North to Alaska

MarshaLassen/CA said:

Keep 'em coming.  This is a great!  It sure makes Tim and I want to take off. 

Our motorhoming for this year is a bit restricted as we moved out of the house and are meeting with the builder on the new one.  I'm hoping next year we can make it to Alaska.  Of course there is also, the East coast and Eastern Canada that we'd like to get it....then there's Florida, Texas, etc etc. that we want to get to.

Marsha~

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Marsha:

Piece of cake, just postpone the house for 2-3 years.

Wow What beautiful scenery.  Can't blame for stocking up of good fresh food.  For those of us that probably will never make that trip, you are really enlightening us of the mass of the mountains and beauty of the the area.  Thanks

Jeff

While you are in Valdez, find out if the Actors' Symposiium is going on at the local community college. You can get free tickets at the visitor center. We heard Patricia Neal talk about her life and career when we were there. AHHH, the memories.

Jeff Cousins said:

Marshaiece of cake, just postpone the house for 2-3 years.

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Marsha and Jeff,

No need to postpone the house.  Recall we traveled for 4 months in Alaska while our home was being built.  Of course we had good friends , George and Pam emailing  30 or 40 photos per week so we could inspect and then email the builder with our "change orders,"  Where there is a will there is a way. 

Jeff,
I feel like I am doing the trip again.  Go to the Thai restaurant in Valdez if you like.  We enjoyed it.  The one is Homer is better.

Betty

Betty Brewer said:

Marsha and Jeff,

No need to postpone the house.  Recall we traveled for 4 months in Alaska while our home was being built.  Of course we had good friends , George and Pam emailing  30 or 40 photos per week so we could inspect and then email the builder with our "change orders,"   Where there is a will there is a way. 

Jeff,
I feel like I am doing the trip again.  Go to the Thai restaurant in Valdez if you like.  We enjoyed it.  The one is Homer is better.

Betty

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Thanks Betty. We'll wait for Thai when we get to Homer. What else do you reccomend for Valdez?

Jeff Cousins said:

Thanks Betty. We'll wait for Thai when we get to Homer. What else do you reccomend for Valdez?

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Jeff,

If memory serves there is a private Museum outside of town (near airport ? ) that had a pretty good display of stuff.  The  most amazing  thing about it was the fact that it once belonged to one  individual.  We also ate at the Pipeline Club Restaurant reported to have been the place the Captain of the Exon Valdez got hammered before his shipwreck.  I don't recall anything memorable about the meal.  Now keep in mind that we got 6 inches of rain while in Valdez so the shop that sold rubber shoes was a  hit.   If you find my journal in Forum you may see  anything else I have forgotten. There is a direct link to Valdez Sea Otter Campground a few posts back here.  We took some drives out  on other side of view you are facing and  saw the salmon making their last ditch efforts, but you are too early for that phenomena.  Pretty drive never the less.

Betty

That museum is at the airport and is a must see.  Even I enjoyed it   The two museums in town are also worth a visit.  The one down by the wharf has a model of old Valdez and lots of information on the earthquake, including a rather lengthy, but good, video.

The Totem Inn is a good restaurant.  We had breakfast there several times.  Don't go to the restaurant at the Best Western by the harbor, that's where they charged us $3.50/each for English muffins in place of toast at breakfast.

Wow! $5.75/lb for Copper River salmon. I just got done paying $13.99/lb for Copper River at the local Publix and thought that was a good deal... but dadgummit, it sure tasted good.

Jeff and Sue,

We also stayed at the Sea Otter RV Park.  It was brand new and practically empty back then.  Our front row site to watch the otters play and eat is one of our great memories of Valdez.  Too bad the weather turned bad because the pass is beautiful.  The St. Elias range is gorgeous on a bright sunny day.

If you like shrimp, we went out into Prince William Sound on a tour boat.  It was the last tour that day and the captain was talking with a shrimper farther out the Sound.  He came on the loudspeaker and asked if anyone was interested in fresh shrimp.  Everyone said yes and no one objected to getting back later, so we went out to meet the shrimper.  We passed money across to him in a net and he sent one-pound packages of shrimp back to us.  The only mistake Jerry and I made was that we only got one pound!  Ate the whole pound for dinner and it was the best shrimp I've ever eaten!  They said to get your water boiling, drop them in, and take them out when they float to the top (around 1 minute).  My mouth waters just remembering!    Enjoy some really good shrimp, halibut, and salmon for me.

ArdraF

Jeff, If it's not too late, go back over to that fish processing place and buy some "Halibut cheeks" and make some sea food chowder.  I used my favorite new england clam chowder recipe and it was the hit of the Sea Otter Park.  Boy!! would I love to be there right now....  lou

Don't forget the boat trip to Seldovia.  That's in the Tour Book.

Ned said:

Don't forget the boat trip to Seldovia.  That's in the Tour Book.

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Ned,
Wasn't that out of Homer?  Foggy memory.

BB

Oops, yes.  There was a boat trip out of Valdez, but it was to a glacier (Columbia?).  Still worthwhile and a 2for.  So many boats, so little time

Betty:

We drove over to the pipeline terminal side of the bay today. I might have to go to the Pipeline Restaurant before we leave Monday, the 3rd mate who was on the bridge, Greg Cousins is my first cousin.(A fact I have not mentioned since we arrived in Valdez!)

Ned:

We have not been able to buy a discount book yet, the first Safeway/Carrs will be in Ninilchik when we get off the ferry at Whittier so Homer will work better. We will visit the airport museum tomorrow, did the two downtown today. Also had a high-priced lunch at the Best Western today. ??? Will try the Totem tomorrow, we are grilling pork chops tonight.

Lou:

We ARE going back to Peter Pan tomorrow and halibut cheeks are on my list. The Copper River Salmon was our primary objective because they fish it here and Sue wants to stock up. We tested the freezer with what we bought Friday and will top off Sue's portion with more. I will pick up Halibut in Homer if I don't catch any.

Ardra:

Sea Otter is not half full now. We have an empty site on each side of us on the water. A neighbor who comes here ofter says that once the salmon start running you can barely get a site in here.We have eaten enough fish and crab to grow gills! I didn't think I could ever fill up on halibut but the pork chops looked so good at the store today we decided it was time for a change.

Thanks for all the suggestions.

Day 23 Wet Valdez

We have spent a lazy day in Valdez watching the fishermen head out, ferry and barge traffic come and go, and visiting two local museums depicting Valdez from its start in the late 1800?s through the earthquake of 1964, the building of the Trans Alaska Pipeline that terminates here, and Valdez today that maintains its status as an integral part of the SE Alaska economy.

The weather here started out cloudy and drizzly, broke up in mid-afternoon to sunlight trying to break through the overcast and then back to drizzle and fog this evening.

Valdez started out as many other communities here in SE Alaska at the end of the 1800?s as a jumping off point for the miners heading into Copper Center and on to the Yukon. After making camp here they had to climb over the Valdez Glacier with their provisions, build boats, and navigate up the Copper River. Several of these early pioneers settled here and formed the permanent settlement that became Valdez. Valdez boasts being mile ?0? of the first major highway in Alaska, the Richardson Highway, which stretches from here to Fairbanks. The road insured Valdez?s future as did the building of the Trans Alaska Pipeline that terminates here with a large loading facility for oceangoing tankers.

It was a good day to take it easy and we started by driving southeast two miles to the original location of Valdez until the earthquake of 1964. On March 27, 1964 an 8.6 earthquake struck SE Alaska, Yukon, and NW British Columbia. The violent shock waves literally destroyed Valdez that was located on top of 300 feet of sand and sediment. The town sank 35 feet as the shock hit and the Tsunamis that followed emptied the bay before hitting Prince William Sound with 35 foot tidal waves. The devastation was so complete that the decision was made to move the town two miles further down the Sound to firmer ground.

The new Valdez was planned out in advance and includes a beautiful small boat harbor, ferry docks right in town, and a container port just to the SE of Valdez. While the town loses the quaintness of its past it is nevertheless a vibrant commercial fishing, petroleum, and tourism center here on the SE coast.

We also drove around the end of the bay to the Trans Alaska Pipeline Terminal that is located directly across the water from the campground. The locals tell us that 2 steering tugs left this morning to guide a supertanker into the Sound this evening so we are hoping to witness its arrival later tonight. In the meantime we went back across the street to Peter Pan Seafoods to pick up more Copper River Salmon and a couple of pounds of halibut cheeks. The freezer is filling up fast!

One of the local tour boat operators offers a free one hour cruise at 8:00AM on Sundays.  We may join them and then visit the one remaining museum we haven?t seen. Another relaxing day!

Hi Jeff

It was Safeway in Valdez where we got our Toursaver Book.

As you walk thru door, there is one of those cubicles for supervisors/managers etc - we had to ask for the book as they werent on display anywhere.

Paul

UK-RV said:

Hi Jeff

It was Safeway in Valdez where we got our Toursaver Book.

As you walk thru door, there is one of those cubicles for supervisors/managers etc - we had to ask for the book as they werent on display anywhere.

Paul

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Paul:

Do you remember where Safeway is in Valdez? We haven't been able to find one.

Eagle Food Center should have it according to the Toursaver.com web site, 1313 Meals Ave.. Valdez.

Ned said:

Eagle Food Center should have it according to the Toursaver.com web site, 1313 Meals Ave.. Valdez.

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That's a Safeway store.

Jeff:

      I really like your photo of the early morning departure of the fisherman.

Ron