Bear Paw Camper Park Valdez, Alaska Day 2

Today was an incredible day!

There are no adequate words or pictures to convey the awesomeness of the Lu-Lu Belle Glacier Wildlife Cruise…

We left the Valdez Harbor at 11:00 am.  The Lu-Lu Belle is a smaller cruising boat with varnished teak  and oriental rugs inside.  There were about 30 passengers.

As we left the harbor we saw sea otters floating on their backs.  As we got closer they fled.

We entered Prince William Sound after passing through the Valdez Narrows.  We saw a juvenile humpback whale.  I watched in awe as he dove through the water.  Initially they thought he was feeding and then he started to travel forward and move on.  The boat followed him for awhile until we finally saw his fluke.  I honestly did not take a single picture.  I just wanted to be present and to watch.  I did not want to watch the whale through the lens of a camera.  I really just wanted to be right there enjoying the moment.  One of the crew members got a picture of the fluke and airdropped it to me.

We passed a fishing boat.  Soon there will be lots more.  The salmon are usually running by now.  We also passed the Wizard, one of the boats on Deadliest Catch.

The captain was able to maneuver the boat very close to the shore as we looked in cracks and crevices for puffins.  He had the boat close enough to the shore that you could stand on the bow and touch the rocks in the cave above the boat.  There was one little guy in there but he did not like all of us peering at him.

As we rounded the bend we saw piles of sea lions on the shore and lots of babies cavorting and flipping in the water.  We watched as they played king of the rock…I could have stayed there all day.  As the boat got closer we noticed the bigger males herding the babies in toward the rocky beach.  They posted themselves along the shore like sentries to keep the moms and the babies on shore and safe.

As be began to approach the glacier the captain had to wield his way among the icebergs floating in the water.  We were up in the bridge watching him navigate the obstacle course and it was impressive.  Sea otters bobbed along.

An iceberg.

The Columbia Glacier was amazing.  The air temperature was 35 degrees with a wind chill of 25.  The water temperature was 32 degrees.  At one point we were in 1,300 feet of ice cold sea water.  We were able to get within 1/4 mile of the face of the ice.  Even from that close it was difficult to fathom its scope.  The walls were 300 feet from the surface of the water and extend down below the water for 700-800 feet.  The mouth of the glacier was about 2 miles wide and it extends 33 miles back into the mountains.  We stayed at the glacier for about an hour waiting for activity.  We actually got to see ice calve off and fall into the water causing a wave that we didn’t feel for more than 5 minutes afterward.  The captain said he had seen pieces of ice as big as a house fly for 1/8 of mile.

The piece of ice off to the left fell off the day before while the captain and his passengers looked on.  It was apparently very dramatic!

The large piece of ice in this picture is bigger than a car.

We learned a lot about the Alyeska Pipeline.  The Port of Valdez is an oil port.  At the time of the oil spill in 1989, the area was not well prepared to deal with a disaster of that magnitude.  The accident happened about 30 miles away from the town when an oil tanker ended up 6 miles off course in shallow water.  There is a permanent marker at the site of the accident. It took years for the area to recover.  There are now lots of safeguards in place to prevent similar incidents and also to deal with a problem should one occur.  There are barges with emergency spill equipment posted every couple of miles along the passage out of Valdez.  These barges are equipped with a crew and ready to move at a moment’s notice should the need arise.  There is also a fully loaded cargo plane sitting in Anchorage that contains all the necessary tools and equipment to deal with an emergency that can be immediately deployed.  A crew is always prepared and on standby.

One of the ways that you can judge the health of a port is by looking at the sea otter population.  Sea otters have over 1,000,000 hairs per square inch.  This is what keeps them warm.  If the sea water contains pollutants then the hair becomes oily and matted and the sea otters cannot survive.  We saw more than 100 sea otters yesterday.  This is a sign that the oil company is practicing due diligence to keep the water clean and safe.  They also have all kinds of rules about how ballast water needs to be discarded and treated.

All of these additional standards and practices cost the oil companies a lot of money…but they too appear to be thriving.

We had an amazing adventure!  Thanks mom for the wonderful birthday gift!

We didn’t get back to port until 8:30 pm.  The captain doesn’t head home until he is sure that he has shown you all that he can.  He talked for about 6 hours of the 9 1/2 hour journey.  He has a wealth of knowledge about all things Valdez and Prince William Sound.  We would recommend this Lu-Lu Belle adventure to everyone!

Bear Paw Camper Park Valdez, Alaska

Mileage:  43,712.

We had only a short distance to drive into Valdez this morning.  We descended from Blueberry Lake into the Keystone Canyon, magnificent with its rocky cliffs, and waterfalls…one vantage point more stunning than the next.

This area gets  a lot of snow.  In December of 2017 it snowed 40″ in one night.  This massive snowfall precipitated an avalanche that closed 30 miles of highway for days.  There are snow poles that resemble street lights.  They are there to guide the snowplows along the road edge.  In the 1950’s they had a winter when it snowed over 950 inches and another 24 hour period with 62″ of snow.

We are camped at the Bear Paw Camper Park right in downtown Valdez.  I am not usually excited about camping in a big gravel parking lot with lots of other campers…but this is Valdez!

We got settled and then went out to see the area.

We began by taking the road to the pipeline terminus.  No one is allowed to go back there but it is quite a facility.  The pipeline extends from Prudhoe Bay all the way south through the center of Alaska to Valdez.  It produces 1,000,000 barrels of oil each day.

While we were out of the car we spotted this pair of bald eagles.  They were so close.  I got to see them take off and return to the same branch together.  The eagles are so large and majestic when they fly.

We stopped at the Valdez Solomon Gulch Fish Hatchery where they harvest and raise pink and Coho salmon for release into the wild.  It is a very interesting place.  Sally the salmon is a little early for the season.  She is the only salmon we saw in the fish ladder which resembles the way a salmon in the wild would swim upstream.  In a couple of weeks there will be more than 400,000 fish that make their way through.

We saw seals swimming in the Valdez harbor – one catching and eating a fish.  We passed a coyote on our way out.

We drove to Valdez Glacier View Park and walked around the water’s edge taking pictures and marveling at the icebergs in the lake.  Some of the broken pieces of ice were as big as our RV.

As a real treat…we got a carryout pizza for dinner!

After eating we walked around Valdez Harbor.

Sea Otter.

Valdez bunnies are everywhere.  10 years ago a local campground had about 10 bunnies hopping around.  Bunnies did what bunnies do and now they are all over the town.  I must have seen about 20 walking around today.

Tomorrow we look forward to a glacier cruise on the Lu-Lu Belle in the Prince William Sound.  We are going to the Columbia Glacier.

Blueberry Lake State Recreation – Alaska

Mileage:  43,683

As we left Porcupine Creek we continued to follow the Wrangell Mountain Range.  This morning was clear.  The mountains that were suspended in clouds yesterday looked completely different today.  Mount Sanford is a dormant volcano.  Mount Drum is off to the right.

We saw a goat or a coyote…to far away to tell the difference.  We saw some bunnies and a clumsy looking porcupine scuttling off the shoulder and into the grass.

We didn’t see anything again for miles.  There in a moose pond was a moose cow.  This time we were close enough to get a picture.

The road surface was nice and smooth for a short while this morning and it should have been no surprise that it was rough later on.  Even so, this was the bumpiest section of road so far!  168 miles takes a lot longer when you can’t drive faster than 45 mph.

We got our first look at the Alyeska or Alaskan Pipeline today.  It runs parallel to Richardson Highway into Valdez.

The roadside was lined with purple lupine and white cow parsnip.

We passed rushing rivers and lots of ponds and lakes.  This area is big for fisherman.  The nearby waterways are good for grayling, Dolly Varden, rainbow trout, king salmon, pinks, reds, and silvers.

As we climbed in elevation we were suddenly among the mountains.  Tall, and snow covered and lovely.  Waterfalls and gorges and avalanche areas.  This highway is known as one of the most beautiful in America.

We camped at Blueberry Lake State Recreation Site and took a short walk to the ridge.  We are in an alpine area.  There are several varieties of tiny alpine flowers blooming among the rocks.

After lunch and a nap, we headed to Worthington Glacier Recreation Area.  The glacier is a National Natural Landmark.  We hiked to the base of the glacier.  It was an awesome hike and the view was spectacular.  Standing beside this glacier that is 10,000 years old make you feel very small.

A roadside memorial.

Native American wisdom.

Porcupine Creek State Recreation Site Alaska USA

Mileage:  43,515

We started our morning by crossing into Alaska from Yukon Canada!  We are finally here on the mainland of Alaska!

We stopped at the Tetlin Wildlife Refuge.  I had read that you could pick up an auto tour CD at the visitor center that describes the wildlife and habitats, construction of the Alaska Highway and the culture of the local Athabascan people.  The ranger working at the center had a wealth of information to share.  We left with the CD and with lots of ideas about how to plan for the day and later this week.

We stopped at the Hidden Lake trail-head.   It was an easy 2-mile round-trip hike to the water.  We neglected to read the sign advising that you bring insect repellent, but even so it was a nice walk.  We could see swans in the distance.  Apparently nesting swans like their privacy and choose isolated ponds or lakes to raise their cygnets.

The Tetlin Wildlife Refuge is a noted IBA or Important Bird Area.  Lots of raptors, trumpeter swans, and sandhill cranes migrate through this passage.  We learned a lot from the audio narrative.

The road conditions continued to be erratic.  The road was a mishmash of good, then bad, then patched, and then bad again, for miles and miles and miles.  The permafrost wreaks havoc on the asphalt.  So far no one has come up with an economical solution to preventing the damage to the highway…but they are trying.  We passed two experimental sites on our way…one failed and the other in progress.  They are actively trying to arrive at a solution.  In the meantime, the road continues to be undulating!  There was also a significant earthquake in this area in 2002 which caused damage to the roads.

The scenery though…

The permafrost also affects the way things grow.  The black spruce trees appear to be stunted in their growth, crooked, and even sickly when in fact some of the trees are over 100 years old and their trunks are no more than 4 inches round.  The telephone poles also lean very far over – looking like they could topple at any moment…also due to permafrost.

At Tok I asked google maps how far we were from home…3,954 miles from Reisterstown!

We fueled up, got some groceries and then we took the Tok Cutoff.  This road will take us south to Valdez.  This is another side trip.  Apparently lots of people go straight up the Alaska Highway to Fairbanks and they miss the opportunity to go to southern Alaska and Valdez.  Everyone we met who has been there says to go!

We saw two she moose grazing in the ponds beside the road and a couple other swans.

We chose to stay at Porcupine State Recreation Site this evening.  The first thing we noticed after we had parked was some scat behind the RV.

We have 7 rather significant piles of this same scat around our campsite.  When I walked around the campground I noticed that this scat is present at every site.  Our best guess is caribou or maybe moose…we hope to find out before the evening is over.  We have a great site right on the creek and there is a rocky area on the water’s edge where we know that something large has been eating the shoots off the trees to about 9 feet high.

There is awesome drive on Nabesna Road 4 miles away that takes you 42 miles into the backcountry on a gravel road.  We thought about going there but then decided to stay put…enough driving today!  We cannot possibly stop to see everything there is to see.

Beaver Creek RV Park Yukon Canada

Mileage:  43,346

This section of the Alaska Highway is particularly rough.  We began the day by crawling along at 15 mph.

From the The Milepost:  “watch for flags indicating road damage, slow down for bumps and dips, damaged pavement, gravel breaks, and deep potholes.”  The frost heaves create an undulating surface.  You can’t be in a hurry or get impatient.  You just have to go slow and easy and be very attentive.  This is cause for very tedious driving conditions.  This portion of road is in such poor condition and is very difficult to maintain because of the existing permafrost.  The soil is composed of glacial materials and is ice rich.  In the process of thawing and refreezing it creates heaves.  I can only imagine what a formidable place this can be in the winter months.  We were warned and the book is correct!

We traveled for about 4 hours before stopping for the day.

We passed the Kluane River where soon salmon will be swimming upstream and the bears will come.

We passed a memorial to a young first nation member.  Posted on the memorial:  “Follow your dreams, be kind, and always remember to enjoy every day of your life.”

We passed an extended area where grizzly are known to be present.  We only saw one bear in the distance and he fled before we got close.  The vegetation on the roadside was so dense that we might have passed 20 bears and never have known!

We passed the largest non-polar icefield in North America.  The ice is up to 2,200 feet thick.

We passed a dozen or more cyclists fighting the rough roads and steep terrain as well as the wind.

It is rare to see litter here at all.  Most people are respectful and everything is very clean.  We passed a rest area where someone had dumped their lunch trash.  It makes me so angry!

We passed several lakes where the swans are known to rest and nest in the spring and early summer but they weren’t around today!

We went out with the Jeep before dinner first to see Beaver Creek…that’s it…

Then we drove south on the Alaska Highway to a trail near Snag.  Snag’s claim to fame is the lowest recorded temperature in North America.  On February 3. 1947 it was -81 degrees Fahrenheit!  We saw lots of evidence of beavers working n the area.  We saw a den and lots of chewed trees and several dams.

Rain clouds.

We are spending the night at Beaver Creek RV Park behind a gas station.  They keep ravens as pets…meaning that they feed them.  They were very interested in our dinner as I cooked on the grill.

We will cross into Alaska tomorrow!

Congdon Creek Campground Kluane Lake, Yukon Canada

Mileage:  43,218

We were here in Haines – note the orange highlighted area.

To get back to the Alaska Highway we had to drive north and go back through border patrol into Canada again. At the border the officer told us that there aren’t too many people who come from the eastern US to do this trip.  Tim had noticed that we are meeting lots of people from the western states but hardly anyone from the east coast.  The road took us from Alaska to British Columbia to Yukon.  There is only one road in and out of Haines.  Fortunately for us, the Haines Highway was such a gorgeous drive and we got to see it all again.  We traveled along the Chilkat River Eagle Preserve and back through the alpine tundra with the glaciated mountains as our backdrop.

We saw a mama merganser duck and her ducklings.

We also saw a fox and some tundra swans.

At the beginning of Kluane Lake there is a large, flat, dusty area that goes on for miles.  We stopped at the Thachal Dhal Visitor Center and learned that the surrounding area used to be a river.  In 2016 the glacier feeding the river diverted its course and the large open area is a dry riverbed.  The river is just gone.

It was time to decide where to spend the night.  We found another Yukon Government Campground – Congdon Creek Campground on Kluane Lake.  Kluane Lake is glacier fed and beautiful.  The Milepost – Alaska Travel Planner had this to say about Congdon: “no tent camping in July – August due to bear activity” and also this “Closures possible due to bear activity.”

Yes, we are camped at Congdon.  It is really lovely and peaceful here.  We have had a fire all evening and we have seen bunnies.  We decided not to grill our dinner but we did enjoy a picnic of smoked Coho salmon.

A chipmunk!

There is a tent enclosure designed to keep tent campers inside and safe and the bears outside with electric fencing.  We met a couple who was going to stay there.  They do a lot of back-country camping and in their experience bears in the back-country are usually skittish.  Bears though that are used to foraging in campgrounds, living among people and possibly being fed are aggressive.

 

Oceanside RV Park Haines, Alaska USA

Sometimes you just need a rest day!

After sleeping in we did take a ride to Chilkat State Park.  There we were able to see glaciers across the lake.  We also saw bald eagles, a golden eagle, porpoises and seals.  The wildflowers are really popping.

The golden eagle.

We stopped at the fish packing plant and got some shrimp and salmon.

Tim watched  the NASCAR race and I wandered around the town.  Sundays are pretty sleepy around here…no cruise ship in the harbor.

We had dinner this evening in the Commanders Room at the historic Hotel Halsingland in Fort Seward.  The view was overlooking the fjord at Haines.  We had a nice meal.

Oceanside RV Park Haines, Alaska USA

Mileage:  43,015

We drove back to Otter Falls very early this morning.  We saw a pair of owls and what we thought was a golden eagle.  We also saw a porcupine waddling down the road.  Apparently he didn’t want his picture taken and again I got the behind of the porcupine!

Tim took care of the tanks and fuel while I worked at the Otter Falls Truck Stop Cafe to post the blog from the past couple of days.  Our work was done and we were on our way.  We wanted to head toward Haines, another side trip off the Alaska Highway.

We saw a couple of grizzly along the road.  I saw a lynx hunting in the taller grass.  He jumped and had his paws wrapped around his breakfast.

Once we turned onto Haines Highway we saw another grizzly and some tundra swan.  Tim saw a moose down in the water below the highway.  The remarkable thing about this drive is not the wildlife though.  This road is one of the prettiest rides we have ever taken.  The snow capped peaks, the wildflowers, the color of the sky, the clouds hovering over mountaintops, the trees, the lakes and rivers, the sunlight and the rock…it was stunning.  Tim has been monitoring my use of adjectives…pulling me back when I get too descriptive or flowery.  Today he agreed that the scenery on this ride was stunning.

We met a group of bicyclists from the Sierras in California.  They were riding bikes up and down these very steep slopes.

We road into Haines and saw the first campground but it seemed pretty ordinary.  When we arrived at Oceanside RV Park, we knew we had to stay here.  This is the view across the water from our campsite.

After a short rest we drove to the Chilkoot River.  When the salmon are running, this is one place where the grizzlies come to feed.  Unfortunately the salmon don’t really run for another couple of weeks.  It is a lovely place and we did spot some eagles.

We were invited to a dungeness crab feast this evening.  The owner here often hosts gatherings of campers so that they can experience Alaskan cuisine and visit with other campers.  This is usually something I would avoid but I’m glad we said yes.  We got to help clean and prepare the crabs.

We met people who had been to Alaska before and others who are on their way for the first time.  We spoke at length to a young man from upper state New York.  It was really fun to spend time getting to know him.

 

 

 

Otter Falls Cutoff RV Campground and Aishihik Lake Campground Yukon Canada

Mileage:  42,846

If you see an RV dump station – clean your tanks.

If you see a laundromat – wash your clothes.

If you see a gas station – fill the RV and car with fuel.

If you see a real grocery store – get stocked up!

If you read the travel blogs about coming to Alaska, there are lots of dire warnings about the scarcity of services.  So far, we have learned not to miss opportunities.  I had read that Whitehorse was the last bug hub for the next 1,000 miles.  Our supplies were getting sparse and I had a big long list.  The little grocery stores we had found in the very small towns were as our friend Ray would say “not what we are accustomed to!”

After the last couple of days spent in remote areas, the city of Whitehorse was a little bit of a culture shock.  Walmart and Staples and Subway (3 locations), and McDonald’s.  American enterprise alive and active in the Yukon.  I went to Walmart first and got everything that I could…but they had no fresh veggies or fruit or meat.  My next stop was Save On Foods.  What a great store!   I spent a long time choosing enough to get us through the next week or so and I was grateful for the opportunity.

By lunchtime we were back on the Alaska Highway.  The roadside was blanketed in bright fuchsia wildflowers (lady slippers I think).

We had no wildlife sightings today but we did see horses grazing open range along the road.  We were warned that the section of road between Whitehorse and Haines Junction was rough.  Frost heaves are common in this part of the road…gentle roller coaster like waves in the road…or as we said when we were kid “Wee Bumps.”  When we came to the really rough parts marked by flags and signs and bigger dips, Tim called them “Willy Whoppers!”  A long section (miles) of highway was hard-packed gravel.  Dust and stones were flying.  It slowed us to 20 mph.  Ahead we saw a travel trailer over on the shoulder. We pulled over to see if we could help.  Whatever the problem, it was being fixed.  The woman came to thank us for stopping and said we were the 5^th vehicle to stop and offer help.

That’s what I’m talking about…we have to look out for one another!!

We met a family with 2 small children at Otter Falls Campground store.   The dad was in the Coast Guard.  They had been stationed in Clearwater, Florida and they were on their way in a Winnie Drop to Kodiak Island where he will be stationed for the next 3 years.  If you don’t know where Kodiak Island is…pull out a map and take a look…wow!!!

We left our RV at the Otter Falls campsite and packed the Jeep full of blankets and pillows and food and wine and we headed down a rough gravel road to a Yukon Government Campground called Aishihik Lake Campground.  This 42 km road was not recommended for RV travel…so if we wanted to see the lake we had to take the opportunity!

We met Grant standing in the lake in his rubber boots cleaning his catch.  He is from Whitehorse and comes here for several days each year to fish.  He had long and lovely lake trout.  He offered us a fish…we didn’t take it but we were touched by his kindness.

Later the guys from the site next door – also fishermen from Whitehorse showed up at our tent with a wagon-load of firewood…”in the interest of international relations!”  People are good and generous here.

I love looking up through the pine trees at the sky!

We are sitting by a campfire, drinking good Malbec, eating sushi from SavOn Foods, watching an eagle soar overhead.  We are going to sleep in a tent with the bears and bison in the woods.  We ARE going to sleep with the bear spray…he promised!

I’m a lucky girl!!

Conrad Yukon Government Campground Carcross, Yukon Canada

Mileage:  42,713

Time is particularly distorted for us.  I know that it is Thursday but that doesn’t mean too much to me.  We are three time zones away from home.  Today is summer solstice.  In Atlin the sun rose at 4:35 am and it sets at 11:18 – 18 hours and 42 minutes of daylight.  Even after the sun sets, the sky is stained a dusky lavender blue and it never really gets dark.  You can’t see the stars and there is no moonlight.  It is light enough all night to make your way around.  We wake when we are rested, eat when we are hungry, and go to bed when we are tired.  We don’t pay too much attention to the clock.  This is so very different than our ordinary scheduled lives.  This is a picture of what it looks like here at 1:00 am.

As we left Atlin this morning there was little traffic.  In the 100 km that we drove north, we only saw 5 or 6 pickup trucks.  We did see a lot of evidence of recent moose traffic…though no moose.

Driving in this area, you can understand why it might be important for families who live here to own guns.  We are not gun owners and we never will be but here there might be a need to protect your homestead, children, pets, or livestock from coyote, bear and other predators.  Groceries here are very expensive.  These people are from humble means.  They might need to hunt to fill the freezer.  Traveling is supposed to open our minds and give us new perspectives.

Our wildlife sightings today included a black bear, a pair of bald eagles, a chipmunk, a big blonde grizzly on the way to Carcross and another near town.

At the beginning of the day, I wasn’t sure where we were going to end the day.  I had options circled in Tagist, Carcross, and Whitehorse.  We decided to stay a little south of Carcross at Conrad Yukon Government Campground.

The campground sits on the Tagist River with the Pelly Mountains surrounding it.

Carcross was a much nicer place after 3 pm.  All the tour buses from the Skagway cruise ship port were leaving for the day.  We biked around the quaint little village of shops and down to the lakefront beach.

We headed to the Bistro for a tasty lunch of bison burgers and Bonanza Brown beer.

Back at the campground we took a short hike down to the water’s edge.