Arrive Valdez,AK

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Thursday July 19, 2007 Another sunny day! We continued north on the Alaska Hwy and back into the USA. Eventually our route took us southwest and the 2 different roads we traveled were basically in the same condition as the Alaska Hwy. Traffic increased a little. Towns, villages and services are about 100-150 miles apart and there is nothing in between.
The scenery was the same as yesterday, but when we headed SW, snowcapped mountains came into view and there were more lakes and rushing rivers. The day warmed up, probably into the high 70’s and we actually needed the ac in the truck cab. There are so many bugs, you really don’t want to open the windows.
About 50 miles outside of Valdez the landscape changed dramatically. The road passed tall mountains and the huge Worthington Glacier was just off the Highway. We drove through the Keystone Canyon and crossed the Thompson Mountain Pass where several mountain ranges were visible. The oil pipeline could also be seen in places.
Valdez gets lots of rain, but the sun was shining. Annual snowfall is over 200 inches. The snowplow guides on the side of the highway are as tall as streetlights!
Since it was getting late, we decided to spend the night outside of Valdez at a state park that was recommended to Frank by someone he started talking with at a rest stop. It’s on the Valdez Estuary. It’s BIG with fishermen. The RV sites are actually on the side of the road and back up to the water (about 10 feet above the water.) It’s dry camping (no services), but the view is great. We can hear the waves lapping and the seagulls crying. You can also see the salmon jumping and the harbor seals swimming.
One thing we’ve noticed since we have had two sunny days in a row. It doesn’t get dark until after 10:30 pm and it is light before 4:00 am. It doesn’t bother us to sleep, but you don’t want to go to bed when it’s not close to sundown!

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Photos

Worthington Glacier
View from Richardson Hwy.

Allison Point St Pk
We camped on the Valdez Harbor for the night