Alaska Tour Days 33-37

On Tuesday, July 24, Day 33, we traveled 127 miles to Glennallen.

Along the way we stopped to take pictures of Matanuska Glacier after walking on a trail to a lookout point.

We then drove our truck and camper down a dirt road to Wickersham Trading Post and Glacier Access so we could walk on the glacier.

We had to drive across a one lane wooden bridge.

There's the glacier!

Off we went with Ken and Cathy, fellow Alaska travelers.

Glaciers grind the underlying rock into a fine powder which is then carried by the rivers that flow from glaciers, giving them a grayish color.  This is called glacial flour.

Yes, I stepped in the muck!

We crossed many crevices where you could hear water flowing deep down under the ice.

Oh oh! How do I get over there!

We opted for a self guided tour.  The guided tours provided helmets and spikes for your shoes.  We came upon this sign that said we were not to go any further, but...

...of course we did!

Yikes!

 Just after we decided that we had gone far enough, we heard a low rumble, which was the glacier cracking.  We all froze in place and hoped we were not standing on a section of ice that was about to crack open.  We very carefully walked back to the tour path.

Walking on the glacier was one of the most exciting things we've ever done!  We've seen many glaciers on the tour but this was the only one we could walk on.  We're so glad we took the opportunity to do it.

After a quick lunch at Sheep Mountain Lodge we arrived at our stop for the night--Tolsona Wilderness Campground.  All sites backed up to a creek and the sites were nice and long.  That night we enjoyed dessert night with the rest of the tour group and several people shared funny camping stories.  We've noticed that the days are getting shorter.  Sunrise was 5:08 am and sunset at 10:33 pm.

The next day we drove 134 miles to Valdez.  This drive is the prettiest drive so far even though the day started out rainy and cloudy with the high in the mid 50s.

Here are some of the sights along the way.

Every curve of the road revealed spectacular views

The railroad tunnel that was never finished.

Bridal Veil Falls

Horsetail Falls

On Day 35 in Valdez, we boarded the LuLu Belle for a narrated wild life-sea life cruise on Prince William Sound.  These are some of the things we saw...

It was a cloudy and foggy morning.

Seals relaxing in the water

We sailed past several fishing boats that looked like the boats in Deadliest Catch TV show.  We got to see the small boat lay the net out and then the fishing boat reeled the net in and collected the fish they caught.

Then a group of Dall porpoises swam around the Lulu Belle...

Looking for puffins in the rocks

Look at all the sea lions!

When we reached Columbia Glacier, it did not disappoint.

It was soooo cold!

My Titanic moment

Such a beautiful color!

Planned events for Friday, July 27, Day 36 included a visit to Valdez Museum where we saw exhibits depicting the lifestyles during the Gold Rush, 1964 earthquake, Alaska Pipeline construction and Exxon Valdez spill/cleanup.

We also visited Crooked Creek Salmon Spawning Area where we learned about spawning salmon.  The hatchery there raises salmon from eggs, releases them, and they instinctively swim back to the hatchery to breed.  It was amazing to watch the salmon trying to swim upstream.

The fish try so hard to swim upstream

Look out! Bears like to come to the stream to eat salmon.

There were several sea lions enjoying the salmon "buffet."  Every time they ate a salmon the gulls would fly to them to get their scraps.

Some salmon made it into the fish ladder that was herding them into the hatchery so they could be spawned.

A last look at some of the many fishing boats in the Valdez harbor...

On Day 38 we travel 251 miles to Tok…