Valdez, Alaska

Leaving Glacier View heading to Valdez.  Visibility was reduced. 

After a few hours it started to get better.  These poles on the sides of the road are to help direct the snow plows in winter.

Along the way we saw remote houses with planes in the yard.  A major form of transportation here.

As we came down from the mountains the skies got brighter and we saw many lovely views on the four hour drive.

We stopped for lunch at a pull-out alongside a lake.   There was a sign that said the lake had no driving access and there were no fish.  But we saw several homes (cabins) on the other side of the lake with planes docked.  I guess this is the way to do it if you want to be left alone.

As we got closer to Valdez we could see the Worthington Glacier alongside the highway.

We had to climb back up into the mountains to go through Thompson Pass, elevation 2,678 feet.

Coming down the mountain we ran into some rain as we headed through Keystone Canyon.

In the canyon is the remainder of a tunnel that was hand cut into solid rock during the "railroad era" when nine companies fought to take advantage of the short route from the coast to the copper mines at Kennecott.  However, a feud interrupted progress and a gun battle was fought and the tunnel was never finished.

The canyon had beautiful waterfalls coming down the side.  This one was called Bridal Veil.

Another was called Horsetail Falls.

One thing I have to say about Alaskans...they let their children do a lot of crazy things.  These kids were climbing up the side of one of the waterfalls with only a guide rope to help them.  Dad was down at the bottom watching them go.  Besides these two ladies, there were three other younger ones, the smallest around four, and he was barefoot.  They all had fun climbing up and some of them were as high as 50-60 feet.  I guess you live or die up here. 

And then we were in Valdez, or actually 22 miles from the city center.  Most of those 22 miles are nothing but wilderness. 

Ok, twenty-two miles later and we were in downtown Valdez.

Valdez (Val-deez) is a small town of approximately 3,800 people.  The gold rush brought attention to the area when a series of stampedes occurred over three decades.  Drawn by dreams of gold, men and women from all walks of life decided to come up to  Alaska and the Yukon.  A company called the Pacific Steam and Whaling Company promoted the route from Prince William Sound through the coastal mountains to the interior.  The company made a fortune by ferrying the gold seekers north and carrying salmon from its nearby canneries south. Using misleading reports this route was promoted as an easy back door to the Klondike gold fields. Some promoters even claimed that gold nuggets lined the banks of the Copper River.

When they arrived at the head of Port Valdez the prospectors found it was not an easy trail.  They had to find a way over the Valdez Glacier hauling a year's worth of supplies.  If they made it across the glacier they had to forge the Klutina River to find out they were still 400 miles from the gold fields.  For many the trip was too difficult and they turned back.  Others suffered from scurvy and frostbite.  Many lost all their supplies in snowstorms or accidents.

In response to the Gold Rush, the Army sent soldiers to Alaska to map the country, maintain order, and locate trails.  When they arrived at the Copper River in 1896 they found destitute prospectors greeting them.  After helping the stampeders, the soldiers built a road and telegraph line to the Yukon River.  In 1900, the Army built Fort Liscum at a better site across from Port Valdez.

The original site of Port Valdez existed from 1898 until 1967.  This was mile "0" of Alaska's first highway, the Richardson Highway, and it was originally built by Army soldiers from Fort Liscum.   The town thrived because of its shipping and transportation routes.  The population of Valdez was 600-700 people in the early 60's.   

In 1964, a massive earthquake struck Alaska and devastated Valdez.  It happened on Good Friday, March 27th, at 5:36 PM.  Lasting 4 minutes and 38 seconds, the magnitude 9.2 earthquake was the most powerful earthquake recorded in North American history and the second most powerful recorded in world history.  Six hundred miles of fault ruptured at once and moved up to 60 feet of stress buildup.  Damage was sustained as far as Anchorage and 200 miles southwest to Kodiak where some areas were permanently raised by 30 feet. Other areas near Portage dropped as much as 8 feet requiring reconstruction and fill to raise the Seward Highway above the new high tide mark. 

There were hundreds of aftershocks in the first weeks following the main shock.  In the first day eleven major aftershocks were recorded with a magnitude greater than 6.0.  Nine more struck in the next three weeks.  In all, thousands of aftershocks occurred in the months following the quake, and smaller aftershocks continued to strike the region for more than a year.

The new post office had just been built in 1962.

Where the port used to be.  The most deaths occurred in this area as the dock platforms gave way taking the buildings and workers into the bay.  In the distance you can see Aleyaska, the terminal point for the Alaska pipeline.  This used to be where Fort Liscum was when it was built in 1900.

Because the earthquake was in the late afternoon, many people were able to get outside and away from the damaged buildings.  The Army Corps of Engineers condemned the town of Valdez but because many of the buildings remained they allowed the inhabitants to live there for two years until a new town was built.  
Approximately 50 buildings were moved by their owners to the new town.

The residents survived flooding waters and many discomforts while their new homes and businesses were being moved or built.  Four miles from the old town of Valdez is the new town which was built on land that had little damage from the earthquake and the Army Corps felt was safe.  

After the new town was built all the remaining structures in the old town were destroyed. So now when you drive to Valdez even though the mile markers say "0" you still need to drive an additional four miles to get into the new Valdez.

The weather was pretty decent the week we were in Valdez so we took a walk around town.  You quickly notice there are many rabbits in the area.  They are feral but pretty tame for the most part.  I am amazed that the wilder critters haven't gotten these little guys. 

One of two eating grass near our RV park.

This little one was near the museum in the heart of town.  Looks like he got caught in the rain.

An old snowplow. 

Fishermen pulling in their lines and getting them ready for the next day.

Lots of local fishermen in their boats fishing in the bay.

While walking around town we came into an area where the commercial boats come in and unload their catch for the day.  There are also several businesses there including canneries with seasonal crews.  The street was filled with people speaking all different languages who were working there and living in dorms for the summer.  With the living quarters there were meal halls and social areas for the workers to relax.  It was quite a city unto itself.  

And then there were the salmon.  We took a drive out towards the hatchery along Valdez Bay to see what it was like.

The salmon were everywhere!

The birds were out in force eating pieces of fish that were dying or dead.

This big boy had easy pickings with all the salmon churning about in the water.

Someone else was also looking for salmon.

We drove further up the road to the hatchery and were amazed at the salmon we saw.  They were everywhere fighting to get upstream to their breeding ground to spawn. The hatchery was quite interesting.  They process pink and silver salmon and this is one of several hatcheries in the state of Alaska.  The process is used to catch the fish, take the eggs from the female and the sperm from the male, mix the two together in buckets and place them in special tanks where they will develop and grow for the next year.  When they are a year old they are released back into Valdez Bay and head out to the ocean where the pink spend a year, the silver spend two years, and then return to this fishery to spawn.  The cycle repeats itself every year.  

There are so many of them, some don't make it and the birds do the rest.  Bears and seals also get their fill.  The metal piece in the front is called a weir.  Once the fish get past it they can't turn around and go further upstream.

In a line fighting to get into the channel which leads into the hatchery where they intend to spawn.

There are thousands and thousands of them.

You can actually reach down into the water and lift a salmon out with your bare hands.

No one is allowed to fish within several hundred feet of the hatchery property so if you pick one up you have to release it.

When the tide goes out along the bay many salmon get trapped and the birds attack.  We thought we might see some bears in this area but they stay further back on the other side of the road where the tide pools come in.  That way they have easy picking and can scoot back into the woods. 


The ladder into the hatchery where the salmon go to spawn begins at tidewater into a weir and directs them to the fish ladder.  The ladder has 29 steps, each slightly higher than the last, with slots designed to allow the fish to pass through while providing pools and eddies of slow-moving water where the fish can rest.  After making the short climb into the outdoor raceways, they gather with others to make the final push into the spawning building. Each day during spawning season the ladder will lift twenty thousand fish into the system for spawning.     

Once in the building the male and female salmon are divided into different processing areas.  The female's belly is cut open and the eggs scraped into a large bucket.  The male salmon goes into another area where workers pick the salmon up and press its stomach thereby milking the sperm from the fish.  Both the male and female salmon are dropped into boxes for further processing or disposal.  We found out the cannery in Valdez takes some of the salmon and makes cat food with it.  The remainder of the salmon that is disposed of is placed back into the bay to become food fish for small underwater creatures which develops into plankton that feeds the next generations of fish.  This method of fisheries enhancement is known as ocean ranching.

As the salmon approach the spawning waters their bodies are preparing to reproduce and to die.  They stop eating and divert energy to eggs and milt.  They change from bright silver, green, and blue colors to dusky purple, green, and magenta. Their jaws become hooked and males grow humped backs and long sharp teeth.  Even their skin changes.  The slime coating that protects them from disease disappears and they reabsorb their scales.  

The hatchery helps new salmon by providing an indoor rearing environment where they are fed and nurtured before being released to complete their last year(s) of life in the ocean.

Even Lucy and Desi tried to get into the act.  On one of our walks we found a stream that had salmon in it that couldn't go much further until the tide water returned.  The pups got in the water because they were fascinated by the fish.  

The salmon were way to fast for them and actually scared the pups a little bit.

While we were in Valdez we took a drive back up to Thompson Pass where part of the Trail of '98 is present.  This represents part of the trail that the original gold miners took trying to find a shorter route to the Yukon.  We took the pups on part of the hiking trail and enjoyed the views.

A section of the trail in front of us.

Lucy sneaking a peak over the edge.

Another day we took the pups on a hike to Valdez Glacier Lake.

Most mornings it was very foggy before the sun finally cut through the clouds. 

How many people can say they had to learn how to kayak around ice floes.

Nap time after a long hike. 

Since we had several days of rain we made a stop at the local museum.  

In 1902, when Valdez was only three years old, the community purchased this fire wagon second-hand.  It was hand-drawn and could pump from a well, creek, or its internal tank filled by a bucket brigade.

This is a 1902 Ahrens Steamer, state of the art for its day, with world records for the highest gallons per minute, greatest water pressure, and shooting streams further and higher than any other make of steamer.  It was purchased after the St Elias Hotel fire of December, 1906, which destroyed several buildings.  The purchase price was $7,800. 

The other interest we had was learning more about the Valdez oil spill which happened in  March 24, 1989.  I didn't realize that the oil spill did not reach or damage the town of Valdez.  What it did do is bring over 10,000 people into the town to help with the disaster.  Scientists, oil executives, workers, reporters, and many others converged on the town as it became the center for cleanup and wildlife rescue.   

The tanker ran aground on Bligh Reef while carrying about 53 million gallons of crude oil. On March 23rd, winds were calm, visibility was four miles with some fog, and some ice from Columbia Glacier in the Sound reported earlier by another tanker.  A licensed coastal pilot was the person who's job it was to steer the course of the tanker as it left the Valdez Marine Terminal carrying 53 million gallons of North Slope crude oil.  The captain of the ship was present on the deck.  The ship was passing Rocky Point when the captain, the pilot, and the third mate boarded a small pilot boat to check out the shipping lane.  The Captain radioed the Coast Guard to inform them he might have to move into the inbound traffic lane to avoid glacier ice if there was no conflicting traffic. 

The captain again notified the Coast Guard at 11:31 PM that he was leaving the outbound shipping lane to avoid icebergs and he adjusted the compass heading twice.  His intent was to skirt the icebergs by heading due south towards Bligh Reef and then return to the normal shipping lanes a few miles later to proceed out of Prince William Sound.  At 11:52 PM the captain turned control of the ship over to the third mate instructing him to start the return to the southbound lane after passing Busby Island Light.  He then left the bridge. The third mate was not certified to pilot the ship north of Bligh Reef.

A lookout twice warned the bridge that the ship's course was incorrect according to visual navigation by the Busby Island Light.  At midnight, the ship took one more turn to correct its course but it was too late.  At 12:04 AM, the Exxon Valdez struck the Bligh Reef puncturing 8 of the ship's 11 tanks and spilling 5.8 million gallons of crude oil in the first three hours.  


Aleyska (owner of the pipeline) was the first responder to the spill but Exxon took over later on the day of the grounding.  Almost immediately confusion and conflict began between the oil industry and multiple government agencies.  One of the problems was that the federal statutes that govern oil spill responses were really garbled.  In other places the Coast Guard was supposed to be in charge. Various federal and state agencies also claimed turf.  And then there was Exxon.

On March 27th, containment of the spill was lost when a storm blowing hurricane force winds over 70 mph began moving the oil out of the Sound and into the Gulf of Alaska.  As the storm raged on, the response was to protect hatcheries and other sensitive areas.  Ultimately, the oil traveled 490 miles from the original grounding site affecting 1,300 miles of coastline. 

The Exxon Valdez was launched with much fanfare in June, 1986.  At the time, it was the largest ship ever built on the U.S. West Coast, and it was the first of two Alaska-class vessels designed for Exxon.  After repairs from the oil spill, the ship was renamed the Exxon Mediterranean, then Sea River Mediterranean and in 2005, simply Mediterranean.  In 2008, Exxon Mobil sold the ship to a Hong Kong based shipping company.  The ship remains in operation today as an ore carrier but is prohibited by law from ever again operating in Prince William Sound.

It took four years to clean up the mess from the oil spill since most of the work had to be completed in summer months.  Scientists are still monitoring the damage that was caused and watching over the wildlife.  Many of the animal species that were destroyed have made a full recovery but there are other species that probably never will.  The scientists are also checking for gene damage to the different species and they see examples of damage to offspring.  But the saddest part is when the scientists use a shovel to dig about a foot down into the ground in the beach areas and they still bring up a sludge like residue that remains of the oil spill.  They don't know if this will ever go away or what affect it is having on the ecological system that lives in the beaches and eventually feeds another level of wild species in the food chain.   

And that is all for Valdez.  It is a nice town but very small.  The main thrust, like most of these towns, is fishing and dealing with the tons of tourists who come to see the sights each summer.  I'm sure the towns will miss the dollars when the tourists leave but they must also be glad to get back to normal and enjoy their rugged, Alaskan lifestyle.  Peace!