Friday, September 6, 2019
Tonsina to Valdez to Tonsina
Today we took a scenic drive to Valdez along the Richardson Highway. It's just 79 miles one way from the Tonsina River Lodge to Valdez, but with all the stunning stops, it was easy to make a day of the round trip.
Worthington Glacier can be viewed from the highway, or you can drive into a parking lot right next to it for a closer look. We did both and found the best view as we were stopped in the middle of the road for several minutes due to a construction project.
Worthington Glacier
The weather couldn't have been better - bright, sunny, and mild - and we were treated to breathtaking views at every turn as we drove through mountain passes and past glaciers, gorges, waterfalls, and brilliant blue lakes.
What a view!
Blueberry Lake State Recreation Site
Blueberry Lake
South of Thompson Pass,15 miles outside of Valdez, the road winds through the narrow Keystone Canyon, on the Lowe River, where we explored an unfinished rail tunnel and admired the pretty Horsetail Falls and Bridal Veil Falls.
Milky glacier-fed stream
Horsetail Falls
Bridal Veil Falls
We were told to be sure to check out Dayville Road, so we dutifully complied. The road is along the bay (called Port Valdez) across from the town of Valdez. It was low tide when we got there, and the stench of dead fish was pervasive, so it's no surprise that the number of waterfowl was like something out of Alfred Hitchcock's “The Birds.” In spite of the stench, dozens and dozens of RVs were parked all along the road – fishermen, of course!
Port Valdez, Prince William Sound, from Dayville Raod
In the town of Valdez, the first thing we came upon was the Whispering Giant, an enormous wooden Indian head. Tom had found this on RoadsideAmerica.com, and it was just as grand as I'd imagined. The head is incongruously located smack in the middle of town, across the street from the Safeway.
Jana and the Whispering Giant
The Richardson Highway and the Trans-Alaska Pipeline both end in Valdez, a town of 4,000 located on a protected harbor surrounded by mountains on gorgeous Prince William Sound. The town is famous as the beginning of the trail for the 1898 Alaska Gold Rush, the destruction of Old Town Valdez in the 1964 Good Friday Earthquake, and the terrible environmental disaster caused by the crude-oil ship Exxon Valdez.
Port Valdez, Prince William Sound, from the ferry terminal
Sea lion
The small-boat harbor was a mesmerizing blue, packed with all manner of fishing boats and lined with wacky sculptures. Supposedly teeming with tourists in the summertime, on this fine shoulder-season day, the harbor area was quiet - just us, the sculptures, and a few people cleaning their catch.
Valdez small boat harbor
Dock-side salmon cleaning
Tom finds a friend
After looking around Valdez, we reversed course toward Tonsina, making just one more stop on our way out of town, at the beautiful and serene Robe Lake. With a turnaround too small for RVs, we didn't see another soul here. What we did see, though, was an unattended kayak tied up offshore. Spooky.
Robe Lake, Valdez
Almost back to the lodge, we saw that the Wrangell Mountains were especially clear this afternoon, so we drove over to the Kenny Lake area on the Edgerton Highway for a spectacular view. There was more snow on the mountains since just yesterday. Winter is coming...
Mount Drum (12,011 feet)
Mount Sanford (16,237 feet)
We had dinner again in the Russian restaurant at Tonsina River Lodge, binchik (a meat-filled crepe), a cheesesteak sandwich, and a couple of porters. Excellent! At $73, a bit spendy, but not out of line for Alaska.
After the heavy dinner, we walked all around the lodge property and over to the Tonsina River. The cool old decrepit building onsite was once an Army barracks in Valdez (circa 1910) and was moved to the present site in 1920, where it was used as an oil pump house until the '80s. Unfortunately, it is now beyond repair.
Tonsina River Lodge
Hotel, Russian and American restaurant, bar, spa, liquor store, laundromat, RV park and campground
Old U.S. Army barracks
Tom
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