June 16

Slana to Vadez

On our drive to Vadez we hit some construction spots and frost heaves. With the window open I heard a noise that was not familiar so we pulled over to investigate. One of the safety chains between the truck and trailer had broken. The next few miles to Glennallen we limped along to a NAPA store where we got one new link. Closer inspection of the chain shows wearing so we really should replace both chains. Being a Saturday afternoon there was no place that could even look at it until Monday so we pushed on to Valdez. By this time the headwinds picked up and didn’t let up until we got to town.

The road to Valdez is one of awe. In the last 60 miles to Valdez the road climbs over Thompson Pass then through a canyon finally reaching Valdez. As you hit the top of the pass you climb out of the trees to what appears to be a barren and stark landscape. It would look less so if we were not in the fog and rain. Driving towards town down from the pass we entered a canyon with many waterfalls. There’s one, there’s one, there are three… on and on there were waterfalls. I took a few photos but the rain and more so the wind made it hard. If the wind stops it would be a good place to spend hours photographing the falls.

Did I mention that Valdez calls itself the Snow Capital of the United States?  Syracuse, NY gets more snow on average than any other city of its size or larger at over 100 inches per year. The Tug Hill receives between 200 and 300 inches. Valdez averages more that 300 inches of snow each year. Plus in the warmer months it receives plenty of rain. We arrived in town to scattered showers.

After setting up our site at a RV park in town we went out in search of some seafood to cook for supper. At PeterPan Seafood we got some scallops. On the way back from the harbor we saw many eagles at another RV Park. The people running the park were feeding the eagles. We were told they feed them everyday around 5:30 in the afternoon. Note to self, be there tomorrow at 5:30. The scallops were outstanding.

Earlier in the day we ran into a woman that had taken a boat tour out of Valdez. She said there were two companies to pick from, one uses a larger boat, the other a smaller one. She had taken the smaller one and raved on how great it was, the Lu Lu Belle. We were sold.

We checked at the office of the RV park and the Lu Lu was not sailing Sunday or Monday. They were working on the generator. Plus the forecast for Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, and into Wednesday was for rain, rain, and more rain. We want to do the cruise but not sure if and when.