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Published: September 24th 2018
August 23, 2018 found me singing, “Happy Birthday” to myself a couple of hours after I had awakened. At this point, it’s just another day on the calendar. Our next real “destination” was Valdez AK, but that trip would amount to 363 miles and 6 hours and 15 minutes, so I decided to split the trip in half – well, almost. Splitting the trip allowed us to make a stop in North Pole AK – 13.5 miles and 18 minutes from Fairbanks. Not everybody gets to go to (the) North Pole on their birthday! Little Richard's Family Diner looked to be quite interesting and had an All-Alaskan dish on the menu. Although I had ordered eggs and reindeer sausage before, I was anxious to have it again. Very tasty! Of course, we then made our way to the gift shop. I was floored that there even was a gift shop in such a small community. Yeah, right! After the shopping spree, we continued on
Richardson Highwaytowards Delta Junction AK, 1 hour 23 minutes and 82 miles southeast of North Pole.
The 368-mile Richardson Highway, marked as Alaska Route 2 from Fairbanks to Delta Junction and as Alaska Route 4 from Delta
Many Alaskan Rivers Have Large Flood Plains
Tanana River Valley – Between Fairbanks AK and Delta Junction AKJunction to Valdez, was the first major road built in Alaska. A pack trail from the port at Valdez to Eagle, a distance of about 409 miles, was built in 1898 by the U.S. Army to provide an "all-American" route to the Klondike gold fields. After the rush ended, the Army kept the trail open in order to connect its posts at Fort Liscum, in Valdez, and Fort Egbert, in Eagle. The Fairbanks gold rush in 1902 and the construction of a telegraph line along the trail in 1903 made the Valdez to Eagle trail one of the most important access routes to the Alaska Interior, so in 1910 the Alaska Road Commission upgraded it to a wagon road. The head of the project was U.S. Army General Wilds P. Richardson, for whom the highway was later named. During the construction, the government hired failed gold prospectors as well as regular construction workers. The income from this work allowed many of the busted prospectors to return home from Alaska. Several roadhouses, now on the National Register of Historic Places, were constructed along the route at that time. An increase in motorized transportation led to an upgrade of the road to
automotive standards in the 1920s. The southern end was only open during summers until 1950, when a freight company foreman who lived near Thompson Pass plowed the snow himself for an entire season to prove the route could be used year-round. The highway was paved in 1957. The Trans-Alaska Pipeline System, built in 1973-1977, mostly parallels the highway from Fairbanks to Valdez.
Delta Junction also is the northern end of the
Alaska Highway which was constructed during World War II to provide a land route from the contiguous 48 states to Alaska across Canada. Also known as the ALCAN Highway, the Alaska Highway was opened to the public in 1948. Contrary to popular belief, the southern end does not begin at the U.S. border but, instead, begins at the junction of several Canadian highways in Dawson Creek, B.C. and runs to Delta Junction via Whitehorse YK. Completed in 1942 with a length of approximately 1,700 miles, the length of the highway has decreased to 1,387 miles (as of 2012) because of constant reconstruction of the highway which has rerouted and straightened out numerous sections. Legendary for many decades as being a rough, challenging drive, the highway is now paved over
its entire length. Its component highways are British Columbia Highway 97, Yukon Highway 1 and Alaska Route 2. An informal system of historic mileposts has developed over the years to denote major stopping points, and Delta Junction, at the northern end of the highway, touts its location at "Historic Milepost 1422." It is at this point that the Alaska Highway meets the Richardson Highway, and the Alaska Highway ends.
So much for Delta Junction’s strategic location and its importance in the development of interior Alaska. How about some modern history? Our drive from Fairbanks to Valdez offered us numerous opportunities to visualize the
Trans-Alaska Pipeline System as well as to stop at well-placed vistas replete with informational placards about the engineering marvel. Oil was discovered in Prudhoe Bay in 1968, but environmental, legal, and political debates prevented additional exploration. The sharp rise in oil prices in 1973 made exploration of the Prudhoe Bay oil field economically feasible, but the pipeline was built only after the oil crisis provoked the passage of legislation designed to remove legal challenges to the project. Engineers faced a wide range of difficulties in building the pipeline, stemming mainly from the extreme cold and the difficult, isolated
terrain. Construction of the pipeline was one of the first large-scale projects that had to deal with problems caused by permafrost, and special construction techniques had to be developed to cope with the frozen ground.
Known by a variety of names but most commonly referred to as “the pipeline” by Alaskans, the pipeline was built between 1974 and 1977; attracted tens of thousands of workers to Alaska, causing a boomtown atmosphere in Valdez, Fairbanks, and Anchorage; and includes the 48-inch pipeline, eleven pump stations, several hundred miles of feeder pipelines and the Valdez Marine Terminal. The pipeline was built to withstand earthquakes, forest fires, and other natural disasters. The 2002 Denali 7.9 Mw (moment magnitude scale) earthquake, the largest recorded in the United States since 1965 and the strongest ever recorded in the interior of Alaska, damaged some of the pipeline sliders, designed to absorb earthquakes, and caused the pipeline to shut down for more than 66 hours as a precaution. The first barrel of oil traveled through the pipeline in 1977, and full-scale production began by the end of that year. From Pump Station 1, it takes an average of 11.9 days for oil to travel the entire
Horsetail Falls Is Unique Among Most Waterfalls
Along the Richardson Highway in Keystone Canyon length of the pipeline to Valdez at an amazing speed of 3.7 miles per hour. As of 2010, the pipeline had transported almost 16 billion barrels of oil.
Following the Lowe River, we passed Summit Lake, negotiated our way through the thriving metropolis of Paxson, passed by Paxson Lake and then made a stop at Glennallen AK for lunch where I had an incredible breakfast burrito at a food-truck establishment, Ernesto's Latin Cuisine. Continuing south from Glennallen, we passed Worthington Glacier and entered Keystone Canyon. Its almost perpendicular walls extend three miles in length, connecting the upper and lower valleys of Lowe River. Numerous small waterfalls dot the landscape of the canyon, but two are noteworthy. Bridal Veil Falls is a roadside waterfall at mile 13.5 on the Richardson Highway that is 600 feet tall and is quite spectacular while Horsetail Falls is a picturesque 328-foot waterfall that is 0.4 mile south of Bridal Veil Falls, also with a roadside turnout. The canyon was part of the proposed route of a railroad to access the minerals of Interior Alaska, with nine different companies hoped to complete the railroad. The only remaining obvious sign of those efforts in Keystone Canyon
is a short section of hand-cut tunnel. The drive from Delta Junction to Valdez was majestically scenic and unexpectedly educational, and the roadway was great.
By the time we arrived and checked in at the hotel, the
Valdez Museum, right across the street, was closed. We did some looking around, both on the Internet and as we drove, and decided to get a bite to eat at
The Fat Mermaid. I never would have thought that a restaurant with such a name would have the most options for Marilyn, given her dietary restrictions, but it did. In the morning before departing Valdez, we headed to the aforementioned Valdez Museum and learned there was an auxiliary facility, the Remembering Old Valdez Exhibit, and the fee gains entry to both facilities. The Valdez Museum has a model of a scraper pig, a “roto-rooter” kind of device that removes wax from the interior of the pipeline as well as Life Boat #4 from the
M/S Prinsendam that caught fire and sunk near Valdez on October 4, 1980. Inside, the museum presents native artifacts, gold rush history, the pipeline, the Exxon Valdez oil spill and the
1964 Alaskan earthquake.
Also known as the Great Alaskan earthquake and the
Good Friday earthquake, the 5:36 PM event caused major damage across south-central Alaska and caused about 139 deaths. Lasting four minutes and thirty-eight seconds, the magnitude 9.2 megathrust earthquake was the most powerful earthquake recorded in North American history and the second most powerful earthquake recorded in world history. After about 500 years of stress buildup, 600 miles of fault ruptured at once and moved up to 60 feet. Soil liquefaction, fissures, landslides, and other ground failures caused major structural damage in several communities. Two hundred miles southwest, some areas near Kodiak were permanently raised by 30 feet, and areas around the head of Turnagain Arm near Girdwood and Portage dropped as much as 8 feet. Valdez suffered a massive underwater landslide, resulting in the deaths of 32 people between the collapse of the Valdez city harbor and docks, and inside a ship that was docked there at the time. Nearby, a 27-foot tsunami destroyed the village of Chenega, killing 23 of the 68 people who lived there. Post-quake tsunamis severely affected Whittier, Seward, Kodiak, and other Alaskan communities, as well as people and property in British Columbia, Washington, Oregon, and California. Tsunamis also caused damage in Hawaii and Japan,
and evidence of motion directly related to the earthquake was also reported from Florida and Texas. Wow! That was a genuine shaker.
We made our way to the Remembering Old Valdez Exhibit, a couple of blocks away, where we learned that Valdez was not totally destroyed by the earthquake but the town site was deemed too unstable for habitation so the town was relocated. Residents continued to live there for an additional three years while the new site was being prepared on more stable ground four miles away. The new construction was supervised by the Army Corps of Engineers who transported 54 houses and buildings by truck to the new site. The original town site was dismantled and abandoned. The Remembering Old Valdez Exhibit contains first-hand accounts of the earthquake and photographs of the aftermath. Some of the stories are heart wrenching, yet incredible at the same time. The Remembering Old Valdez Exhibit is a definite “must see” while in Valdez.
After our museum visits, we set out for Palmer AK, some 4 hours 35 minutes and 257 miles away, on Saturday, August 25, 2018. Sunday it rained all day, so some housekeeping was in order (that’s spelled
B-L-O-G C-A-T-C-H-U-P). Raining or not, we still needed some nutrition, and we found it in a nice little ma and pa eatery, The Noisy Goose. There is a nice variety of items on the menu, breakfast is served all day and the prices are fair. Monday found us heading to
Independence Mine State Historical Park and
Hatcher Pass under some seriously overcast and threatening skies. We made a stop at a crossing of the Little Susitna River to watch what appears to be a kayaker’s dream. Continuing on, we climbed until we reached the historic park.
Before a quarter-of-a-million gold seekers began their stampede into Alaska’s famous gold-bearing areas of Nome and Fairbanks in the late 1890s, gold was discovered just southeast of Anchorage in 1886. That gold, known as lode gold, was found scattered in quartz veins throughout the granite in the Talkeetna Mountains. Erosion loosened flakes of gold, and flowing water eventually washed the gold-bearing gravel into a stream. Throughout the history of gold mining, placer mining has preceded lode mining, and this area was no exception. The rough-textured gold found in the bottom of pans and sluice boxes hinted at something more – a nearby source, or mother lode. Robert Lee
Hatcher discovered and staked the first lode gold claim in the Willow Creek Valley in September 1906, and others soon followed. But lode mining was expensive for an individual operator. It required elaborate tunnels and heavy equipment, so companies merged to pool resources and reduce expenses.
What is now called Independence Mine was once two mines and became one company, the Alaska-Pacific Consolidated Mining Company (APC), in 1938. With a block of 83 mining claims, APC became the largest producer in the Willow Creek Mining District. The claims covered more than 1,350 acres and included 27 structures. In its peak year, 1941, APC employed 204 men, blasted nearly a dozen miles of tunnels and produced 34,416 ounces of gold worth $1,204,560; today $17,208,000. Twenty-two families lived in nearby Boomtown, with eight children attending the Territorial School in the new bunkhouse. By 1942, the United States had entered World War II, and the War Production Board designated gold mining as nonessential to the war effort. Gold mining throughout the United States came to a halt.
The wartime ban was lifted in 1946, but gold mining was slow to recover. After the war, gold could be sold only to the
U.S. government at a fixed rate of $35 per ounce. Postwar inflation raged, and gold mining became an unprofitable venture. Finally, in January of 1951, after mining nearly 6 million dollars' worth of gold, Independence Mine was closed by APC, and a chapter of Alaska's gold mining history came to an end. In 1974, Independence Mine was entered into the National Register of Historic Places; and, in the late 1970's, 271 acres of land were donated to the Alaska Division of Parks & Outdoor Recreation for establishment of Independence Mine State Historical Park. The threatening skies loomed even more threatening and the winds were howling in the mountains which prevented us from much exploration. We visited the museum and did some looking and photography before heading back to Palmer.
One of the reasons for making a stop in Palmer was that our timing had given us an opportunity to attend the Alaska State Fair. Even though the threatening weather held on Monday, we decided the grounds were probably a quagmire and vetoed our participation, though it would have been kind neat to attend the Alaska State Fair. How many Lower 48ers can make that claim? Well, we did see
the tents and the amusements from a distance.
Tuesday, August 28, 2018, another rainy day, we made the drive to Girdwood AK; however, Wednesday had a sunny, rain-free day predicted so we headed for Whittier AK to accomplish two novel missions. We had been greeted by morning fog but the blue skies above heralded one of the best weather days we have seen since leaving Calgary AB. Our first attraction was the
Anton Anderson Memorial Tunnel or Whittier Tunnel. A tunnel is a tunnel is a tunnel, yada-yada-yada! But, alas, the Anton Anderson Memorial Tunnel is unique. First, at 2-½ miles long, it is the longest highway tunnel in North America. Second, it is a single lane tunnel allowing only one-way traffic. Third, not only is the tunnel shared with oncoming vehicular traffic, it is also shared with train traffic. The “schedule” has traffic heading toward Whittier being released at thirty minutes past the hour and traffic coming from Whittier being released on the hour – that is, from 5:30 AM until 11:00 PM. That is the schedule. Of course, trains have precedence so you may or may not get to drive through the tunnel “on schedule.” When I read about this
Here Comes the Train!
Between Girdwood AK and Whittier AK travelling anomaly, I had to see it with or without another reason to visit Whittier.
Construction of the tunnel was a Department of Defense project of the early 1940s that was a train tunnel only. After the Japanese bombing and invasion of the Aleutian Islands in June 1942, the project got a proverbial shot in the arm. It remained a train only tunnel until an alternate way to access Whittier entered the discussion in the 1990s. Five options were generated and the option chosen was to modify the train tunnel to accommodate vehicular traffic. The tunnel modifications were completed and the tunnel opened in early 2000. We arrived at the tunnel staging area, paid the $13.00 round trip toll (there is only one road into or out of Whittier) and got in line. The dynamic scrolling sign that proclaimed the time until the Whittier-bound traffic would be released soon changed and informed all that a train was approaching and that traffic would be released as soon as the train had cleared the tunnel. Sure enough, as promised, a train emerged from the tunnel, and we were soon on our way. The train tracks/road surface resembled that of any roadway
at a railroad crossing – rubber matting or some such material on each approach and between the tracks. The difference was that this “crossing” was 2-½ miles long. It was a little tricky keeping the tires off the rails at first, but I got the knack of it in a couple of hundred yards or so.
We arrived at the ticket office for the
Phillips Cruises 26 Glacier Tour to find that it wasn’t to open for another 10-15 minutes so we just hung out. Some workers were nearby, so I ventured their direction and asked if they were going for breakfast in about 30 minutes, where would they go. I got a recommendation and tucked it away in the memory bank. After purchasing the seemingly pricy boat tickets, we followed the recommendation and got some vittles. After breakfast, we drove around Whittier and found a 14-story residential building. Hmmm. It turns out that
Begich Towers Condominium is notable for being the residence for nearly the entire population of Whittier as well as home to a number of community agencies and has earned Whittier the nickname of a "town under one roof." Pretty crazy, but we found virtually zero residential areas. Most of Whittier is
Stellar Sea Lions Lazing Away the Day
Phillips Cruises 26 Glacier Tour - Whittier AK the marina and deep-water harbor (a Princess cruise ship was in port when we arrived), a sizeable railroad yard with container-loading facilities and stacked containers (that came, I suppose, from a container ship that had been in port recently) and a small commercial district.
Back at the dock, we waited a few minutes until boarding time, boarded and assumed our assigned seats. It was explained that movement around the ship was encouraged but that our assigned seat was merely a tool to give each passenger a “home base” where their previously selected lunch option would be served. Soon, we were joined at our table for four by two young men from Louisville KY, Travis and Chris. My mother was born and raised about an hour south of Louisville, so we had some Kentucky chat for a while. Justin had just purchased an RV so we had some more small talk. Then, I learned they are pilots for a major in-patient medical conglomerate with facilities in 49 of the 50 states and their “job” is to fly the corporate jet to wherever the “powers to be” needs to travel. Obvious to all who know of my interest in flying, a
Not Quite a Mirror but Pretty Darn Close
Phillips Cruises 26 Glacier Tour - Whittier AK lot more small talk was at hand.
Soon, lunch was being served, and then we were up moving around, taking pictures and looking at the sights, but always returning to our “home base.” Early on, we saw some Stellar sea lions, then some glaciers, followed by some sea otters, more glaciers then several orcas and, of course, more glaciers. Glaciers, glaciers, glaciers. A national forest service ranger was on board and provided a narrative about many of the features (and critters) we encountered including some of the history of the explorers who discovered and named many of those glaciers, bays, inlets and points as well as lots of learning opportunities about glaciers.
Near the end of our glacier adventure, we held steady near the foot of a tidewater glacier – a glacier that reaches a body of water, in this case the ocean. I was hoping to get a video of a calving event and was shooting 15-20 second segments before stopping to keep the segment size manageable. After 6-8 attempts, the unbelievable happened. First a small segment of glacial ice separated from the glacier and plunged into the ocean below. About five seconds later, as I was
capturing the waves created by he event, a much, much larger section separated and toppled into the ocean creating a huge spash and wave. Unfortunately, 1) I don’t have the capability to capture a still from a video (at least as of now) and 2) cannot embed videos into my blog; however, for those who are interested, let me know your preferred email address ad I’ll send the video as an attachment. My video in no way measures up to that of National Geographic Channel, but those videos took dozens of folks hundreds of days to get their shot. Capturing that piece of video was one of the coolest experiences I have had on
The Great Adventure. On a clear day, the Phillips Cruises 26 Glacier Tour is worth every penny of the moderately high price. On a marginal day it would depend on nature – the critters you see and the glaciers that clave (or the glaciers you might not see because of low-hanging clouds).
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