Day 15 (July 12, 2008) Goodbye Valdez...Hello Yukon!

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Day 15 (July 12, 2008) Goodbye Valdez, Hello Yukon Territory (Again)

As you recall, I spent the night at the Sea Otter campground right on Valdez Harbor. I awoke this morning to bright blue skies with just a whisper of white clouds. The air was crisp and you could see your breath…calm and the harbor was like a sheet of glass. Hated to leave this setting but I had a deadline to make to get close to Haines for my ferry ride to Bellingham. I slept very well in the cool night air.

I had asked the night before where was the best place to get a good breakfast and the reply was the Totem Inn and Restaurant. And they were right. I usually try and get a real good breakfast, coast through lunch and then find a restaurant in the evening.

After quenching my taste buds, I put my full leathers on including chaps because I knew the pass out of Valdez would be downright chilly. It was another great ride through this beautiful mountain range.

I did make one more stop at the top to take some photos and to walk up to Worthington glacier. I am amazed at how these huge ice fields exist and how they are receding.

On the 125-mile ride from Valdez to Glenallen I came across what turned out to be around 750 bicyclists who were participating in a two-day 750-mile course. They were everywhere and one had to be very careful.

Loren Carson, you should check this out and bring Pat to Alaska and participate. It’s a pretty aggressive course from long climbs to 3,000-foot mountain passes to coasting for miles on end.

Made Tok and my circle in Alaska was completed, so I headed back down the Alaskan Highway to Beaver Creek where I am spending the night at a campground for $12.00. No wireless here so will have to post when I can connect.

Several have asked me how I keep the travel blog dialogue going when I do not have Internet. At the end of each day I download my photos to my Apple and pick the ones I will write a caption for…I also log the number of the photo. I then craft the entry on a word document so that when I get a WiFi connection, I just plug my laptop in and download the entries and photos to the travel blog. It works pretty well, but it takes about 1-2 hours every night to get caught up. I keep notes throughout the day so that I remember where I have been.

Tomorrow I will make Haines and spend one night there and then board the ferry on Monday night at 8:00 pm. I am looking forward to another first in my journey and one in which I had my wife along to share. She has always wanted to take a cruise…although not on a ferry, but this would have been a good cruise in some of the calmest waters with some of the most beautiful scenery just yards from the boat.

BTW…I had my doc prescribe some Dramamine just in case!

Until tomorrow my friends…Rob Keller

PS: Here’s some info on Valdez that I did not have yesterday:
Valdez is the activity center for the Prince William Sound; a mix of tidewater glaciers, rain forests, and mountains. The growth and settlement of Valdez can be attributed to fur trading, salmon canning, and gold and copper mining. During the Klondike Gold Rush of 1897-1898, prospectors came to Valdez believing the Copper River and Valdez Glacier to be the entry to the interior gold fields. From 1910 to 1916, copper and gold mining flourished in the area. In the early 1970s, Valdez became the staging area for work on the lower portion of the Trans Alaska Pipeline. Today, Valdez hosts the Valdez Marine Terminal, which is the southernmost end of the 800-mile pipeline.

And the surrounding Chugach Mountains receive over 600 inches of snow each year!

And another piece of military history…the Army built Fort Liscum at the site of the present Valdez Marine Terminal and laid a telegraph line connecting Washington to Alaska, bypassing Canada for the first time.

On March 27, 1964 at 5:36 pm, a 9.2 earthquake lasting over 4 minutes struck 45 miles west of Valdez. The quake triggered an underwater landslide creating tremendous waves that washed away the Valdez waterfront, drowning 30 people. And then in 1967, town of Valdez was condemned and was relocated to the present site 4 miles east…now you know.

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Photos

Looking across Valdez Harbor to Trans Alaska Pipeline Southern Terminal
This was the view from my tent site in Valdez. The pipeline terminal is about 2-3 miles across the harbor. No supertankers in sight but according to locals, up to 3-4 tankers "fill up" every day.

At the top of Thompsonson Pass - Valdez
I had just left Valdez and headed up the Thompson Pass when the clouds started to set in and make for a great photo opportunity. You have to dress warm for this type of riding

Thompson Pass
The clouds were creating an awesome panorama of the mountain peaks in Thompson Pass that I just could not pass up this photo shot as well. NOTE: For every photo you see I have about 50 more!!!

Worthington Glacier near Valdez
I know I had one from yesterday but here is a front on shot of this glacier. I hiked to the base of this glacier and have some great video of the glacier melting and creating a glacier lake. Pretty cool video if I say so myself.

Comments

[Pam Hofer]

Rob, We have enjoyed reading your blog and seeing the great pictures. We are leaving for Illinois Tuesday, so will have to catch up on your blog when we get home, sometime next week. Enjoy the rest of your trip!