Wasilla to Valdez

Here are the pictures from our trip from Wasilla to Valdez on Saturday, June 20. These were taken along the Richardson Highway. The road condition was not good with many frost heaves. Frost heaves are areas of the road that have sunk after having been pushed up by the frost. What it creates is a dip in the road. Some are short and not very deep and some are, well, deep. They usually run across the entire road, so they are unavoidable. The only thing you can do is to slow down when you see them or the little red flags that mark most of them. Some places there are so many little red flags you would think they are the state flower. Occasionally, you don't see one or you see it too late and you do a severe suspension compression test. I did a few.

Anyway, back to the pics. (By the way, for those who haven't figured it out yet, double click on the picture to enlarge it.)

We began to see fireweed springing up all along the road and in the river beds.

The mountain scenery also was different than we had seen before.


You probably think this shot is a mistake, but if you look carefuly you can see an eagle up there. This is quite common.


And it seems you cannot travel anywhere in the state without seeing a glacier.

After a climb up to about 2700 feet we came to Thompson Pass. From here you descend into Valdez. However, the pass is frequently closed due to snow. Here are some pics from the top.


Just another glacier.


The cloud/fog coming off this mountain looked like a volcano blowing out the side.





After descending about 2700 feet, you enter Keystone Canyon.

Here is what's left of a train tunnel started many years ago. Read the sign for details.


Here is bridal veil falls #352 if I remember correctly.

This is called Horsetail falls.

Tell me what you think of this pic. Look closely.

That eagle joined another in a tree just in front of the motorhome and posed for me.

It was about 9:30 in the evening when we pulled into Sea Otter RV Park directly across from the Valdez oil terminal. We were tired from a tough drive fighting frost heaves, and stopping many times to take pics.


Next up is our tour on the yacht Lu-Lu Belle.

See you later.

Ron & Barb