7/16/19: Traveling to Valdez

We departed Seward, AK for our next stop of Valdez. AK. In order to get to Valdez we had to back track all the way off the Kenai  Peninsula and then turn Southeast again after driving through Anchorage. We again made the customary provisions stops in Achchorage like gas, propane, and Walmart… (Walmart clearly continues to be a full-time RVers best resource …)

Leaving Ahchorage on Route 1 snaked us through the mountains passing cities like Palmer, AK. The drive and views were excellent this day and we hoped we could get as far as Glenallen, AK. This is where we would turn South on Rte 4 towards Valdez. We passed through Glenellen, AK about 7:00 pm and immediately started looking for a place to boondock. Joanne has been reading daily feeds on social networking sites regarding places to boondock, with reviews, for weeks. She has actually gotten very good at navigation during this trip. She finds a spot just off the highway about 15 miles south of Glenellen which is a paved parking area adjacent to a small park. It was hidden from the road, remote, paved, and the views of the Wrangell-St. Elias Mountains were SPECTACULAR!!! We camp the night here with no issues.  We awaken next morning to one other camper in the parking area. It was a quiet, peaceful night with spectacular views that changed as the sun got lower in the night sky about every 5 minutes!

The next day we arrived in Valdez early afternoon after driving from just south of Glennallen on the Richardson Highway- probably the worst roads we have driven on since getting into Alaska?

We had made a reservation two days before arrival in Valdez at Bear Paw RV Park. They actual have two parks next to each other – (one is adult only, but no room at that one). This was actually the same park Joanne’s parents stayed in when doing this trip over 30 years ago…

After checking in to the RV Park Park Mike headed to the Doctors for a foot issue and some antibiotics (given his knee replacement still susceptible to infections…) and Joanne stayed back and got caught up on some laundry (the reason we are at this park and because there are few boondocking opportunities here…). A few weeks ago we had reserved tickets for the famous “LuLu Belle Boat Tour” – with Captain Fred. The tour has rave reviews for nearly 40 years and sounds like the perfect way to experience Prince William Sound, wildlife, coastline, and the Columbia Glacier… We headed to the office to confirm our tickets and logistics for the following morning departure. We were met by Fred’s wife (Megan) who is the absolute nicest person you will ever meet. We discover our campsite literally is only about 100 yards from the dock and the LuLu belle, so it will be easy to get there in the morning….

At around 5:00 pm we decide to walk the downtown for awhile. We looked at a few menus though opted to head back to the RV instead as  unfortunately we are “shedding for the wedding” (Our daughter Caitlin and Bruce’s wedding is in October on Martha’s Vineyard, MA …) -so no wine/cheese and crackers for us?.

We had heard about bears lining up to feast at the local Solomon Gultch Fish Hatchery just down the road. So after dinner we head out to investigate- just as it starts to rain around 9:00 pm at night.  We don’t see any bears but the number of salmon at the ladder is absolutely crazy! The sea lions & sea otters are making a feast out of the salmon… There is some great info and  informational videos there around the outside of the hatchery. Defintely worth a stop!

 

After a day of nearly 11 hours on the LuLu Belle our plan for dinner tonight was to just microwave some frozen meatballs for dinner, but of course the microwave is broken, so we begin cooking them in a pot with sauce when suddenly we hear knock-knock at our door! Unexpectedly the “Assateague people” in the truck camper from North Carolina, (that were next door to us in Seward) were also in this park and asked us if we wanted to share some smoked salmon with them? Joanne had already made a salad so we shared a quickly put together dinner with our new friends. They are both retired military and have also been traveling for nearly a year. As with most nights, the sun doesn’t actually set this far north and we extend our evenings later then normal.  A very fun evening with our new friends ran to about 12:30am.  With dishes put in the sink, to wait till morning, we finally climbed into bed at 1:00am…

Valdez turned out to be one of most favorite stops of the entire summer. The mountains, glaciers, waterfront, salmon hatchery, and LuLu Belle Tour were all fantastic!!! We both agreed we would love to return here again and spend more time, though this will be a memory for the rest of our lives on this “Revolutionary Journey”….