7/13/19 - Day 15 - Valdez

When I was ten, my parents and I drove up the Alcan. Along with miles and miles of washboard
gravel road, I have two strong memories. One memory is from Denali National Park (It was Mt McKinley then). We saw a herd of cariboo that covered much of the wide valley floor. There was  a mass of movement as the cariboo herd forded the river. The second memory is of Valdez. I remembered a highway with rugged mountains that encircled a pretty bay with a tiny town along its shore. We saw stacks and stacks of huge pipes along the back side of the town. Those were for the Alaska pipeline. I have always wanted to return to see if those memories were accurate.

We drove through the Chugach Mountain range today to reach Valdez. The pass through the mountains was similar to our Snoqualmie Pass, however the Keyhole canyon on the south side was narrow and winding. We didn't find the vantage point I remember seeing the town from, and it is much bigger than I remember (50 years will do that!), however there are huge mountains that encircle the turquoise bay, although today they were shrouded in clouds. However, we noted that the mountains' steep sides go almost straight into Valdez bay. In addition to the pipeline, there is a busy harbor for both commercial and sport fishing, along with cruise ships.
Kayhole Canyon, Horsetail Falls

Tomorrow we head out on the water for some glacier and sealife viewing.

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