Great day trip to Valdez... The sun was shining.. Rugged stone mountains and rushing steams along this route, and ahead... the big snow capped mountains.. Going through Thompson Pass, the road was lined with very high road markers (30 feet or so) for the snow ploughs... As the winding road followed through the routes carved out of the stone mountains, there were many waterfalls draining down the sheer rock walls. Spectacular views as the mountains seem to wrap themselves around you, making this drive unique.
Seems like every area of Alaska that I visit presents the most spectacular views of the trip... Alaska is like that, with every turn giving you another view of the many mountain ranges and nature's tricks in presenting them to you. It was about 100 miles over to Valdez, and once I arrived I was disappointed that I had chosen not to camp there. The town sits in a valley hugged by the snow capped mountains that surround it. This is why others have compared Valdez with a town in Switzerland. Valdez sits on the northern most harbor in North America that does not freeze up in the winter, and that is the reason that the pipeline feeds its oil all the way from the North Slope in the Arctic, 800 miles to this port for loading on ships. Campgrounds located in the center of the town would have allowed me to go to sleep and wake with the magnificent view of those mountains around me.
I took the tour of the Oil storage depot and loading docks... We were taken to the island in a school bus to tour the facility, after being taken through a metal detector and our carryon bags inspected just like boarding an Airplane. We entered the facility grounds through a security gate where we were cleared by our bus driver through a pre-arrangement. While she drove us through the facility stopping at each of the ship loading docks, we were not allowed to step off of the bus but could take pictures from the window. Finally as we circled up a hill overlooking the facility we were allowed to get out at a designated area and take some pictures at the 800 mile marker. I was impressed with all the security they enforced.
The crude oil is collected in the Arctic and fed through the pipeline and a number of pump stations that keep it moving at about 5 mph until it arrives at Valdez. Here it is stored until it can be loaded on ships for hauling to points in California or as far south as the Panama Canal where it is then routed to oil refineries. I will include some pictures of the facility.
The temperature was about 50 degrees, so was comfortable walking around in a sweatshirt. There was an hour before the tour, so I located a small place called "Lisa's" that was serving excellent Mexican food through a window that you would then eat on the picnic tables outside. I had the special... green chicken enchiladas.. then next door found a soft ice cream shop and got a cone dipped in chocolate... A nice break from camp food. Later talking with some others that had asked for a good place to eat dinner in town.. had been told by some locals to go to Lisa's. Guess that was the place.
Valdez was a very worthwhile side trip... every nook and cranny in Alaska seems to present something new and spectacular.. that is why people spend so much time up here. I met a couple camped next to me that I later saw again on the Valdez tour... that are retired military, and have been driving a big RV around since they got out in November.. looking for a place to settle.. they have all their stuff in storage.. they plan to stay two months in Alaska... another couple I met from Wyoming is staying her for the whole summer... returning home in September just in time for the hunting season to start there. He was somewhat of an expert on bears and had seen many on his trip up here through BC.
Gas prices have really fluctuated... near where I camped, unleaded regular was $1.59 a gallon... in Valdez, 100 miles away it was $1.33, and in Anchorage, 170 miles away, it dropped to $1.17 a gallon... so the folks with the big rigs really check around before they fill up.
The campground I stayed at in Glenallen was about half a mile off the main road into the woods with all sites right on a running stream. Many grabbed their fishing poles and were fishing while sitting next to their RVs. Very quiet and peaceful there, and I ran into another couple that I had camped with in Whitehorse several days earlier. Fun to see familiar faces in the campgrounds from time to time.
