Making Our Way to Valdez

In the lower 48, a 300 mile drive day is common, but in Alaska, we have learned to set the goal way lower. With smaller roads, more potential for both obstructions and stops, it’s just easier to plan for shorter travel days.

The journey from Anchorage to Valdez, our next destination was about 300 miles, but we gave ourselves two days to make the journey. We passed through major construction and frost heaves that slowed us down. But we also stopped to gawk at the Matanuska Glacier from another point of view on our journey into the area two months ago.

Along the route, we stopped at the Musk Ox Farm. Since these creatures, related to goats and not cattle, are not found as much in the wild, this non-profit farm breeds and raises them for their qiviut (pronounced kiv-ee-ute) to be spun into yarn and woven into all sorts of products. We did a walking tour of the farm and enjoyed a picnic in the grass under the trees before continuing on for the day. Admission was around $10 a person.

We opted to stop at a tucked away free wild camping spot we found on the way in, but wanted to spend more time at. This time, we had the entire space to ourselves and enjoyed cooking dinner over the fire and enjoying sunset and a restful night.

The next day, we continue the journey towards Valdez. We stopped at the Wrangell-St. Elias National Park to make use of our annual pass. The views of the mountain range, including the active volcanoes were amazing. We walked along the ridge trail from the Visitor’s Center, enjoying the overlook and plentiful berries and flowers in the late summer. We also stopped in the visitor’s center to see the variety of animal pelts you can touch and feel the fur.

We arrived to Valdez Glacier Campground to find they were no longer first come, first serve, and allowed reservations now. Luckily, they had availability for us, we just had to move spots part way into our stay. Since it was dry camping, it worked out fine for us to do a dump and water fill, but for a beautiful location with spacious sites surrounded by trees and $25/night instead of the $80+/night packed in downtown, we didn’t mind a bit. We had several overcast days and tree cover, so we used the generator quite a bit.

While staying there we explored several places and learned so much.

The Solomon Hatchery to see the salmon coming in to spawn. This 24 hour access walk-through is free and we learned a lot about their process for raising salmon and then having them return each year. We saw the extreme tide swing and sea lions and birds alike feeding on the plentiful fish. While we didn’t see any bears, we saw signs of them. They said it was best to visit later at night at high tide, when the bears are most likely out, but after two different nights of 10PM trips, we gave up.

We also did the hike up Solomon’s Gulch to the reservoir that creates the “stream” for the salmon. It’s less than 2 miles out, but half of it is mostly up hill, so definitely challenging, especially if you park along the road instead of the trail head parking the next level up. But the waterfall and pool half way, and the lake and reservoir were beautiful, and there’s a covered area near the reservoir for a picnic.

We had hoped to camp at Allison Point, but between weather and crowds, we didn’t make it there. With no good turnaround (the Pipeline area is closed off) and only one entrance to the parking area, plus rain and fog, we skipped this busy stop.

We also went out exploring the local waterfalls, like Bridal Veil Falls and Horsetail Falls, as well as the Keystone Canyon Railway Tunnel along Richardson Highway that was never finished after a shootout.

And of course we went out and paddled around the Valdez Glacier since we were camped a mile down from it. Kayak rentals are available, but we just used the SUP’s. It was warm on land, but the nearly freezing water made for a chilly paddle, and sore legs since we opted to kneel the entire time instead of stand and risk falling into the water. Definitely worth it for the incredible views and solitude on the lake as we paddled through the canyon.

We could have easily stayed longer in this area, just like all the other parts of Alaska we have visited. The local Safeway grocery store having my favorite tortillas, Juantino’s in stock, didn’t hurt, either. But signs of summer’s end are showing, and the weather is getting wilder, so we opted to cut it short, especially since the next leg of our travels has us going through two mountain passes next week!

Just a head’s up, that the next blog will be in two weeks. I am switching to biweekly and slowing them down now since BJ is doing the biweekly YouTube videos and we want to get them on the same timeline.

In the meantime, we will be on the socials and working Patreon back into rotation with real time/close to real time events, so we’d love you to join us there and check out the membership options available.

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