Before talking about July 15 let’s spend some time with the 14th. It’s Friday the day of our reservations for the Lu Lu Belle Wildlife Glacier cruise. We done the cruise back in 2018, Marsha once and Wells twice. With the cloudy, cold and drizzly days all week we did not know what to expect weather wise. We wake to drizzle and temperatures hovering around 50. Not looking like a good day to be out on the water. Between the drizzle and fog visibility is not stellar.
Captain Fred started doing these cruises in 1978 and continues to this day. He’s in his mid-eighties and very healthy. He moves around the boat and boat ladders with ease. A few other things about him is the cruise leaves the dock at 10:30 am and returns at some point late in the day. It really depends on what is available to see. Once the Lu Lu Belle pulls away from the dock he is at the helm with a microphone which he uses almost continuously until the cruise is over. He talks about the history of Valdez and the surrounding areas, the Exxon Valdez oil spill, the safety measures put in place since the spill, the 9.2 1964 Good Friday Earthquake, the Columbia Glacier (named after Columbia University), the salmon, the salmon fishery, the wildlife and sea life, and more. He brings in a bit of politics which is from the Alaskan viewpoint with a very negative view of the Federal Government. He weaves many stories but at some point we tune him out.
The day after the cruise we head north along the Richardson Highway towards Paxson and the start of the Denali Highway. We make it to just a few miles before the beginning of tomorrow’s adventure. Weather is rainy and foggy. We hope it clears for tomorrow.
Seeing North America 