Paxson Lake to Valdez

We spent three nights at Paxson Lake to just relax after driving the Denali Highway and to get caught up on the blog since we had good cell service there. We had a couple of good thunder storms roll through while we were here. We both enjoy lazy rainy days, and were glad the rain came after we had finished so many miles on a marginal dirt road.

When we finally left Paxson Lake, we headed for Valdez. The drive to Valdez was beautiful. This is a repeating theme in Alaska as the glacier bearing mountains never cease to awe us. The Keystone Canyon just before Valdez was especially pretty with the gorge cut through enormous rock formations with a river running along side the road and frequent waterfalls along the road.

Just for balance we drove through one of the First Nation towns, half way between Gakona and Gulkana, and saw the run down abject poverty these once proud people now live in. The warning sign that it is against the law to bring alcohol into their town spoke to the dispair of the community. Taking photographs here didn’t seem appropriate.

For us California coast dwellers it was a real physical pleasure to once again see and smell the ocean, as Valdez sits on Prince William Sound. Even the darn seagulls were a welcome sight.

We cruised around town a little and restocked some supplies at the local Safeway. We drove up to the Valdez Glacier and took some photos of bus sized blocks of ice in the water at the base of the glacier. We spent the night at the Glacier View Campground just a few minutes drive from the glacier.

Unfortunately again, the critter count was zip.