AUGUST 27-SEPTEMBER 19: DEASE LAKE, BC TO ALBUQUERQUE, NM

CASSIAR HIGHWAY: DEASE LAKE TO STEWART-HYDER
August 27th saw us driving about 250 miles down the Cassiar Highway and taking a cutoff to Stewart, BC, where we set up camp. We had a lot of gravel going south out of Dease Lake with road construction going on where the land slides had occurred earlier in the summer. We encountered one sizeable stretch of gravel road that was unmarked, had no shoulders, and dropped straight down off the side for a considerable distance. Eventually, we got on good paved roads. This was a beautiful drive through the coastal range with lots of green vegetation as we got into the hemlock/cedar forest area. Continuing southward, the mountains became covered with vegetation to the tops and the trees became much taller—not many bald mountains in this area of the trip. Some of the taller mountains still had patches of snow which provided a wonderful contrast to all the greenery. As my notes from this day said, it was an incredibly beautiful drive. The spur road into Stewart was in a narrow canyon with lots of vegetation, hanging glaciers up in the mountains and one large glacier (Bear Glacier) that terminated in the valley. We set up camp and drove to Hyder, AK, which adjoins Stewart located at the head of the Portland Canal (think “fjord” when you read “canal”). The towns are very different—Stewart has paved streets, numerous businesses and places to stay while Hyder, aka “The Friendliest Little Ghost Town in Alaska”, has dirt streets, is much smaller, and doesn’t have much in the way of businesses. Hyder is at the end of the Alaska and has a definite “outback” feel to it. We drove to the famous bear-viewing area outside Hyder where we were treated to quite a show put on by three grizzly cubs and a sow. We watched the bears for probably 1 ½ hours and also saw bald eagles in the area.

August 28th and 29th were spent in Stewart-Hyder. We went to the bear viewing area and watched grizzlies and black bears eat salmon and low bushes again. They were fascinating to watch up close and didn’t seem to mind the observers on the viewing stand. We also went to a neat museum in Stewart and to Hyder’s Glacier Inn where we didn’t get “Hyderized”, which consists of drinking straight everclear, but we did enjoy a drink to celebrate our time and experiences in this neat, out-of-the-way part of Alaska. This area is a definite “must-see” for anyone traveling the Cassiar. One note concerning weather here: it is very changeable so if you see an opportunity to take pictures or observe a landmark, take advantage of it at the time because the opportunity may be gone in a few minutes and may not present itself again for days.

SMITHERS AND PRINCE GEORGE, BC
August 30th found us back on the road headed south. We stopped at Gitanyow a small Indian Village with one of the largest concentrations of standing totem poles in northwestern B.C. The totems are really works of art; however, I didn’t learn much about interpreting them on this trip. Services were very limited here near the end of the Cassiar Highway. The Cassiar Highway ended west of Smithers, BC, and we were on the Yellowhead Highway into the Smithers area for the night. I unhooked my car to use for local travel and found, much to my chagrin, that I had a very bad vibration. I wasn’t sure what was causing it and I hadn’t had it when I hooked up after the drive to Telegraph Creek; however, it was the kind of vibration that loosens your tooth fillings! Since Labor Day weekend was coming up, I had all kinds of thoughts about being stranded in Smithers for several days. Fortunately, I was able to find a garage early Friday morning, the 31st, and they were able to cure the problem. I had a LOT of mud impacted in and around the wheels. Taking off all the wheels, cleaning and rebalancing them, cured the problem. (Note: I was still cleaning mud from that trip packed under the car weeks later after getting into the Lower 48!) We departed Smithers after my “problem” was solved and stayed in Prince George, BC over the Labor Day weekend. Terrain became much more rolling as we drove south on the 31st. Lodge pole pine in this part of BC had been infested with a bark beetle causing significant loss of timber and a lot of dead trees for miles. We also saw thousands of acres of fir trees devastated by the beetles.

CLINTON, BC
September 1 and 2 were down days spent in Prince George doing laundry, cleaning the inside and outside of the rigs, etc. Monday, September 3rd (Labor Day in Canada and the U.S.), we headed south on the Caribou Connector (Hwy 97). This was our last full day for Roberta and me to be traveling together as we headed toward Clinton, BC. We were in the Fraser River Valley much of the time and it was a beautiful drive through rolling countryside with more farming and pasture land evident than we had seen for some time. I picked up some fresh sweet corn from a roadside stand for dinner—it sure tasted good! Trees were turning—lots of yellow and gold evident. We noticed the drivers in this part of BC pretty much ignored yellow no-passing lines on the road. If they wanted to get ahead of us, they passed whether or not there was a yellow line present! Also, the Caribou Connector didn’t have any kilometer markers so we relied on my GPS for location information along this stretch. We checked into the campground at Clinton in the early afternoon and had some time to get things sorted out before going our separate ways. Weather was nice so we grilled steaks and had sweet corn and ice cream for our last dinner together on this trip. The evening was spent reminiscing about the fantastic 4 ½ months we had just had. I was able to use my Verizon card for an internet connection here—Roberta had been told by Verizon before we left that she could use the card any place she had service and that it wouldn’t cost extra. I decided to give it a try and successfully logged on, keeping the session short so if there would be any “hidden” charges they wouldn’t be too steep. Well, when I finally got my bill for that session, I found that I had been charged an “international roaming” charge—and it wasn’t cheap. Lesson learned…

BACK INTO THE U.S. (Oroville, WA, to Albuquerque, NM)
Tuesday, September 4th, found us headed south once again and we parted company at Cache Creek after 7374 miles driven on the journey since our departure from NM on May 7th. Roberta headed towards the Seattle area and I went towards the Wenatchee, WA, area. I had a beautiful drive through the Kamloops area and along long narrow lakes, including Okanagan Lake, before crossing back into the U.S. at Oroville, WA. There were several long climbs and descents on this stretch—6% climb for 15 miles in one area. One of my first stops after crossing the border was at a fruit stand to pick up fresh fruit and vegetables which I really missed this summer. The night was spent at a very nice state park on the shore of the Columbia River near Wenatchee. I took two-lane roads south through central WA, following the Columbia River much of the way. Stayed overnight near Quincy, WA, on the 5th. The drive the past two days was very pretty through WA—I was struck by the large number of vineyards along here. I knew winemaking was getting strong in WA, but I was really surprised at the large number of acres that have been planted to grapes. September 6th I continued on country roads until getting on I-84 near the WA/OR border, and then continued on to Boise, ID, where I found a Wal-Mart to park in for the night. The 7th found me up early and headed for Salt Lake City, UT. I stopped at Burley, ID, for a nice visit with friends Marilyn Sidwell and John Jones. We all travel in motorhomes but I thought I’d take a chance to see if they were in the area. They were and it was really nice to meet up with them for a short visit.

I left Burley and traveled on down to Salt Lake City where I stayed on the 7th and 8th. While there, I had a nice visit with Frank and Shirley Robles and with Carol Clarke. Wow! Has that area changed! It is one big city from near Brigham City to Spanish Fork, UT. September 9th saw me driving on towards Grand Junction, CO, to visit an aunt and uncle, Harve and Peg Huffer, and cousin Dave and his family. I had a wonderful short visit (and a tremendous lunch, too) with Rick and Ardith Keppler in Price while enroute to Grand Junction. After one night in Grand Junction, I was up early and headed for Bennett, CO, where I parked at nephew Paul’s off and on for the next week. It was good to see Paul, Jenn, Lexi, and Conner and I appreciated, once again, their hospitality and their RV parking setup. During this period I moved the coach to Boulder where I parked in a hotel’s parking lot for five nights while attending the Ninety-Nines’ annual meeting. These conferences are always enjoyable as women pilots from around the world gather for several days to do the business of the organization, attend seminars, and catch up on what has happened in our lives over the last year. Soon everything was done in CO, so it was on to NM. I stayed in Santa Fe on the 18th and had an enjoyable evening of catching up with friends Judy Waite and Nancy Evey. I arrived in Albuquerque on September 19th, 4 ½ months and 9735 miles (on the coach) since leaving there on May 7th.

WHAT A TRIP!
What a trip this was! Would I do it again? You bet—I’d do it in a heartbeat! Was it too long? No way. Four months is just right—we were able to see just about everything we wanted to see, we weren’t on a schedule, and we had ample “down time”. Where would I like to spend more time (besides in Alaska)? In the Yukon—people there were sooo nice and sooo proud of their part of the country. Would I advise others to take the drive? Absolutely! Driving yourself is the only way to really see the north country, plus you get to explore areas and see things that aren’t on a cruise ship’s or bus company’s set itinerary. Roads are better than adequate, although you do need to slow down in some areas, and fuel is readily available. Just plan to drive on the top half of the tank. One of the real bonuses of this trip was meeting old friends along the way, both in and out of the motorhome community, and making new friends in the far-flung places. I look forward to seeing all these friends in the north country again in the not-too-distant future.

Two guides that were indispensable on the trip were The Milepost and Traveler’s Guide To Alaskan Camping by Mike and Terri Church. RVing Alaska By Land And Sea by Bill and Jan Moeller was also helpful. However, the most help we received came from friends and acquaintances that have made the trip, some of them numerous times. You all know who you are so I won’t list names here. I just want to extend a Heartfelt THANK YOU! Your willingness to share added immeasurably to the success of this trip and I cannot thank you enough. I hope that I can return the favor by helping others who are thinking about making their dream trip as much as you helped me with mine.

August 21-26, 2007: Destruction Bay, YT to Dease Lake, BC

August 21st saw us on the road again as we departed Destruction Bay for Whitehorse, Yukon Territory. We continued our drive along Kluane Lake and Kluane National Park. Wild, wonderful, beautiful, country! The day was clear so we had good views of the ice fields in Kluane N. P. Towards the southwest corner of Kluane Lake we drove on a portion of the original Alaska Highway which will likely be closed at the end of this construction season since the road is being re-routed at that location. We had been told that this stretch is the last of the original Alcan that is still in use, so we were among the last to drive on the original roadbed as part of the Alaska Highway route. The foliage was definitely turning to the fall colors as we drove southward on the 20th and 21st.

August 22nd was spent in Whitehorse doing odd jobs around the rig, but we took time off to visit Miles Canyon. This was an area of the Yukon River that presented some serious challenges to the Klondike Gold Rush men and women traveling through here.

August 23rd we drove a toad to Skagway. The day was clear so we enjoyed the scenery (and the bear) along the road. This is a beautiful drive and we met a friend of Roberta’s, Nancy Elkins, who is working as a guide there this summer. Nancy is a full-timer and we were fortunate to be assigned to her tour in the afternoon. We went up the White Pass & Yukon Route (WP&YR) railroad to the top of White Pass. This route was scouted as a longer, but less steep, trail for the Klondike Gold Rush to serve as an alternative to the steeper, but shorter, Chilkoot Trail. The first engine went into service over the first four miles of track in July 1898, two months after construction of the railway began. Builders of the railroad faced immense challenges which were recognized in 1994 when the WP&YR was designated an International Historic Civil Engineering Landmark—one of only 36 civil engineering landmarks in the world to receive this designation. The trip on the railroad was very interesting, not only from the perspective of the engineering involved in climbing 3,000 feet in 20 miles, but the scenery we saw as we snaked along the canyon walls was beautiful. Nancy met the tour group at the top and drove us back to Skagway providing a running narrative of the sites and history along the way. Thanks, Nancy, for a great ride!

Skagway is a cruise ship town—5 were there when we arrived. The town is full of tourists and the WP&YR even takes its trains across the city streets and down to the various docks to pick up and drop off the cruise passengers. The town has 33 jewelry stores, and is getting two more next year! “Moes”, reportedly the oldest saloon in AK, is closing this year and will be one of the new jewelry stores next year. We thought we would get a drink in this historic watering hole but it was so noisy that we went down the street. Other than a bunch of T-shirt shops and other tourist traps, plus a few eating places and unique buildings, the town didn’t show me much. Too many people!!! The National Park Service does have an interesting Visitor Center and interpretive tour of the historical district.

We stayed overnight in Skagway returning to Whitehorse on the 24th. On the way we stopped in Carcross which played a large role in the late 1890s and early 1900s. We also stopped at the Carcross Desert which is billed as the world’s smallest desert and, in fact, is an International Biophysical Programme site for ecological studies. The sand dunes do not cover much area and lie between 2 kilometer markers on the highway.

Saturday, August 25, we headed towards Watson Lake. We stopped at Johnson’s Crossing for a final cinnamon roll test at the places that are well known along the way. The rolls didn’t rank high on our list. We both agreed that Testa River Lodge has THE BEST cinnamon rolls along the Alaska Highway! (The business is for sale—I hope the recipes go with the property for the sake of future travelers in that part of the world.) The foliage was really turning as we drove east. We camped at the intersection of the Alaska Highway and the Cassiar Highway this evening, thus bidding a good-bye to the Alcan and to some of the folks on caravans that we had been meeting along the way.

We began our drive down the Cassiar Highway on the 26th. The highway generally goes south along the Coast Mountains in western British Columbia and is known for its scenic beauty. Most of the road was pretty decent until we neared Dease Lake where potholes prevailed and some spots were pretty muddy from recent rains and washouts earlier this summer. We drove through light rain as we drove through the Cassiar Mountains and many mountains were obscured by clouds. We stopped at Dease Lake for the day and took my car out to Telegraph Creek—a 70 mile dirt, make that mud, road each way. The scenery was beautiful as we drove over and around mountains, through a First Nation village along a river, along the Grand Canyon of the Stikine River, and up and down grades as steep as 20%. We were treated to great views of a lynx that stood on a bank alongside the road long enough for me to get some quick pictures. A rainbow greeted us as we neared camp in the evening. The car—well that is another story! It was absolutely covered with mud—you couldn’t get in or out without getting mud on your clothes. I pressure washed it when I returned to camp; however, as I was to find out later, I didn’t get all the mud off and out of it. Telegraph Creek was formerly the head of navigation on the Stikine River and an estimated 5,000 stampeders set off from there to attempt the Stikine-Teslin Trail to the goldfields in Atlin and the Klondike. Although rigorous, the drive to Telegraph Creek was as beautiful as the native of British Columbia who recommended it to me at a campground in AK had said it would be.

AUGUST 18-20, 2007: VALDEZ, AK TO DESTRUCTION BAY, YT

Saturday, August 18th, found us headed north from Valdez on the Richardson Highway, over Thompson Pass, down into the Copper River valley, and along the western and northwestern sides of Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve. We stopped at the park’s Visitor Center (VC) and decided we would take the more northerly of the two drives into the park. This VC is something else! It probably has fewer visitors than any other park and the new buildings—not one, but three—are pretty incredible for such a remote area. I’d guess the Alaska congressional delegation had a hand in getting the appropriations for this complex—they have taken VERY good care of their constituents in the past. (Their power seems to be coming to an end due to scandals involving all three of them over the past months. It will be interesting to see if the two up for re-election next year run and are elected.) Anyway, enough of politics—even though politics seems to be the rule in AK.

We took the Tok Cutoff north of Glennallen and headed towards Slana where we drove the 42 mile (each way) gravel Nabesna Road into the park. It was a beautiful drive with tall rugged mountains along the way. Although it was evening, the only wildlife we saw was a porcupine. At the end of the road was a B&B as well as a short dirt landing strip with a couple of planes parked there. This park is unique in that air taxi operators and private aircraft can operate in and out of it.

Wrangell-St. Elias N.P. and Preserve is the largest U.S. park--six Yellowstone N.P. would fit in it. The park is larger than southern New England at over 12 million acres. It adjoins Kluane N.P. in Canada and the whole area was the first designated UN World Heritage site. Nine of the 16 tallest mountain peaks in North America are found in the Park—and the Park’s southern boundary is shore line on the Gulf of Alaska! The ice fields are immense and are said to act as a natural cooling system affecting areas as far south as Chicago and the Central Plains. Copper was mined for many years at the Kennecott Mine prior to the area being designated a park.

We returned late in the evening from our drive so pulled into a nearby turnoff with a beautiful view of the mountains for the night. The next day we continued on to Tok where, once again, we joined up with the Alaska Highway. We stayed overnight in Tok and talked with a gentleman who was driving an antique car, being followed by a 5th wheel. He was from AZ and had previously driven the car to the Canadian Maritime provinces and was headed to Chicken, AK, from Tok, then back to the Lower 48.

We commenced our southeastward drive down the Alcan Highway on the 20th. Our destination was one of our favorite northbound stops—Destruction Bay, Yukon Territory (YT). However, to get there, we again had to negotiate a rough section of the road for 228 miles with a top speed of 40-45 mph most of the way. A couple of caravans were parked at Destruction Bay and the owner invited us to eat dinner and stay for the entertainment being provided one of the caravans. It was a very enjoyable evening—plus we reconnected with folks on the caravan we had seen at various places in AK. The owner here is very congenial and the food was good both times we stopped. It was definitely one of the top places we stopped at on the trip. And the scenery is spectacular with the mountains rising up directly behind the park and Kluane Lake across the road! This is remote, rugged country with rugged people living there, but they are really the salt of the earth.

AUGUST 1-17, 2007: HOMER, SEWARD, ANCHORAGE, PALMER, & VALDEZ, AK

August 1 Roberta and I went to the Alaskan Islands and Ocean Visitor Center in Homer. The center had very interesting exhibits and videos of birds and animals found in the Alaska Maritime Nat’l Wildlife Refuge which extends from the Arctic Ocean to the southeast panhandle. It protects breeding habitat for seabirds, marine mammals, and other wildlife on over 2500 islands, spires, rocks, and coastal headlands. This seems like a daunting task to me when I think about the weather and climatic conditions, plus the political influences they have to deal with. The center does a good job describing how human activity including the fur trade, WWII, post-war nuclear testing, and introduction of foxes and rats on the islands since the early 1700’s has upset the natural balance of nature resulting in extinction or near-extinction for many species. From the center, we went to Capt. Patti’s for lunch. This place had been recommended by the Aikin’s and it was good!

I took photos of the “Eagle Lady’s” home in our campground in the afternoon. She is 82 years old and has lived in the same location for 30 years. I didn’t get to see her, but looking at her garden is encouraged. It is truly beautiful with all the flowers in her small yard surrounding the park model style home. She is known for feeding 200-300 bald eagles approximately 500 lbs. of fish each morning during the winter. She has been doing this since shortly after her arrival on Homer Spit in 1977. Although her practice is somewhat controversial, she has become a fixture in the local culture. For more information Google “Eagle Lady, Homer, Alaska”. I especially enjoyed the videos on the Fogonazos: “The Eagle Lady” link.

It was time to leave the beautiful Homer area and August 2nd was our departure date. As with other places we especially enjoyed, Roberta and I decided to stay longer than we had originally planned. While I was pulling out of the parking lot in the morning, a bald eagle flew overhead and landed on the beach in front of me as though giving me a farewell salute. What a beautiful sight they are! Our destination was Seward on the southeast side of the Kenai Peninsula. I saw one black bear come out of the woods, look at me, and head right back into the woods while driving the Sterling Highway. There is a lot of evidence of spruce bark beetle activity on the peninsula as well as in other areas of Alaska. Dead trees are a very common sight as you drive through the countryside. We drove through light rain much of the way and parked in Seward’s City Campground. This is another wonderful spot right on the water. They really have their act together in this town when it comes to accommodating campers!

August 3 we checked out the town’s visitor center for maps and ideas, and then had lunch at Ray’s Waterfront Restaurant. Thanks again Aikins for another great suggestion! (Roberta says we are going to have to start sending them the bills because they have certainly steered us the right way to the good eating places along the way!) The afternoon was spent at the Alaska SeaLife Center which was very well done and time well spent. I especially enjoyed watching the underwater views of sea lions, seals, and diving birds in the large tanks. And the puffins were wonderful to watch as they scurried across the top of the water and dived underwater. They are amazing birds!

Seward is a very pretty area with mountains rising up right from the water’s edge. It is a temperate rain forest so there is a lot of vegetation. They also get a lot of snow here in the winter. Population is about 3,000 and the town’s economy relies on tourism, shipping, and fishing. Holland American Cruise Line ships come in three times a week. I watched one back out of its dock and turn around right in front of our campground this evening. It is quite a maneuver they do here to depart the harbor.

August 4th I did some shopping around town and spent over 4 hours uploading a blog posting. The library, where I found a good WIFI connection, closed before I was able to finish the post.

August 5th Roberta and I went to see Exit Glacier north of town. The glacier is within Kenai Fjords Nat’l Park and the road to it is the only road in the park. I joined a ranger-led hike up to the terminus of the glacier and enjoyed being able to get up close and personal to a glacier. I took a walk along the waterfront at the campground after dinner where I watched a sea otter for about 40 minutes as it floated along in front of the campground. It was just lazing along enjoying a beautiful evening, as was I.

Monday, August 6th, was going to be laundry day. They have one coin-op laundry in town and when I saw that the cheapest washing machines cost $4.00 per load and drying cost $.25 for 4 minutes it didn’t take long to decide I would do one load of necessaries instead of the planned 3 loads of laundry. When the laundry was done, I finished uploading to the blog while I could use the library’s excellent WIFI. Roberta and I went to the library again in the afternoon to see movies about the 1964 Good Friday Earthquake. The quake did a lot of damage in town; however, the tsunamis that kept sweeping through during the night really devastated the town. Silver salmon arrived here and they were jumping all over the bay late this day. What a sight! Some looked like they were dancing on their tails while others just jumped up and then dived back into the water. Sunrise in Seward today was at 5:50 a.m. and sunset was at 10:16 p.m. The days are definitely getting shorter.

August 7th dawned with the sun shining and we boarded a tour boat for a cruise into Kenai Fjords National Park. What an incredibly beautiful trip this was! The park, located on the southern Kenai Peninsula, has 32 glaciers flowing out of the Harding Icefield which is the largest icefield contained wholly in the U.S. The icefield is several thousand feet deep in places and receives over 900 inches of snow annually. We watched the Aialik Glacier, which is estimated to move 2 to 5 feet per day, calve numerous times while anchored. We also saw a lot of wildlife including humpback and orca whales, sea otters, Stellar sea lions, harbor seals, silver salmon jumping in the water, a mountain goat, both horned and tufted puffins, kittiwakes, several types of gulls common murres, cormorants, and bald eagles. Near the end of the trip we were treated to a bountiful salmon bake on Fox Island in Resurrection Bay.

We were back on the road the next day for the drive in to Anchorage. Enroute we stopped to take the Alyeska Resort tram ride up Mt. Alyeska. We had lunch at the top and watched paragliders take off from the mountain and land in the valley below. Girdwood was destroyed by the 1964 earthquake but has rebuilt about three miles inland from Turnagain Arm. As I drove along Turnagain Arm I noticed that the fire weed blossoms are gone which is a local sign that winter is but six weeks away. We boondocked in a Fred Meyer store’s parking lot during our two nights in Anchorage where we restocked supplies, did laundry, etc. The last evening Tom and Kristie Gummer invited us over for a delicious grilled salmon dinner. It was fun visiting with them and I look forward to seeing them again next year.

August 10th we drove a whopping 45 miles to Palmer in the Mat-Su Valley where we found a wonderful campground at Matanuska River Park, a city park. We didn’t find this campground in a camping guide—I found it in a “Moon” guidebook which called it “one of the most luxurious city campgrounds in Alaska” and is it ever! Sites were grassy like in a front yard in the Outside with flower gardens in the center island. We visited the local visitor center and spent the remainder of the 10th and the 11th exploring the Palmer and Mat-Su area. The 11th we drove over Hatcher Pass coming out at Willow. This was a sunny day to drive in the mountains and we saw more wild, desolate, but beautiful country. The foliage was just beginning to show some fall color. We were joined by Betty Springen and Joyce Logan, both RVers from Anchorage, for dinner and good-byes. We may have an opportunity to see one or both of them this winter on the Outside.

We drove to Valdez, AK, which is located on Prince William Sound on August 12th. It was a beautiful drive that began in light rain. I was thinking as I was driving that I haven’t seen many songbirds up here. There are some in Alaska, but not in the numbers you see in the Lower 48. We saw the Matanuska and Worthington Glaciers (both are large) enroute as well as some of the higher peaks in the Wrangell-St. Elias Nat’l Park. I hit a bird at my eye level in the left windshield north of Valdez—didn’t have any cracks show, but they probably will. Shortly after that a black bear came out of the bushes to my left and raced me down the road a bit before going back into the brush. Upon arrival in Valdez we met up with the Booths and the Morrisons who are guiding a WIT Tours caravan through AK. One of the couples on their trip had been to one of my ABQ Balloon Fiesta rallies and we all had a good visit.

Monday, August 13, dawned sunny (always a bonus on these seaside towns, I think) and after bidding the folks on the WIT caravan good-by, Roberta and I moved to waterfront sites at the Bear Paw adult campground. These were great sites and we could watch all kinds of boats coming and going. I went fishing with Gil and Sandy Glover in the afternoon and we had a wonderful time visiting and catching silver salmon that were running in Prince William Sound. We ended the afternoon with eight salmon in the cooler—not a bad afternoon’s work. Gil and I used to work long distance while we were employed by the FAA—he was in the Fairbanks FSDO and I was heading up the FSIRP program out of Albuquerque. He told me over five years ago before I retired that he would take me fishing when I got to Alaska--and we finally did it, didn’t we Gil? He has just retired and he and Sandy will likely have a lot more time to enjoy the water now. It was a great afternoon and will truly be one of the highlights of this Alaskan adventure for me! I hope we can cross paths next winter when they come down to the Lower 48.

The 14th through the 17th consisted of washing both the RV and the car which were filthy, working around the RV, relaxing, and sightseeing around the Valdez area. It is a quieter town than Homer and Seward which suited me perfectly. I could see nine or ten glaciers from the campground and, again, the mountains rose up directly from Prince William Sound. We enjoyed the location so much we decided to stay an extra day. Weather was rainy and cloudy much of the time, but the location was beautiful no matter what the weather. We visited the local museum which told about the area’s history as well as how the town was devastated by the 1964 earthquake. Old Valdez suffered a lot of damage from the earthquake whose epicenter was 45 miles away. The town was flooded and over 30 lives were lost, but it did not suffer the devastating tsunamis that Seward experienced.

Valdez was re-established on donated land 4 miles to the west when it was rebuilt and the area is called the “Switzerland of America” by one guidebook. If you like “wet”, this is the place to come! Annual snowfall in town is over 300 inches and Thompson Pass, about 35 miles north, records 600 to 900 inches annually. Rainfall in Valdez averages 64 inches and their record sun was in 2004 when they recorded 33 days above 70 degrees. However, their winter average temperature is 22.5 degrees and Valdez has the furthest north, year around, ice-free port in the U.S. This is why their port was chosen for the terminus of the 799 mile Alaska Pipeline.

One of the many boats we saw was a fuel barge that was parked at a dock in front of our campground for a couple of days. I asked what they were loading and was told they were taking on diesel fuel which would be hauled to various communities along Prince William Sound. Roads don’t exist beyond Valdez and the outlying villages use generators for electricity. The fuel would be used to power the generators.

We left Valdez on Saturday, August 18th, headed north. Our journey back to the Lower 48 really began this date since the remainder of our travels will be north, then southeast through Yukon Territory, and south through central British Columbia. We saw more interesting country on the 18th and beyond; however, that will have to wait for a later post.