Valdez
Trip Start
Jun 12, 2005
1
25
41
Trip End
Aug 2005
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Valdez, Alaska
Thursday, July 21, 2005
Following a lazy morning during which I caught up with the Internet and E-mail, went to the store with Pat, and wrote a few postcards, we got on board the Glacier Spirit for a noon departure. We toured the Valdez harbor and Prince William Sound for more than six hours. Despite the clouds and occasional rain we had a marvelous time. We saw sea otters, sea lions, puffins, bald eagles, and several humpback whales. The most fascinating thing we saw was the Columbia Glacier. More specifically, it was the Columbia Glacier ice field, which stretched out from the glacier for more than ten miles. We threaded our way through about four miles of floating ice bergs, large and small that had recently been part of the glacier. The blue color of the ice was most unusual and attractive. The scenery throughout the cruise was most attractive despite the fact we could not see the tops of many of the taller mountains due to the low ceiling. I believe it was enough different from our other cruises that it really stands out as exceptional, but perhaps that is because it is the most recent. Certainly the cruise from Skagway to Juneau was the best of all but this one is a close second.
We arrived back at the trailer about 7:30pm (we had to go get our fishing licenses before the stores all closed) very tired, but satisfied with another very good day. Valdez is a most attractive town and it is good to be in such a pretty place.
Wednesday, July 20 -
Pat and I got up fairly early and headed out to the far side of the harbor (on the road to the Alyeska Pipeline terminal) with two other couples where we hoped to catch pink salmon. Guess what - we did! It was quite a sight to see all of the salmon heading up the bay to the same stream they were born in years earlier so they could spawn and then die. We only fished for about an hour but we came back with four nice salmon - sixteen pounds total. We were very pleased to catch fish without making a huge investment in a charter trip and Pat was especially pleased to catch the largest fish, which was her first salmon! I went back later at high tide (the better time to fish) and caught four more in thirty minutes. The fish will ride home in our freezer so we do not have to ship them Next Day Air (and pay for that premium service) so don't worry Mike, you will not have to find more freezer space. We shipped 34 pounds of frozen halibut to Mike, which should have arrived yesterday. Because today was a free day we also used the time to catch our breath and do a few chores. This evening we are scheduled to have a social hour, but it is raining lightly and we may have to make other plans. Tomorrow we head to Tok, and the Alaska Highway, to begin our trek back home. I don't believe we will have Internet service in Tok or our next night, so it will be Saturday or Sunday before I can send another update to the Blog.
Pat and Don
