July 2-3

We left Seward and drove north through Anchorage and via the Glenn Highway, to Glennallen, where we spent the night.  The next day we headed south to Valdez.

Willow Lake viewpoint, with the Wrangell Mountains to the east. 

 

Worthington Glacier

Valdez is located on Port Valdez, an estuary off Valdez Arm in Prince William Sound. It's in a beautiful location, surrounded on all sides by snow-capped mountains.   It was the day before the Fourth of July, so we were thankful to find an RV park that could accommodate us for a couple of nights. Our site was a small, corner site, situated just behind a restaurant, whose greasy smoke wafted through the air around and above our camper.  Yum!

Valdez's economy depends on the oil industry, the Prince William Sound fishery, government and tourism. 

A view of Trans-Alaska Pipeline terminal.

In the evening we walked to the dock and marina. 

A catch of halibut.  Halibut are dark brown on the top side with an off-white underbelly and have very small scales invisible to the naked eye embedded in their skin. At birth, they have an eye on each side of the head, and swim like a salmon. After six months, one eye migrates to the other side, making them look more like flounder. At the same time, the stationary-eyed side darkens to match the top side, while the other side remains white.

Busy cleaning fish.