No Bad Days RVing: Day 60

After saying our good-byes, we left Glennallen around 8:30 under rainy skies. We left the Glenn Hwy and turned onto the Richardson Hwy which will lead us right into Valdez, our next destination.

In 1897 gold seekers flocked to Valdez to follow the "All American Route" which took them over the Valdez Glacier into the interior of Alaska. A tent city sprang up at the head of the bay, Valdez was created. In 1907, copper discoveries north of Valdez brought conflict and more development in Valdez. A proposed railroad from Valdez to the rich Kennecott copper mines near McCarthy began a bitter rivalry. A shootout ensued and a half-completed tunnel at mile marker 15 on the highway is all that remains. In 1919 the original gold rush trail was modified into a sled and wagon road. It was routed over Thompson Pass rather than Valdez Glacier. Colonel Wilds Richardson further developed the trail by making the first automobile road. This road renamed the Richardson Highway became Alaska's first highway making Valdez a coastal port for the interior.

Until 1964, Valdez was located 4 miles east of its present location. Much of the original town was destroyed by the Good Friday earthquake (more on that later). The Trans-Alaska pipeline was built between 1975-1977 and carried oil to the nearest ice-free port, Valdez. In 1989, the largest oil spill in North American history, at the time occurred 25 miles from Valdez . The oil tanker Exxon Valdez hit Bligh Reef spilling 11 million gallons of crude oil. Today, much of Valdez's economy depends on the oil, fishing, and tourism industries.

As we got further down the Richardson Hwy the sun is actually trying to poke it's face out. We can now see the beauty that everyone talks about as we wind our way around the mountains.

Worthington Glacier is one of the most accessible glaciers in Alaska. It is located at mile marker 29 on the Richardson Highway. The glacier head is on top of Girls Mountain an elevation of 6,134 feet. By the low cloud cover we are starting to climb just a little.

Worthington Glacier

As we climb Thompson Pass the cloud cover descended upon us. It's like being in a totally different world. The temperature dropped by 20 degrees F. Valdez receives more than 27 feet of snowfall on average each year. Thompson Pass receives 50 to 75 feet of snowfall on average each winter. They receive so much snow that snow poles are placed along the highway marking the edge of the road for plows. We reached the Thompson Pass Summit elevation is 2,678 feet. Can't see anything.

What goes up must come down and that is precisely what we are doing. It's a 7.5 mile long steep descent into Keystone Canyon. Valdez has some of the most breathtaking waterfalls in the world. Growing up near Niagara Falls I couldn't imagine anything being as great. With huge snow falls each winter and then the snow melts in the spring and summer, Valdez becomes The Land of Waterfalls.

We drove into Keystone Canyon which is located between miles 14 and 17 and there before us was one of many water falls...Bridal Veil Falls cascading over the rock into Lowe River.

Bridal Veil Falls

Keystone Canyon and Lowe River

Horsetail Falls

We arrive in the town of Valdez under rainy overcast skies but that is not going to stop me from walking around the town to view the sites.

This beautiful eagle was sitting in tthe tree beside our campsite. What a nice welcoming committee.

The downtown area is not all that big. There's a nice boardwalk beside the small boat marina. I've come to realize real fast, if you don't fish there's not much sense of living in Valdez. Everyone has a boat and everyone fishes.