It's Valdeez Please

I really enjoyed the drive from Anchorage towards Valdez along the Glenn Highway. The weather cleared a bit and seeing the sun sure makes everything prettier after spending the last week in the rain and fog. We stopped about halfway near the Matanuska Glacier. We stayed at a pretty little RV park called Grand View. It lived up to its name and we decided to stay an extra day. It was peaceful and relaxing after the tight quarters in Seward. We spent the next day exploring the area and taking a little hike with great views of the glacier.

Next we continued along the Glenn Highway towards Glennallen. The junction for Highway 4 south to Valdez is at Glennallen. The day was sunny and clear and the closer we got to Glennallen we started seeing the Wrangel Mountians on the horizon. Wow! We turned south and on to beautiful Valdez.

The drive was spectacular but the closer we got to the coastal mountains the cloudier the day. The clouds and the rain stayed for next few days. We had decided to stay in Valdez for a week to wait for our mail before heading back into Canada. Our plan was to take a tour of Prince William Sound and Meares Glacier. Very glad we waited until the weather cleared, it was spectacular! We saw all sorts of sea wild life including sea otters, sea lions, harbor seals and even a whale. Meares glacier itself was magnificent and we did get to see some calving.

It was a great day on the water! Jack also got to see an oil tanker being guided into port. This is where the Alaskan oil pipeline ends. Something for everyone! Prince William Sound is where the first really horrendous and infamous Exxon Valdez oil spill occurred before anyone knew how to control and clean the damage. It still upsets me to think about it and the more recent Gulf Oil spill. But glad to say the area has recovered and most of the wild life has returned to healthy numbers. However, it totally wiped out the herring industry in the area and that has not returned. Valdez is a big fishing port for humans and wild life. There is always some type of salmon making a spawning run and consequently the bears and eagles like to hang around and gorge themselves. We even saw one mama bear with three cubs!

It really is something to see all the salmon flapping around in the streams. One day we also took a drive back through Thompson Pass to Worhtingham glacier.

From Valdez

This area is so beautiful please take the time to view all the pictures for this area. One could be lulled into wanting to stay here but be aware - they get more snow and annual precipitation than any other place in the US. A word about the pronunciation of the name “Valdez”. It is not pronounced like one from New Mexico and Wikipedia would think. The town around the time of the Spanish American War decided it was un-American to pronounce the name the Spanish way so the correct way is with a long “e” as in “Valdeez”. Next we’ll be calling French fries American fries.