POST RIDE 7, The Ride Into Valdez

The sun came out and dried up all the rain, and the itsy bitsy spider went up the spout again.  Well, the clouds were gone and we got treated to fantastic views of the mostly extinct (one is still active), snow covered, volcanic peaks of Wrangle St Elias National Park.  These beauties dominated the skyline for most of our day.  We stopped in the National Park to amble along the only groomed trail in this park and preserve.  The most interesting fact I learned in the well done exhibit center is that during some winter storms, many birds get stranded and die on the rocky peaks in Alaska and the otherwise herbivore pikas will scavenge their brains for much needed nutrients.

Our next stop was Worthington Glacier State Park.  We got to walk up right near and alongside this giant flowing ice formation.  The amount of water flowing off this thing was incredibly impressive as well as the shear size of the ice.

After the glacier we entered the Thompson Valley and were privy to some more spectacular vistas and at one stop, I enjoyed a nice sprint down to a lower vantage point into a canyon.  We continued into the Keystone Canyon in the car.  We made stops at the majestic Bridal Veil and Horsetail Falls and spotted a black bear strolling along the forest edge enjoying a feast of soap berries.

Finally, we rolled into Valdez.  It a spectacularly beautiful city or at least it is nestled within some amazing scenery.  The mountains go right up to the sea at the Prince William Sound.  We took a walk along the harbor and witnessed some fish sorting and cleaning.  The seagulls were having a ball waiting for the discards.  Then, we sampled the local salmon and halibut at Mike's Palace on the recommendation of our B&B host.  Twas quite delectable.

After gorging ourselves on fish, we headed to the salmon hatchery and were floored by the shear numbers.  I've always heard how phenomenal a salmon run is, but I never imagined this.  The river mouth was literally filled with salmon leaping over each other to try and fight their way upstream.  It was just one mass of wriggling, flopping, shimmery fish.  The two sea lions we saw were having quite some fun with this smorgasbord and the awaiting sea gulls were more than happy to pick up their scraps.