Valdez

The morning dawned beautiful sunny, clear blue sky.  Be 10 the clouds started rolling in and the temps dropped.  We decided to pack up and head to Valdez.  Rain off and on all the way.  The 80 mile drive should have taken just about 2 hours, however, with all the wonderful sights to see, it took us over 4 hours!

First stop was Worthington Glacier.

Then we entered Keystone Canyon

Pictures just don’t do it justice! Towering walls, both rock and treed, waterfalls that are amazing to see.  Below is Bridal Veil Falls, next is Horsetail.

Finally rolled into town, found a campsite at one of the many gravel lots and went for a late lunch at Old Town Burgers where we had fish and chips, Salmon fish, and it was excellent!  We told the young lady that we wanted to share one order, which was more than enough, so out came two baskets with 2 pieces of fish on each and a load of great tasting fries.  Man Oh Man, what a great meal!

Then we headed out in search of Bears.  The campground hostess told us about the Solomon Gulch fish hatchery.  Bears come here to feed.  Alas, no bears when we arrived, even stayed around for a while but no bears.  Just  beyond this point is the end of the Alaska Pipeline.  It is now owned by Alyeska Oil Company which is a consortium of several oil companies.

Heading back up the road, we stopped by one of the ponds that line the hill side of the road, the tide was just starting to come in and low and behold, we spotted a Grizzly!

Soon the rain started again so, reluctantly, we headed back toward town.  By the time we got there the rain had quit so we decided to drive around for a bit.  Gold Rush Days were winding down but we did get to partake of the free Hamburgers and drinks.  Had a delightful conversation with a native of Nome, now running a Halibut charter company in Valdez.  Watched kids playing with soap bubbles and balloons having a grand time. 

More exploring tomorrow.