Wrangell View RV Park Chitina, Alaska
Mileage:43,828
As we climbed out of Valdez the snowy peaks sparkled in the morning sunlight.
One road into Valdez and the same road back out. Back through the Keystone Canyon, Thompson Pass, and the Copper River Valley. We saw a mama moose and her baby standing on a dirt turnoff road.
And of course…
The Alyeska Pipeline runs along the road. Tim figured that there are at least 4,224,000 barrels of oil in the 800 miles of pipeline. The oil company is able to slow production of oil but cannot stop it. If the flows halts, then the oil will become a sludge and harden.
We are taking another side trip.
We turned onto the Edgerton Highway toward Chitina. The road is paved for 33 miles. At the end of the paved section we camped at Wrangell View.
It is sunny and in the low 70’s. A gorgeous day in Alaska.
We left the RV and went to explore the gravel road for a short distance.
We saw a moose feeding. She was standing belly deep in a pretty little lake.
I don’t know if you can make out the little white cottony things floating in the air and there is a pile of them on the ground too! They are hanging from bunches of cottonwood trees. They are really making Tim sneezy and congested!
The gravel road is bordered by the Copper River to the north and the Chitina River to the south.
In this picture the white objects that you see are actually RV’s.
We aren’t sure why they were parked out there but it looks like the river consumed them. I’m not sure how long they have been there but it is unlikely that anyone is coming back for them.
What in the world are these flowers?!? At first glance I thought dandelion…because they turn into puffs but the “flower” is this twisted, worsted kind of thing!?!
This highway is unlike anywhere else I have ever been. Tomorrow we will leave the RV behind and continue down the gravel road for another 60 miles to a town named McCarthy. We are packing the Jeep with our tenting supplies and we will see where the road takes us.
Right now, the country music is on and the wine is flowing. Shrimp on the barbie for dinner and a nice night for a fire.