Valdez, Alaska, July 25-28, 2011

Valdez, AK, July 25-28, 2011

We spent 4 days in Valdez and had a very scenic campsite right on the Valdez Bay across from the town. Valdez is famous for a couple of things-the devastation from the '64 earthquake whose epicenter was just 40 miles away, the oil spill of the Exxon Valdez and....

...the terminus of the 799 mile long Alaska Pipeline. About 800,000 barrels of oil per day move through the pipeline at about 3 mph. Transport time from Prudhoe Bay is 12 days. The Valdez Marine Terminal covers a total area of 1,000 acres with all facilities except berths built to bedrock at elevations ranging between 15 and 660 feet. Valdez has 18 storage tanks with a capacity of more than 500,000 barrels per tank= 9.18 million barrels of total storage.

The first evening we were here there was a small brown (grizzly) bear "fishing" along the shoreline. He didn't seem to mind his picture being taken as he was intent on finding supper.










This huge Indian Sculpture adorns the Community College Campus in Valdez. Hungarian-born sculptor, Peter Toth had undertaken a vow to carve an Indian sculpture in each of the 50 states. The monument he carved in Valdez, was his 40th tribute to the plight of the American Indian. He refused to take any payment for any of the monuments, as they are his gift to the American people. The Louisiana Pulp Company donated the wood.




Also on campus is the Maxine and Jesse Whitney Museum, one of the world's largest collections of Native Art, artifacts, and mounts. Maxine once owned a gift shop in Fairbanks and went out in the bush to buy directly from the natives. She donated her entire collection to the college and they built a special building to house the museum. This ship was carved from ivory. What talent the Native Alaskans have to be able to create such beauty.




This moose mount had an antler spread of 68 inches and weighed around 1500 pounds! No wonder they are so dangerous. They are more feared than the bears in Alaska.

I took this picture behind the rv looking across the bay early one morning while the clouds were still sitting on the mountains. The fireweed, which indicates that summer is half over, is everywhere. It is called fireweed because it is the first vegetation to grow after a forest fire. God takes away beauty and gives back beauty.







We took a wildlife / glacier cruise to Columbia Glacier, one of only 2 tidewater glaciers, meaning the glacier goes down into the water. This glacier once covered the whole area, but now is actually 3 smaller glaciers. The glaciers on the left are 1 to 1 1/2 miles wide and the one on the right is 2 miles wide. It extends 35 miles up the mountain, sits 200 - 300 feet out of the water and 800 feet below the water. It calves 10-14 tons of ice daily as evident in the water. We were fortunate to be able to get within 2 miles of the glacier as most trips stop about 12 miles out due to ice being caught on the moraine and causing an ice jam.

Here several seals were enjoying the sun on an "ice raft" so to speak!

One more picture of the Pipeline terminus also shows a glacier high on the mountain. Valdez is surrounded by glacier covered mountains. A tanker is being loaded and will be escorted some 70 miles through Prince William Sound into the Gulf of Alaska, hopefully to prevent any further oil spills.

The Alaska part of our vacation is almost over as we head out to Tok and the Alaska Highway back to the "outside" or lower 48. It's been a very educational and beautiful trip. Alaska is truly the "Last Frontier".