Blogs from Valdez, Alaska, United States, North America - page 6

A few days ago we headed to Valdez, Ak. Yes, we all know what happened in Valdez... It is the terminus of the Alaska pipeline that starts in Purdhoe Bay. There is not really much to do in Valdez. But, we went because we heard of a cool kayak tour. We kayaked on the Valdez Glacier Lake. There was just the tour guide and us. We kayaked on the glacier lake, into ice caves and walked on the Glacier. The photos can not really show the immensity of the glacier, cracks, caves and puddles. The ice was crystal clear and the melted water was turquoise blue. It was an incredible experience. I really likes the kayak and I might try it some more when get back to Big Bear. That evening I was walking over to ... read more

When I left Seward, I intended on driving the Glenn Highway to the east from Wasilla to the Tok (pronounced Toke) Cutoff Highway and start heading closer to the Alaska Highway, which runs through Tok. I spent the night in a campground in a place called King Mountain State Rec. Area. It was about 1:00 AM when I pulled in there. The Glenn Highway drive is another very scenic area. But I didn’t get to see a whole lot of it since it was rainy with low clouds obscuring the mountains all around me. This is the second straight day of rain. A few people have told me that Valdez is a real nice spot, so I figured I’d head down there. Valdez is the seaport city where the Alaska pipeline ends. It’s also called Little ... read more

Good evening, If any of you took a look at my itinerary, you will see that Valdez was not on it. However, I met a couple of sisters at Mile Zero in Dawson Creek who were going to Valdez and they said that I had better not miss this area since I was so close. Well, that is where I am at tonight. But first, I left Anchorage at 7:30 and did I mention it was raining! Sorry about sounding like a broken record. I am used to it by now. As usual the drive was great even though it was raining and then misty. Road construction held us up for about 20 minutes, but it is just a time when you get out of your vehicle and start to visit with everyone and ask where ... read more

Heading east on the Glenn Highway out of Palmer is a very scenic ride through the Matanuska Valley. This highway takes you along the Matanuska River and practically right up to the Matanuska Glacier. Dave and I hiked a short trail to the scenic viewpoints at the glacier. We had excellent views of the Chugach Mountains along the highway. Another very beautiful spot along the way was the colorful 6,300 foot Sheep Mountain, which lived up to it’s name and was dotted with sheep on the steep walls. After reaching Glennallen, we headed down the Richardson Highway toward Valdez. We passed the Alaska Pipeline along this route as it heads to and terminates in Valdez. Stopping at the Wrangell/St. Elias National Park we picked up brochures and a map for the Kennicott Mine, which we hope ... read more

Well, things just keep getting weirder and weirder!!!! We left Anchorage on Thursday around noon heading south for Homer in the Kenai Penninsula thinking we had approximately a 3-4 hour drive taking into consideration a couple of stops for points of interest. The first point of interest was the Alaskan Wildlife preserve which was exciting for us all as they had the most amazing Elk, Moose, Musk Ox, Sitka deer and 2 brown bears. We snapped many shots (I know you want to see them but so far I haven't had the time to load them in). Then, we headed merrily down the road for about 20 minutes and encountered road construction which saw us waiting in live for an hour and a half before we were able to move on down the road. We were ... read more