Jim and Kim arrived, and parked close by on Allison Point. The day was non-rainy, so we set off in their car to see the sights and take some pictures. The first stop was the fish hatchery just down the road. This is the point where they release millions of pinks and somewhat smaller numbers of silvers each year. The fish return here in huge numbers because this is where they think they spawned. There is a veritable cloud of pink salmon trying to get into the hatchery!
It seems cruel to block the fish from swimming up the creek, but this sign at the hatchery explains why…
There are often bears at the hatchery feeding on the salmon, but we didn’t see any when we passed by. I guess they were all tired of fish for dinner. All the local creeks and streams are clogged with amazing numbers of salmon. They return here, spawn, and then die!
We leave the salmon and drive out on the Richardson Highway to see Worthington Glacier. This is the same road we came in on, and there are some awesome waterfalls along it. There are waterfalls everywhere in and around Valdez. Check these out…
The scenery along the Richardson is almost surreal. There are glaciers everywhere you look. We take a bunch of pix, and here are some examples. This really is the most amazing road I’ve been on in Alaska!
Here’s Worthington Glacier as seen from the visitor’s center and the path below it. Wow!
Some close-ups of the ice. Glacial Blue! The color is not in the ice at all, the ice is actually water clear. The explanation is simple: The ice absorbs all wavelengths of light except blue, which is reflected. This creates the color!
You can actually hike up to, and onto, the glacier! That doesn’t look safe at all! I think I’ll stay down here…
Other cool stuff found on the road:
Hey, come on in, you guys!
Wonder where all these big sharp rocks came from? Oh, right, the ceiling! I’m outa here!
There is this huge, glacier-like thing right along the road, and at the time we thought it might be a glacier remnant. The river is slowly eating it away. I later found out from a Valdez resident that it is actually the remnant of an avalanche that happened last winter! It completely covered the road, and blocked the river, which then formed a huge lake and even more thoroughly blocked the road. It took a couple of weeks to clear it, while the town was cut off from the world. They had to fly groceries in!
We returned from our drive with many photos and memories! Then, we sat out and enjoyed a beer and tested out that pink salmon I smoked yesterday. We declared it mighty tasty, so an expedition to get more fish and smoke it was undertaken. Jim and I fished up a storm and caught 9 more big pinks. They were soon in the smoker… I don’t think we’ll run out of smoked salmon anytime soon!
While the fish are smoking, we drive up to Valdez glacier. Did I already say there were a lot of glaciers around Valdez? Yeah, I think so… anyway, 100 years ago this glacier reached all the way to the Prince William Sound, but now you have to drive a few miles back to see it.
There is even a glacial pool with icebergs floating in it, and the glacier melt forms a river that runs down to the sound.
OK, at this point, you’d think we’d have seen all the glaciers we wanted to… not so! Kim, the travel agent lady, booked us a boat trip to see… what? Glaciers? Cool!
Looks like the weather dice rolled up snake eyes this morning. We’ve been awfully lucky on the whole weather thing, so I guess I can’t complain, but it is really foggy and rainy today.
The fog does lift a bit as we head out, revealing some really nice scenery!
The sound is full of life! We see eagles, otters, seals and numerous Orcas and Dall porpoises!
Whoa! Suddenly there’s a distinct chill in the air! look, an iceberg!
Closer we come, man, is that blue or what? You can get a feel for the size by looking at the tiny seagulls flying around it.
OK, it is REALLY getting cold now! Glad I have my heavy coat, but I forgot to bring gloves. Duh! I continue to work the camera with frozen fingers. A large group of sea otters watches us approach with that “damn, another boatload of nosy tourists!” look in their eyes, and as we get closer, they slide off into the sea.
We are in a sea of ice now, all of this ice came off the glacier up ahead, still several miles away!
Finally we can see the Columbia glacier. This glacier is one of the fastest moving, and largest, tidewater glaciers in North America. http://ak.water.usgs.gov/glaciology/columbia/ It is so big that you really can’t get it into a picture.
We park off the glacier face until everyone is frozen solid… I mean, until everyone has seen their fill. The glacier does calve several times within our view, but the foggy conditions are not ideal for eyeballs nor cameras. Still, even with frozen fingers, I’m glad I came!
We head back, our boat captain doing an outstanding job of entertaining us with facts about the areas we are travelling through, as well as providing some neat insights into life in Valdez, and the history of the area. In the gallery below, you can see some of the amazing iceberg shapes and colors we pass on our way back out of the ice field near the glacier.
As we head into the Valdez Narrows, an orca pops up right behind us and waves goodbye.
Sights on the return trip. The fog has lifted but the rain continues.
I’m glad to see the harbor, it’s been a long, cold, exciting day!
I’m going to hang out here in Valdez a bit longer, hoping to see the silver salmon run get started. This really is a pretty place! While I wait for the fish, I enjoy the views. Just another day in Alaska!
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