Down the Richardson to Valdez

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We all got in the van (Moe, too) and headed south on Highway 4, Richardson Highway. The skies were pretty clear and we stopped at a couple of overlooks to get pictures of the top of Mt. Drum, which we couldn't see yesterday for the clouds. Later, the beautiful snow-covered Chugach Mountains came into view with their many glaciers. We stopped at Worthington Glacier SP to walk fairly close to a glacier. We really did get a kick out of seeing a glacier up close. The funny thing was, there were seagulls swimming in the cold waters of the glacial pond, between the sheets of ice.

After crossing Thompson Pass, there was a pulloff with a spectacular 360 degree view of the surrounding mountains and glaciers. It was awesome.

We then drove through Keystone Canyon with its numerous waterfalls, including Bridal Veil Falls and Horsetail Falls.

In Valdez we stopped at the US Forest Service Crooked Creek observation platform, where you can watch the salmon come upriver to spawn. But, it was too early for salmon to spawn, so we got some neat stamps in our books and saw an eagle's nest across the way with eagles in residence. We drove to the waterfront in Valdez and took some pictures before heading back to Glennallen.

By the way, here is a link to the video of our grizzly encounter the other day: http://picasaweb.google.com/charliemagee5551/ExportedVideos

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