since we’d not be back, and our salmon supply is depleting.

Once we left Anchorage, we retraced our steps going to Fairbanks as far as Glenallen, then turned south on Route 4. Slowly, but surely, the mountains in the distance moved closer, the snow spots on top of them proved to be glaciers, the peaks became jagged rather than the familiar rounded ones we’ve come accustomed to here. Ian made the comment that it looked like Switzerland, just as I was going to tell him I’d read in the Mile Post (the tourists’ Bible in Alaska) that a boat captain out of Valdez says Switzerland is the Valdez of Europe. As we continued getting closer to Valdez, waterfalls started multiplying and getting wider and longer. They stretched from the tops of the peaks, cutting curved ruts in the mountain sides, all the way down to where they met streams or rivers which paralleled the road. There were two falls mentioned in the Mile Post which we looked for and recognized even before seeing the signs. Bridal Veil Falls fell gently in a long, fan shape and did look like a bridal veil from the back of the bride as she walks down the aisle. Horse’s Tail Falls started narrow, but quickly spread out in many strands falling to the creek below. Having spent so much time around the horses at the ranch this past summer, we quickly recognized why these falls were given that name.

The bases of the mountains in this area are bulbous, much wider and “puffed out” than we’ve seen elsewhere in Alaska. Some are covered with carpets of green, looking from the distance like the green of a golf course. These, in some small areas, showed the red of ground covering we saw on our trip to Deadhorse. Other mountains are covered with trees, some mostly pines and some with many indigenous trees. The local trees are already turning their leaves to beautiful yellows and oranges. As we got closer to Valdez, the pipeline came into view once again, sometimes on the right side of the road, other times on the left. It was kind of exciting to know we’ve been where it started and now we’ll be where it ends.

August 30, 2008
This morning Ian went fishing bright and early to get me some more salmon. After getting a few things done in the Montana, I decided to take my own walking tour of Valdez. What a great little town it is! Completely surrounded by beautiful, high, green, snow-capped mountains that seem to creep right up to the town limits (right now we are sitting about ¼ mile from one, and I can turn my head to look out my window and see a couple skinny water falls flowing from the top of the mountain all the way to the bottom). On one side of Valdez, and before the mountains begin, is a narrow inlet leading to Prince William Sound. On that side of Valdez is a very busy harbor for the commercial fishing boats, glacier cruise boats, and the boats involved with the oil in the pipeline that ends here.

A small department store that also sells souvenirs played a DVD about the 1964 earthquake. Chairs were set up in front of it for anyone to sit a while to watch, which I did for about 15 minutes. By the time I was finished, I’d decided I’ll take Florida with its hurricanes any day over Alaska’s earthquakes – at least we get a warning. The tidal waves caused by the earth’s heaves and buckling wiped out so much of Anchorage, most of Seward and Valdez and Kodiak, as well as completely destroying villages in between.

Wanting to sit with a cup of coffee, I finally found a little coffee shop. My vanilla mocha was delicious, but unfortunately, the place was one of those organic shops where only non-descript, non-flavorful food is sold. There were no sweet rolls, no cookies, no pie or cake – only two kinds of biscotti. I relented and got one which wasn’t too bad, but would have been so much better with chocolate frosting and ice cream to go along with it. I noticed the two ladies who worked the counter were the only people I’ve met in Valdez so far who weren’t all smiles and friendliness. I think they need to eat some sugar, cholesterol, some meat, and food that’s grown with fertilizer to give them a more cheerful outlook on life. (Actually, come to think of it, they’re probably outcasts here since Alaska is such a big fishing and hunting state. They need to move to California!)

A log cabin building with the sign “Gift Shop” beckoned, and I knew it was illogical to ignore the calling, so entered with great anticipation. It was cute, lots of little odds and ends not seen in most of the touristy places, but nothing I couldn’t live without. The lady who ran the place, though, was fun. She told me about how it’s been such a funny day for her already – she was late opening the store, then found a key in her pocket that she had no idea what it went to, so had to go back home to figure it out. Then when she returned, there was a Princess Tour bus sitting outside the store. She let the people in, but said she gets aggravated with their bus drivers, as they always tell the people about all the rain they’ve had here all summer. Why do they need to know that, she wonders. Well, true, it is a negative thought they could do without, but I said maybe he wants them to realize how lucky they are they’re here when the sun is shining. Which it has for two days now – we’ve been soooo fortunate to be in Valdez with the sun shining. It’s truly a beautiful place.

I continued my little tour by looking at a couple old boats outside the Valdez museum. They were interesting, and I probably should have gone inside the museum, but didn’t feel in the learning mood, so kept walking. Valdez is a great walking town. Up ‘til now I haven’t done much walking in Alaska – at the ranch my excuse was, ahh, let’s see, laziness?? After we left the ranch with S&M, there was never the time or opportunity. Here, though, the RV parks are either right in or on the outskirts of the town. Since the town is only a few blocks square, everything is a perfect walking distance. Anyway, I found my way to the far end of the harbor where people were fishing from the dock. I talked with a woman who appeared to be a native Alaskan, and she said fishing was good today and she’d already caught several. I told her that my husband was out on one of the boats, that we didn’t realize he could have fished from the dock, and of course no one told him that when we made reservations for the charter boat. Oh, well, why save money when you can spend it? I took some pictures of the beautiful mountains across the water, and then meandered further down. I took note of the campground right in the middle of town and was glad we had not gotten reservations there. Went in a few more gift shops, then in my last one on which was a sign saying “Welcome Princess Cruise Customers” (what was I, chopped liver?), my cell phone rang. It was Ian, saying he was already back at the Montana, with three good sized silver salmon needing to be put in the freezer. Actually, he had caught six, but knew we didn’t have the freezer space for that much, so gave three to a couple from Anchorage who were on the boat with him. I got home to find him cutting the red meat into fillets, so I got the Baggies out and filled them up. Where there is a will, there is a way, so I managed to get all the fish in the freezer. Yes, we’ll have to eat a five pound bag of chicken legs and four ears of corn for dinner tonight, but sacrifices are sometimes called for. We can do it! It will be great to have all this fresh Alaskan salmon to share with Scot and Holly when we get to their place. We’re really getting anxious to get there now.

In the morning I plan to attend a church service aboard a boat usually used for glacier cruises, but is used for a free ride and church service on Sunday mornings, then we’ll head on out of Valdez. There were several places we didn’t stop to take pictures on the way in yesterday, so hopefully it will be another sunny day tomorrow so we can get those pictures.

Valdez is a must stop if at all possible for anyone coming to Alaska. I wish we’d known more about it before Sheilagh & Mike left, as they’d have loved it, too. I don’t know how we would have fit it in since it was off our path with them, though. Maybe some day they can come back. They should be back home in Scotland now, full of what I hope are wonderful memories of nearly three weeks in Alaska. It’s amazing how fast the time with them went. It was so much fun. Anyway, I’m glad Ian and I took the extra couple of days to swing by here – it was well worth it!