The Road to Valdez

At last, we see some sunshine. We depart Glennallen, but not without catching a picture of the Alaska Wildlife Museum. Yes, for those unfortunates who are either in a hurry or are so unlucky that they haven’t seen wildlife on the road, there is the museum. On display are fifty stuffed animals. No, you won’t see any taxidermied critters on the blog. We only do that when we are really desperate.

Heading south on the Richardson Highway, also known as Alaska Highway 4, we have 117 miles to cover before we reach Valdez. Our first treat, although more than a bit clouded is a set of three mountains that are part of the Mt. Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve. Mt. Sanford at 16,000 feet, Mt. Drum at 12,000 feet, and Mt. Wrangell at 14,000 feet are part of this natural beauty, which is the largest National Park. It, along with Kluane National Park in Canada has been designated as a World Heritage Site by the United Nations. Some of the most significant glaciers outside of the Polar Regions are found here. We catch a shot of Mt. Drum with Willow Lake in the foreground.

Most of these scenes need afternoon light, so we hope to photograph them more fully when we leave Valdez. Again, since Alaska has such limited roadways, we will be retracing our steps from Valdez as we move on to Skagway in a few days.

As we mentioned yesterday, the Trans-Alaska Pipeline all the way to Prince William Sound hugs the road to Valdez. We have another opportunity to photograph this enormous necessity. At one point during its construction (and completion in 1977), the pipeline employed 30,000 workers. The four-foot wide pipe travels over mountain ranges as high as 4,300 feet. It is gravity fed and when it reaches Valdez, it feeds hungry oil tankers. The pipeline is jointly owned by a number of oil companies.

We all remember the horrible scene when dead birds and fish covered the shore in Valdez, after the Exxon Valdez oil tanker collided with an iceberg in March 1989. Although found liable for the accident and ensuing destruction of wildlife, land and water, Exxon-Mobil is still fighting the verdict and has yet to pay.

As we head south on Highway 4, the scenery becomes increasingly beautiful. We are treated to a combination of mountains, glaciers, waterfalls and heart stopping vistas. We are debating now: we thought that the Canadian Rockies could not be topped. The Richardson Highway may surpass them.

The first glacier we are treated to is Worthington. It is considered a National Natural Landmark. You can take a short trail and practically walk on the glacier. Less than a mile from Worthington is 27-Mile Glacier. All of these incredible views are part of the Thompson Pass. The National Climatic Center credits snowfall extremes to the Thompson Pass station, where there was a record 974.5 inches of snow in the winter of 52-53; 298 inches in a month (February ’53) and 62 inches of snow in a 24 hour period (December ’55). That’s a lot of snow. Snow poles (we mentioned yesterday) mark the road edge for snowplows.

The piece de resistance for the day was a stunning panoramic view of bare bone peaks of the Chugach Mountains. It had so much depth to it, it was hard to take it all in with one image.

Within a couple miles we were treated to a dessert of three waterfalls: Huddleston, Bridal Veil and Horsetail. These are all located within Keystone Canyon. They range from dramatically strong falls at Huddleston to a delicate and gentle fall at Bridal Veil.

As we get within five miles of Valdez, we take a turnoff at Robe Lake. Used locally for floatplanes and water skiing, it was quiet and calm today, with the vivid reflection of a couple floatplanes in the water.

The town of Valdez was hit extremely hard in the Good Friday earthquake on March 27, 1964. It was hit so hard that the town site was actually moved. The old town site has a commemorative plaque, remembering those who died on that fateful day.

Valdez has a significant security presence near the pipeline terminus. Without security clearance, you cannot get within .4-mile of the loading area. After 9/11, the world changed, including Valdez Alaska.

It is clear that the economy of Valdez is dependent upon fishing. The harbor is tightly packed with charter boats, fishing boats and a few pleasure boats. It is a working town and that is clear from a quick glance. While Seward and Whittier are also ports for the cruise ship lines, Valdez remains without a cruise ship docking within its calm waters.

Docks are like streets in this town of 4,000. Every parking place is taken and a truck with an Alaskan license plate fills almost every space.

The town also sports three campgrounds within 500 yards of the harbor. Amateur anglers are drawn to this picturesque fishing town. Salmon are big and can be frozen and shipped home, suitable for bragging.

The glacial mountains surrounding Valdez are in stark contrast to the calm waters of the harbor. The combination of the two provides an incredible image to remember.

We will be retracing our steps tomorrow until we approach Skagway. We will not be posting the blog on Friday. Look for pictures and tales on Saturday.