On the road & arriving in Valdez, July 24th and 25th.

We depart from Anchorage on the Glenn Highway heading towards Richardson Highway Junction, where we head south.  Valdez is a little over 300 miles away, so taking our time--as we do--we will be boondocking along the way tonight.  A short way out of Anchorage we come to the Mat-Su Valley.  More information on this valley is here  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matanuska-Susitna_Valley
Next we come to the foothills of the Chugach Mountains and the Matanuska River.  We will be with both for a while.  Passing right through Palmer we were so sorry to miss the Alaskan State Fair held here the first part of September.  We would so love to drive in traffic and crowds, see giant veggies, etc.  O-o-oh yes, so sad! 

The start of the view of the Matanuska River and Chugach Range:

 Few more pictures of the river.

It is a braided river--which means??  You are correct.  It is coming off a glacier, in fact several of them.

Another clue!!

Look at the gray silt-laden water.  And it is moving rapidly, swirling its way right along.

The photo opportunities along the way were continuous!

We took these pictures at several pull-offs, and also got a few of our favorite subjects.






In addition to distant views, the native vegetation is always of interest.

What was she taking a picture of?  This.  What ever it is.

(Remember the pink roses of earlier photos?  Now, as the season is progressing, Rosehips are maturing!  Rosehips can be used to make a tea which is very high in Vitamin C.  If only the early sailors had known it, they could have saved much illness and deaths due to scurvy.) 

In the distance we saw Mt. Marcus Baker with Harvard Glacier weaving it's way around it.  At 13,176 feet, Mt. Marcus Baker is the highest mountain in the Chugach Range.

This is the way they do graffiti up here:  rocks laid on a smooth soil.  Sometimes they go to extremes and paint the rocks, but most of the time they just carry rocks a short distance and stack away.   We saw this a few times in Canada, as well as in Alaska.

Blue skies, green hills and graffiti beside the road (on the right)--much nicer than spray painting.

This was the first peek of Matanuska Glacier, but there was more to come.

 The Matanuska Glacier is without a doubt the largest and most spectacular sight between the cities of Palmer and Glennallen. It was chosen by Alaska Magazine as #2 of “49 PLACES TO GO IN THE 49th STATE”.  It originates from within the Chugach Mountains of South Central Alaska and is visible from the Glenn Highway.   It is approximately 26 miles long and 4 miles wide at its terminus. It is classified as a valley glacier; a body of solid ice that flows like a river under its own weight through an existing valley. About 10,000 years ago it began its retreat to its present day location, and it has not seen any significant change in mass for almost two decades. Because the Matanuska Glacier is a weather hole, cold air from the glacier forces warm air upward towards the mountain peaks. This results in sunny skies and more favorable weather than its surrounding areas.  (I'm so impressed with all of Chuck's research!)

Here is where it is coming out of the Chugach Mountains.

Even as great as they were, there was more to see than the Matanuska Glacier and River and the Chugach Mountains.  A good example is these hills.

This is not gold, copper, or iron in these hills but Toasted Gypsum.  Toasted by Volcanoes, and one of the very few places in the world where you will see this.

No big deal, I just know the name of this one:  King Mountain.

The Chugach Mountains will be  with us all the way around Valdez and the Prince William Sound.  As you might notice, the clouds are coming in.









We found a nice wide pull-off away from traffic, and stopped for a nice quiet dinner and a very light evening of reading and relaxation.  

The Trans-Alaskan Pipeline was visible in the distance. 

The pipeline was a tremendous help to the economy in the 70's while it was being built.  It traverses over 800 miles of the roughest terrain imaginable.  It was finished in 1977 and built to last for 30 years at a cost of $8 billion.  More info 
http://akpipelinesafety.org/pipeline-facts




There are over 700 moose alone killed annually on the highways of Alaska.  Many other bears, caribou, and sheep also are destroyed.  The Fish and Game Department is trying to alleviate this problem.  Want to see what the trucking companies are doing?

They do want to protect their trucks, and with these very beefy bumpers the drivers don't slow down at all when there is a possibility of game on the road.  This bumper was far from the only one like it.  All the big trucks have these, as well as a lot of the pick-ups.  So that's why the animals are called "Alaskan Speed Bumps"!

OK, lets get back to the views.

It was a wet, foggy morning when we took off the next day.  Saw a couple of nice waterfalls.

Mostly coming from melting icefields on top of the hills.

We crossed over the Tsaina River, a small  river that grows before it joins the Lowe River.  

We could not figure out what these guys were doing way down in the raging river gorge, breaking apart fissured rocks with a shovel, looking for something.  It was quite a climb down there, (my camera was zoomed in for this one) so I hope they found whatever they were looking for.  I didn't see them getting anything.

Maybe gold?  Any ideas?

A hanging glacier just before we got to Worthington Glacier

  This is the trail to Worthington Glacier, visible above our heads.

 It was quite a sight, but the fog and/or clouds were moving in fast, so that limited just how much we could see.   This is the view of Worthington Glacier as we left, showing the clouds descending.

As we drove down the highway to Valdez, we had problem seeing the road due to the fog--never mind the vistas. I even pulled over for a little bit to try to wait it out, but not too much traffic, so we continued slowly on down to lower altitude.

When we finally got below the clouds, we found we were just 22 miles from Valdez.  We had completely missed Thompson Pass scenery, so we were going to have to go back later to see it.
   

I had read of Keystone Canyon (named after the state of Pennsylvania) and fog notwithstanding,  we were not disappointed.  

 As we entered the Canyon next to the Tsaina River you can see it was a bit of a wet, rainy, foggy day.

One of the attractions of the Canyon is the Bridal Veil Falls.  (I wonder how many Bridal Veil Falls there are in the world)                                                                                                      

Here I am admiring the falls and get ready to take a picture of the Bride.

Can you see the Bride?

There was also more Fireweed, and Goats Beard. 

Further down the road was another falls.  This water is coming down off either snow or icefield melt.                                          

    

This is Horsetail Falls. and no, I don't see any horse.

 In Valdez we stayed at the Eagle Rest RV Park.  Here are a couple of very dirty vehicles.

 I was being very careful not to rub against them as I was hooking up the utilities.

 

They were so dirty we decided to wash them right there in the RV Park.  As you can see we were on gravel so the wash water would soak in real quick, and we were told it would be OK.  We are getting pretty good at this by now.

We drove the Honda downtown to the dock area and saw something colorful enough to brighten the grey afternoon:  this group of Kayaks for hire. 

There was a fishing derby going on so they were pushing that.  Street signs along the main street by the harbor were lovely.

When the charter boats return someone weighs and cleans the fish.  The expert crew very efficiently empties wheelbarrows of fish & quickly fillets them.

                                                                                           




 There was a special prize for the largest Halibut, so they were kept separately.  

All I wanted was one.  

They didn't have to yell like that.

                                                                                

 





After the filleting, fish 'leftovers' are thrown down into the trough, where greedy,  happy, and very noisy gulls have their feast.











It is about time to call it a day.  Tomorrow we explore more in Valdez.  See you later.

Return to Anchorage July 19th about

Returning to Anchorage was a geographic requirement, as it is on the only road out of the Kenai  Peninsula.  Speaking of roads, as you have probably guessed by now, there are not that many in the whole state of Alaska!  It looks like we will have driven on nearly all the paved routes in this area before we head south again.  Maybe that is why so many residents have their own plane.  It takes all the money assigned for roads just to repair them after winters up here; nothing left to build more.  Anyway you can get to every place that you want on the roads they have now.  

When we got to Anchorage we stayed at a different campground, due to caravans taking over the others.  Nothing wrong with this spot, the Ship Creek Campground.  It had every thing we needed--including trains running by just on the other side of that fence.  Got used to them.  

If you recall, the last time we were in Anchorage we ran out of  time at the Anchorage Museum.  Not this time.  We spent four or five hours there and saw nearly all of what was in it.  It was worth the return visit.

 


The Museum is mostly about the different cultures of Alaska, the original natives, termed First Nation.  Displays showed a lot of the clothing they wore, the weapons they used, the storage boxes, etc.  It would fill a book all the stuff we saw.  So you should plan on seeing it yourself next time you are in Anchorage.   This is only a sampling of the contents. 

Raincoat made of Seal gut.

Did you ever wonder how people in wet & cold climates managed before rubber and plastic rain gear? 

This raincoat made of sea lion gut would take as long as six months to complete, with its very fine stitches.  

There was a Russian Navy officer's rain cape made by a Native, made of sea lion gut, feathers and human hair.  That picture did not turn out and we don't show bad pictures.  I mean, we don't TAKE bad pictures.

The following three pictures show some of the fine beadwork First Nations peoples did.  Beautiful!!!!!

Sled dog halter

There were also wood carvings such as this wooden box.

Look at this cash register; such telling price keys!!  Hold on .  .  .  this truly belongs in the Antiques section. 

This old photos shows a women's foot race in the very early 1900's.  Fashions of the day didn't do much to help!

 This Northwest coast village model was one of several different cultures depicted at different times in their history.  Looking at all the little details was most fun!

This shows an Athapaskan Caribou Hunt.

An Eskimo Whale hunt

Aleut Village

Model of an early Anchorage rail yard.

 





Even some fossils; the Mammoth Tusk, not the tourist.   






   
 The interactive section included the Big Bubble you could get inside.

He burst his bubble!

I would like to tell you a little about the Anchorage Museum at Rasmusson Center.  It is an art museum, natural and cultural history museum, and science center--all in one.  The museum's hallmark Alaska Gallery provides a quintessential (My Dear Bride helped me with that word) look into the state's rich history, while its premier collections of Alaska Art showcases famous artists.  The Smithsonian Artic Studies Center features 600 rare Alaska Native artifacts and the Imaginartuim Discovery Center a hands on experience of the science of Alaska with simulated earthquakes, sea life touch tanks, a planetarium and more.  Including the big bubble playing machines.
It covered also the Gold Rush, the pipeline project, 1964 earthquake, and the Valdez oil spill disaster.   Like I said we were there for awhile.  For more information http://www.anchoragemuseum.org/.

Alaska's State Colors, royal blue and gold, were beautifully carried out in the landscaping as well.

 Of course, we must include some of the flowers that were outside.













We returned to the RV full of information but needing food and rest.  I had to sternly discipline Pauline's dog.  He must learn not to chew on books.

I am sure he won't do it again.

(after all that serious time in the museum we had to be silly)

We went to the Ulu knife factory, watched a demo on how it is used, and found she knew how already.  It was mostly just another tourist gift shop.   It was near to Ship Creek, and fishermen were out.  I saw a lot of fishing, but not too much catching.

The Bridge Restaurant is right over the Creek for good viewing of all the action.

The all-you-can-eat salad bar was unique and scrumptious!

 .  .  .  as was the main course.

 It was a good meal

 I just can't believe she ate the whole thing ! (actually, I didn't.  We took a nice box home to the RV for later enjoyment!)
















All the while we were eating we watched the fishers beside and below us: fishing, but not catching.  

When we first sat down for the meal the muddy bar they are standing on was covered with water.  Ship's Creek goes into Cook's Inlet just downstream, and the tides changes very fast.

After we ate we walked along the Ship Creek trail, then back to the RV for the end of day.  I think we walked twenty miles today,  and don't listen to what my Dear Bride says.  (So I won't even try--but you know Chuck!)


Friends told us of Alaska's largest open air market, which is held downtown 18 weeks each summer on Saturdays and Sundays.  It's very popular; it took us nearly a hour just to find a parking spot.  (Haha!)  There were over 300 booths and quite interesting.

This picture does not show the crowds that were there.  But we walked around for a few hours, spent a few dollars, and learned more about Alaska from the people in the booths.

 Near the Open Air Market we saw the Eisenhower Monument.  He was President when Alaska became a state in 1959, and pushed hard for their statehood.  

 



 I love this planting color palette around the Statehood Monument!











The next day we walked out to Ship Creek Overlook.

 We found when the tide goes out the barges stay in.  Just sitting on the mud.

Also at the overlook was an anchor from the USS Anchorage.  More info on this LSD here
http://en.wikipedia.orgwiki/USS_Anchorage_%28LSD-36%29

The Tony Knowles Coastal Trail is an 11 miles long trail beside the inlet, heavily used by both bikers and hikers.  Some bikers zoomed by.  It was a little breezy so we were not bothered so much by the mosquitoes.  There was this lovely view across the Inlet. 

Some of the hills over there were Mt. Spurr, Mt. Torbert, and Mt. Gerdine.

The other direction was the skyline of Anchorage--a big, modern city.

Along the trail was a small pond where some ducks made there home next to the mudflats at low tide.  A bench on a hill allowed people to rest and enjoy the views.

 Here we are on the trail.

The tide was out so the mud flats were quite visible.  Not a place for a stroll.







 

Cute sign we saw on the trail.  There were quite a few folks getting exercise from their dogs. 

I really don't understand why they have this statue of this little girl peeing on a rock.  Guess it shows it can be done.

(When I wrote this thought My Dear Bride would change it.  She didn't.  It is a statue showing children's curiosity)

At a nearby historic house, there was a wonderful flower garden.

You will see more on the Tony Knowles trail here

http://anchoragecoastaltrail.com/

As we headed back to the RV My Dear Bride saw this front entryway she liked.  Very nice.

Tomorrow we are doing our clean-up--you know, laundry, vacuuming, etc., and  take a walk, (surprise) down to the outlet of Ship Creek again.  The salmon should start shortly.

We found they were really catching and keeping.  Lot of them were fly fishing as compared to spinning .

Tomorrow we are heading for Valdez.  See you later.