AlaskaTrip2011: On the Road to Valdez

A gigantic iceberg at Columia Glacier. This was about twice as high as our boat and at least as long. And the visible part is only 10 percent of the glacier - 90 percent is underwater.

We left the Anchorage metropolitan area for the last time to head out on the Glenn Highway towards Valdez. When we had gone just one mile to the intersection with the Glenn Highway, we saw our very first Alaska traffic jam. The cars were stacked up for four miles getting to the Alaska State Fair in Palmer. Fortunately, we had not yet made the turn and so were able to avert the traffic jam by changing our route and going on the old Glenn Highway. We reconnected with the Glenn Highway north of Palmer. Whew, I so do not miss being in traffic jams!

Before the completion of the Parks Highway, the Glenn Highway and the connection to the Richardson Highway used to be the only way to get from Fairbanks to Anchorage. Nowadays it is not as well traveled, so it was a leisurely trip for us. Plus, we have noticed fewer and fewer RVs on the road. Apparently most of the RV tour groups are on their way out of the state, leaving us independent travelers with the run of the place.

The Matanuska River. A glacier river, this is also called a braided river, for obvious reasons.

This roadhouse was established early in the 20th century. We had a great lunch there. King Mountain is in the background.

The Matanuska Glacier.

Designated a National Scenic Byway, the road runs along glacier rivers, through valleys and past a couple pretty large glaciers. We slowly made our way down the road, stopping at several scenic overlooks. It was a nice way to spend the day and a change of pace from the rainforest we were in while visiting the Kenai Peninsula.

Stayed at the Tolsina Wilderness Campground just short of the Glenn Highway’s end in Glenallen. This is one of my favorite campgrounds. The place was virtually empty and we camped at a site next to a creek with a partial beaver dam. The site was about a half mile off the road so we didn’t hear anything except the creek. It got really dark at night! The daylight hours are rapidly shrinking – 12 hours down from 20 hours when we first arrived.

Corrigan is checking out the creek water temperature at our campsite. Too cold for his liking.

The next day we turned onto the Richardson highway to travel south to Valdez. Again, a very scenic drive, plus this day was beautiful! The road edges the Wrangell – St. Elias National Park, the largest National Park in the country. And pretty much inaccessible unless you fly or hike in. You would have to really like snow and ice also since it is mostly huge volcanic mountains and icefields. Because we had such clear weather, we were treated to beautiful views of the mountains.

The Wrangell Mountains. 9 of the tallest 16 peaks in North America are in the National Park.

These are all volcanic peaks. Some are still active. We saw steam coming from Mt. Wrangell.

A deep gorge with a glacier river on the Richardson Highway.

Worthington Glacier, near Valdez.

A view of several passes that were used by the gold stampeders to make their way into the interior of Alaska and to the Yukon.

Bridalveil Falls in the Keystone Canyon. This canyon was key in the goldrush era as an entry to interior Alaska and the Klondike. In fact, major battles broke out over the railroad rights to the canyon, resulting in some deaths. As a result, the railroad was never completed.

A lot of gold rush history is associated with this highway. It was the primary path for stampeders to get from Valdez up to the Klondike where big claims were being worked at the turn of the century. One neat feature of the highway is lots of signs talking about the history and culture of the area located at the pull outs. Valdez is a deep sea ice free port, which is rare in Alaska. It is the terminus of the Alaska pipeline and, as everyone knows, the site of the Exxon Valdez oil spill. We didn't see any overt damage from the oil spill (the cruises stay away from those areas), but there are areas of the Prince William Sound that are still covered with oil after twenty years.

Valdez is a very small place and if you don’t like fishing, there really isn’t much going on. Fortunately, we had a beautiful day of weather and were able to take a boat cruise out on Prince William Sound to see wildlife and the Columbia Glacier. That made the trip to Valdez totally worth it. Drove around the town a little bit, including on a road that runs along an estuary where the fishing is particularly good. This time of year, when the salmon are running, the fish are all over the place. I mean everywhere – on the rocks, in the water and many of them are dead because they have finished spawning. So this becomes a mega buffet for the birds (eagles, seagulls and other sea birds) and bears (although we saw only one). Pretty stinky too. Glad we were camping on the other side of the bay.

Columbia Glacier, the second largest tidewater glacier in Alaska. Four miles across at its front.

We got within a half mile of the glacier. The captain said that this is the closest they have been able to come this whole summer. Because of the amount and size of the ice in the water, usually they can get to only within 5 or 6 miles.