5,095 miles into our journey, we're now in Valdez, AK. Old Valdez was decimated on March 27, 1964 (Good Friday) by a 9.2 earthquake lasting over 4 minutes. The quake triggered an underwater landslide creating tremendous waves that washed away the Valdez waterfront, drowning 30 people on the dock. 3-years later, the town was condemned when it was discovered it was built on unstable ground. The town was relocated to its present site, moving 52 of the original buildings there. In 1973, Congress approved the plans for the Trans-Alaska Oil Pipeline with it's Southern terminus at Valdez. The town's population soared. 25-years after the earthquake, again on Good Friday, the tanker Exxon Valdez struck Bligh reef, approx. 25 miles outside of Valdez causing the largest oil spill in North American history (until the current Gulf Oil disaster, of course).We left Chicken, AK in the rain, but luckily, the muddy road turned to a paved road about 2 miles out. A short travel day, only covering 78 miles to Tok. It rained all day and all we did in Tok was grocery shopping.
Tok to Valdez was beautiful. The trip was mostly winding around mountains, beautiful and lush green for the first half on the Tok Cutoff Hwy. Then we turned onto the Richardson Hwy., and the mountains stood taller and still had snow on them. Just prior to Palmer Pass, elevation 2,678, 26-miles out of Valdez, we stopped at the Worthington Glacier. After the pass, you head down to Valdez, and I mean down...to sea level. One the way there are many waterfalls from the melting snows, Bridal Veil and Horseshoe being the most spectacular (pictures attached). We're here in Valdez for 3 days, one of which will be a Columbia Glacier Cruise where we will hopefully also see a lot of wildlife along with the glaciers.
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