Our
journey takes us along the Kluane Lake with snowcapped mountains on surrounding
us. It is a late spring, and the full sun is starting to have a melting effect
on the mountains which is evident by the water flow in the various streams. We
pass through the towns of Destruction Bay and Burwash with no wildlife in
sight, though we do see various signs of bear on the road. So, do bears shit in
the woods? NO, they shit on the road!
After
Burwash, the fun part of the drive commences for the next 125 miles, fun only
if you like to ride roller coasters and other rides that toss you up and down
and sideways as well. We stop frequently for photo opportunities as the St.
Elias range is in full view on our right, and the Kluane River valley is on our
left. Along the way we see another RV from the group that started in Iowa, so
we have kept our streak going of seeing at least 1 of the 132 RVs that started
from there every day.
When
we cross over into the US/Alaska, we change our clocks again and gain back
another hour. We will stay on Alaska Time until we depart for home in 2 weeks.
We reach Tok, which is just short of the half-way point for our drive today
with still no wildlife sighting but we have continuous views of the St. Elias
range and stop for numerous photo ops. We gas up with both gasoline and
propane, with the temperature in Tok in the 80’s. We call ahead to the RV park
in Valdez and find out that their 1 campground by the small boat harbor is not
open yet as they are still clearing it of snow, so we wonder what awaits us in
Valdez.
We
start the journey to Valdez, driving the stretch called the Tok cutoff. Our drive is quickly interrupted, as a mother
moose and her year-old yearling, decide they need to cross the road. Water is
flowing out of the woods on both sides of the road as spring break-up has finally
come to this area. No sooner than starting up again, but a bull moose decides
to cross he needs to cross the road in front of us, unfortunately this is the
last wildlife we see for the remainder of our drive to Valdez, but the view of
the mountains in their full glory more than supplements those sightings. We cross several rivers that feed into the
Copper River which has just broken up as ice foes litter the river beds. Twenty
miles outside of Glenallen, we come across an accident where 2 cars have gone
off the side of the road, with one of them being on its side. We slow down but
do not stop as the Alaskan Highway Patrol is on site and multiple other
vehicles have stopped. Young drivers/passengers are sitting on stop of the cars
as the area is also under water.
At
Glenallen we turn south on the Richardson highway and head to Valdez, with the
St. Elias Range still on our left. We stop at a turnout we found several years
ago to take pictures of the Copper River valley and the St. Elias Range, and
Pat notices to the North that we can see Mount Denali and its surrounding mountains, something
unexpected.
We
drive into Copper Center and see the rebuilding of the historic lodge that
burnt down in a fire, and swing by the Princess Lodge for more photo ops.
Continuing down the highway to Valdez, we see more evidence of spring break-up
but no wildlife. As we approach Valdez, the Worthington Glacier comes into view
and we stop and take pictures. The main picture on our blog is of the
Worthington Glacier taken 2 years ago, compare it to this year’s picture we
took from the same location. The pictures were taken at roughly the same time
of year. Spring is definitely late this year.
We
reach the Thomason Pass Summit and the mountains on all sides are heavily
covered in snow. We have been through this pass multiple times in the past ,
but the view this time is something to remember. On our decent into Valdez we
see some kayakers attempting to ply their skills on the swollen creeks, but
appears Mother Nature has won as we see them staying on shore and watch 2
kayaks floating down the swollen water way. Descending further we come upon
multiple waterfalls and stop for more Kodak moments. While stopped by one, we
hear a loud crash as we watch chunks of ice fall from the upper area of the
water falls.
One
last photo stop on our descent to take pictures of the river bed and how thick
the snow pack is still alongside of it. We reach our campground which still has
large piles of snow in various areas, hook up and eat dinner for the nite.
Nighty
Night.
Miles
traveled by RV 495 Miles
Total
RV Mileage 4313
Total
miles traveled 5243
Total
RV travel time 13 hours
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