Valdez, AK

This is the view from the front window of our rig. The Port of Valdez is the most northern port in Alaska that never freezes over. The end of the 800-mile Alaska Pipeline is across the port from us.

Our first day started out with a Valdez City tour. It included Old Valdez, the original city that was decimated by the 9.2 scale earthquake on Good Friday, 1964. Next stop was the Oil Terminal, the end of the 800 mile Alaska Pipeline, where the oil is transferred to ships for transport to Seattle or Long Beach. We then toured the new Valdez, it stores, shops, museums, etc. After the tour, Marcia and I enjoyed some fabulous hamburgers and home-made curly fries at Old Town Burgers. We then did some grocery shopping and stopped in at the only quilt shop in town. Marcia made some potato salad and I grilled some chicken for dinner.

Our second day in Valdez saw us doing laundry in the morning. In the afternoon we went to the Visitor Center; saw a video on the building of the pipeline and another on the earthquake of ’64. We then headed over to the oil terminal area where we saw eagles, otters and sea lions. The day ended with an Ice Cream Social for the whole group.

The 3rd day was the Glacier and Wild Life Cruise. It was aboard the Stan Stevens, a large 2-level catamaran. We departed at 9:30 a.m. and cruised Prince William Sound going first to the Columbia Glacier. Due to icebergs and a large ice field from the glacier, we were only able to get about 12 miles from the face of the glacier. This glacier is around 100 feet thick and receding at approx. 50 feet per day. Most of the other glaciers, at least a dozen around the Sound, are still advancing. Next we went to the Meares Glacier were we were able to get within a quarter-mile of the face of the glacier. The ice is brown and dirty where it has pushed through the earth and a beautiful blue and white where it is just frozen ice. The snow up in the mountains around the Sound get 100-200 feet of snow each winter. It’s the weight of all this snow creates the glaciers. The edge is quite noisy as the ice is constantly cracking and when a piece lets go, it sounds like a cannon going off. Between the two glaciers, we were served and wonderful lunch, chicken on a bed of rice with a nice thick white gravy, mixed vegetables and some cookies for dessert. On the return trip, we were served clam chowder. Along the way, I saw the following birds; Black-Legged Kittiwakes, Pigeon Gillemots (puffin family), Bald Eagles, Cormorants, Tufted Puffins and Great Blue Herons. I also saw the following mammals; Stellar Sea Lions, Humpback Wales, Black Bears, Deer, Sea Otters, Dall’s Porpoises and Harbor Seals. We returned to Valdez around 7:30 p.m. It was a wonderful day.