Valdez

We traveled from Tok to Valdez today. The road out of Tok was a patchwork quilt of good road, bad road, frost heave, earthquake damage and construction - with no wildlife to make up for it! We saw one moose! But the last 50 miles were absolutely gorgeous! They call this area around Valdez and the Thompson Pass (2,678 feet) the "Switzerland of Alaska." Snow capped mountains, waterfalls, glaciers and the glacial Trickel River flowing along the road. It is so hard to get pictures that capture the scenery but, I tried through the front windshield!

The Milepost Book - the bible for traveling in Alaska - says the record snowfall in the state was at Thompson Pass in 1952-53 at 974.5 inches and the record for a 24 hour period was 62 inches in 1955!

Valdez was destroyed by an earthquake and tsunami in 1964 - the town actually sunk into the earth! - but it has been rebuilt just down the harbor. The Alaskan Pipeline is part of the scenery. The Alyeska Pipeline Service Company, a consortium of oil companies, has a huge terminal here.

Worthington Glacier

We are camped at Allison's Point - a municipal campground right on the harbor - this is the view from the front window in our motorhome! Otters are swimming by!