August 20-22, 2006 (Days 88-90)

Sunday:
We were on the road at 6:50 a.m. with the Steurers and Waters. When we left it was 49 degrees and raining, AGAIN! We crossed a mountain pass at 2,732 ft. and the outside temperature fluctuated between 35 and 38 degrees. There were skiffs of snow in the grass. It truly felt like winter.

As we descended, we came out of the fog. Mountain viewing had not been good, but by that time, we began to see some mountains again. We also saw the Matanuska Glacier. We had lunch in Glenallen and were back on the road by 12:40 p.m. We got to the campground in Valdez around 4:00 p.m. Our campground is across the street from some fish canneries. Smell wasn’t too bad! The campground sits right on the shore of the Sound.

We had dinner with Ed and the Kolley’s at a restaurant in downtown Valdez. I had Shrimp Louie and Black Devils with bacon wrap (scallops). Dan had, not a hamburger this time, but a chimichanga, with beef. :-)

Until tomorrow…..



Monday:
Today we got up early, once again to rain, gray skies and clouds. There was fog in the harbor and visibility was zero. All this stuff, and today is the day we are scheduled to have an all-day cruise out into Prince William Sound to view glaciers and wildlife. Some were skeptical about going and actually backed out. Would it be wet? Would it be cold? Would we see anything?

A CB announcement by our leader at 7:30 a.m. stated the weather was good in the Sound. There were no big swells and fog was lifting. We decided to go. About eight to ten people backed out. Boy, did they ever miss a great day!

When we got out past the Narrows (an inlet into Valdez harbor), the sun came out, it still misted some what, but that soon quit (there were beautiful rainbows) and the skies turned blue. The waters were calm, and I was glad because I’m a little chicken about being in the big waters (Pacific Ocean this time). The boat ride was very smooth and we enjoyed cruising along the shorelines and seeing some great wildlife. One highlight was seeing a mama black bear with her two cubs along the shoreline. The cubs were frolicking with each other and playing in the stream. When mama bear spotted our big white boat, she perked up her ears and stared at us for a few seconds, then hurried her cubs into the trees. Another sighting was of two bald eagles sitting on top a rock bluff in the water watching as our boat came around the corner. They were eating a fish. As we approached, one eagle flew off to the other side and into a nest where there were two chicks. The chicks soon disappeared from sight (she was hiding them) while the other eagle held his ground on the fish. What a sight!

We saw several glaciers. Alaska has over 30,000 sq. miles of glacier ice, covering five percent of the state. In one recessed area, we approached a glacier and chunks of glacier ice were floating all over the water and icebergs were very evident. As we got closer, the ice got denser and the boat was dodging around the big chunks. Did I ever think about Titanic? Yes, I did! We got “up close and personal” to another glacier and the boat sat still in the water for about a half an hour. We got to witness the glacier calving several times. Calving means big chunks of ice fell loose from the glacier and fell into the water. One could hear the ice crack, then see the chunk fall, and then hear the thunderous sound it made hitting the water. It was breath-taking. One was so big it caused waves rocking our boat ¼ mile away.

We were served a noon meal around 2 p.m. of chicken and rice (Dan was happy-no seafood), then around 6 p.m. they served us chowder. We had a choice of clam or a minestrone soup, so Dan did okay there, too.

We saw where the Exxon Valdez sunk and caused such a large oil spill in 1989. We also watched commercial fishermen in their boats casting their nets and pulling in large catches of fish. At one point a floater plane (we call them sea planes) landed near a boat (bringing something to it) and left again. It takes so much time for a boat to go back to shore to get a part or supplies, and having a plane deliver them must be cheaper. It was interesting watching the boats and men pull in the nets.

Sea otters were plentiful basking in the water. We also saw harbor seals resting on the ice chunks and stellar sea lions basking in the sun along the shoreline. Some people saw a dolphin beside our boat. I only saw the ripple of water, and he didn’t come back.

On the way back, we were shown the termination point of the Alaska oil pipeline. They used to give tours, but since 911, they no longer do that and have extensive security.

We returned to what had been a nice day in Valdez, too.

Since the chowder hadn’t been enough to fill the men’s tummies, we had pizza before going back to the campgrounds. Bed will feel good tonight, as we are all tired from a big day.

Till tomorrow…..


Tuesday:
It felt good to not awaken to an alarm. We heard a gentle rain, once again, on the trailer roof. We were up at 8 a.m., dressed and did six loads of laundry. Then we drove out to see Old Towne Valdez (nothing left of it) and the salmon hatchery.

While driving the road to the salmon hatchery, we heard our leaders (who were out sightseeing, too) talk on the CB about seeing bears. So, we soon came upon their trucks and stopped to look over the edge of the road. There, in a bubbling stream, were thousands of salmon struggling to get upstream. The high waters (flash flood) had come and gone and left many salmon stranded in the low water and along the edges. It was an incredible sight. I actually felt sorry for the salmon that were trying so hard to get into deeper water. Many were dying on the spot.

Soon at the edge of the stream was a bear cub who had come down to take advantage of his easy fishing opportunities. One of the people along the roadside said there had earlier been two cubs, but one was out of site. That meant only one thing….mama bear was not far away. After a few minutes, she appeared and had fun fishing herself. They must have been getting full, as they would snag a fish from the stream, take it up on shore, and bite it then walk back to the water and get another, leaving the fish all dying on the shore. We also saw another big bear on up the road. What an incredible day.

On the way back to the campground, we stopped for gas. It was $3.21 a gallon. We met Ed and the Kolley’s for dinner and then came back to the trailer to prepare for tomorrow’s departure. Dan and I are on the parking crew, so we will be leaving early with the leaders at 6 a.m. We will be scouting out the roads, as there are flood warnings out for this area and we are hoping no roads are flooded or washed out. We hear on the news about many roads and bridges that washed out that we have traveled on in the last week or so. We may be a little too close for comfort.

Till tomorrow, when we will be at Tok, AK…………