Valdez Today (06-30-14)

The only road in and out of Valdez is Thompson Pass.  On our way into town, we slowed down and enjoyed the view.  Wellington Glacier is one of the main attractions along the roadway. 

Thompson Pass is a slight gap in very huge mountains, so a road was built through it to reach Valdez. Not that the Pass is a balmy drive in the Bahamas-Valdez is the snow capital of Alaska-its one of the snowiest spots in North America. Record snow fall amounts for Thompson Pass  include 974 inches for the 1952-53 season, when it snowed 298 inches (24 feet) in the month of February alone.

One of our first stops was the Elks lodge- its getting to be a habit! The bartender told us about a short trail that goes up a small hill in the middle of town.  We checked it out on our way home and had quite a view.

The following day was our all day excursion to Meares Glacier. The boat we were on had very comfortable seating, both inside and out.  They served us a nice lunch and the captain did a great job of narrating during the day.






Anytime there was wildlife to see, he stopped the boat.  We saw humpback whales 4 times, and each time we watched them for quite a while.

Just the views made this trip worth it, but we also saw harbor seals, sea lions, sea otters, porpoises, eagles, and humpback whales.  The only thing we didn't see was killer whales.

Meares Glacier itself was pretty impressive with a sheer front that stands about 200 feet tall. There wasn’t as much glacier ice as we had seen at Sawyer glacier, so we actually got closer.









On the way home we passed right by the RV park we are staying in.  We had paid a little extra to have a waterfront site.  Our camper is the one on the left.

One night I looked out the window and watched a porcupine walk down the beach right behind our rig.

With rain falling from the sky, we ditched the idea of any hiking in Valdez, but we did go over to the fish hatchery.  It was actually closed due to heavy bear activity, but we never got to see a bear. We saw dozens of Bald Eagles though.

We watched the sea lions come in close to shore to chase the salmon.

The salmon would literally jump out of the water trying to escape the sea lions, but they weren't always successful.

Once he caught something, the sea lion would head back out to deeper water.

Pretty soon it was a free-for-all as the birds tried to steal the fish from the sea lion.  We had a really great time watching for a while, even though we had to have the umbrella to protect the camera.

We drove by again on our way out of town but the tide was out so the show wasn't happening. Just a bunch of eagles sitting on the mud flats.