Valdez

07/20 – 07/25/19 Since we wisely chose not to make the 60 mile trek to McCarthy-Kennicott we arrived the day before we were due to check into the our home base at Chena RV Park in Valdez AK. It was still cloudy and misty but the waterfalls were amazing as we made our way into town. J&J stopped by the RV park and were given a recommendation by the owners Judy and Everett to drive over to Allison Point campground for the night and she would call us as soon as our spaces became available in the morning. Allison Point also had a special allure as the Pink Salmon were running and that is where many local go to snag fish. We bought some snagging hooks and made our way over to the campground. We parked overlooking the bay and watched the locals technique for snagging the salmon. We rigged our poles and were soon catching salmon too. What Fun!!!! There was a small black bear that would come down to the edge of the bay and grab the carcasses left by the fisherman along the shore. The wildlife in and around the bay was incredible. As we fished the otters and Sea Lions did their own fishing offshore. Every creature it seems takes advantage of this abundance of food when it is plentiful. We had a wonderful fresh salmon dinner and hosts at the RV Park smoked the rest of our catch for us and treated us like family. It turns out they too spend time down in Parker, AZ in the off season. We spent the next few days exploring the town of Valdez. We really enjoyed the Valdez Museum and the Maxine & Jesse Whitney Museum. We also booked a Boat Tour out to Meares Glacier with Stan Stephens Cruises. We were a bit worried the morning of the tour as we woke to a heavy fog and thought we wouldn’t see much but as the boat pulled away from the harbor and into the bay, the fog began to lift and our eyes were on overload with all the beauty and wildlife. We were visited by a humpback whale, Orcas, Harbor Seals, Sea Lions, Otters, Puffins, and numerous other shorebirds. When we arrived at the Meares Glacier the Captain stopped the boat approx a ¼ mile from the base and we were entertained by the harbor seals basking on the large chunks of Ice that were floating beneath it. We were even lucky enough to watch a large chunk of glacial Ice calve into the bay and the Captain had to turn the boat into the wave it created. Wow!!! Valdez has definitely won our hearts as one of favorite places so far in AK.