Chugach Mts

Morning in Valdez among museums and memory of the disaster

The locals probably won't misjudge the time we find at the exit of the Blessing House after an abundant self-service breakfast. It is foggy but visibility is decent. It's a shame that to fully appreciate the location of the town you would need to have the sun, but in these parts it seems to be a very rare commodity. So we go to do some shopping and dedicate ourselves to visiting some indoor places in the hope that a breeze will take away this autumn mist.

We see the Valdez Museum and the Remembering Old Valdez Annex. They are two museums connected to each other and deal with the common threads, as well as the themes that have had the greatest impact on local life: the history of the natives, the gold fever, oil with the construction of the pipeline, the 1964 earthquake and the Exxon Valdez disaster.

Valdez, salmon and pipeline terminal

A tangible sign of how topical the seismic risk can always be can be seen from the signs indicating the tsunami evacuation routes, i.e. the routes to follow in the event of an earthquake. It should be remembered that what we see of Valdez dates back to 1964, since the city was moved 6 km to be rebuilt in a safer position.

Leaving the town we go to the platform for observing the salmon spawning (Crooked Creek Salmon Spawning Area) on the Richardson Hwy. We take a quick look at Old Valdez, nothing more than a patch of grass, everything was dismantled and moved to a safer position after the tsunami. We see many campers parked in every available lot and we intend that the moment coincides with the peak season for salmon fishing. Perfectly organized with large cooler bags, the fishermen stand with their feet soaking in the shallow waters of the rivers waiting for something to bite. When they pick up prey they find themselves with a guaranteed meal for a few days. Bears essentially do the same thing, with the only difference that they place the catch immediately in their stomachs and do not preserve it, while some campers even have the necessary equipment for smoking.

Let's go and see the terminalpipeline on the opposite side of the bay: amid strict safety regulations we manage to take a couple of photos but unfortunately we cannot enter and we say goodbye to the pipeline which has faithfully accompanied us for almost a week. Following the accident that caused one of the worst environmental disasters due to oil spills, measures were taken to improve safety. But not all of them have already been put into operation, for example double hull oil tankers will become mandatory in Prince William Sound not before 2015. Currently it seems that the damage has been repaired and that flora and fauna have once again become masters of the area. However, what remains is the death caused by the oil spill and the pollution which, although mitigated by interventions, remains latent under the sand of the beaches.

Thompson Pass to Glenn Highway

The road that goes up to Thompson Pass cuts diagonally across the mountain and has few curves. It seems to have been specifically designed to be able to easily evacuate the snow and facilitate transit in an area where snowfall reigns supreme for a good part of the year. It is the only road that connects Valdez with the rest of the world and must therefore be maintained with all care. As expected, once over the pass, the fog gives way to clear skies.

We take a walk that won't even be that long to reach the Worthington Glacier, with its numerous cracks. Seen up close it loses some of the grandeur it has from a distance, where the entire front can be seen. We go up the Richardson Hwy to Glennallen and from here we travel westwards Glenn Hwy to go and visit the last piece still missing from this memorable mosaic: the Kenai Peninsula.

In the meantime we enjoy a beautiful day with unforgettable views along the road, especially towards the south, where the mountain chain runs parallel Chugach Mountains. The Eureka Pass at 996 meters is very panoramic, with a wide view of the glaciers that descend forming trails tens of kilometers long.

Matanuska Glacier and return to Palmer

One of these is the Matanuska Glacier, more than 25 miles long, with a characteristic white glacial bottom, while as a rule glaciers of this size become "dirty" along their journey until they disappear under high layers of debris. A one mile walk. it leads us to some panoramic points on the glacier which explanatory panels help us to better understand.

One of these explains how during the last glaciation the Matanuska Glacier reached the Palmer area, so the entire alluvial plain in the area was glacial and was formed precisely because of this. Therefore, the fertility of the soil is thanks to the sediments left by the ice, making it more favorable for cultivation.

We reach Palmer (about thirty miles before Anchorage) to stay in the same motel as the first night. It is a place that does not know luxury, but is quiet and parking the car in front of the room feels very American. This evening we change restaurants to go to Rusty's, where we are treated to an exquisite grilled salmon, creme brulée and pudding with whiskey cream. Everything is sealed by a particular raspberry flavored beer. It is not an emotion that will change my habits but it should be counted among the positive experiences.

Evening in Palmer

I also impress a blonde. Too bad she has double the size of my trousers and is completely drunk. In this case fortunately there are no explanatory panels to provide answers to possible whys.