Days 28 & 29:Valdez

Day 28
Monday, July 17, 2017
With an average of 70 inches of rain and 25 feet of snow per year and an average July temperature of 55 degrees, Jay and I do not plan to move to Valdez anytime soon. Although the forecast was for rain today, thankfully, it did not materialize.

Late morning we drove a few miles to Solomon Gulch Hatchery. We had been told that the salmon were spawning there. When we arrived, sure enough, the waters bordering the hatchery were packed with salmon. After viewing the salmon for a while, we took a self-guided walking tour. The goal of the hatchery, a not-for-profit organization, is to raise more salmon for local fishermen. The hatchery practices a process called ocean ranching. Salmon return to the hatchery spawning building using a fish ladder. The staff tends to the eggs through various stages, ultimately releasing the young

salmon (smolt) to the open sea. Then the adults return to the hatchery the following summer to spawn, starting the cycle all over again. The salmon we saw were pink salmon, since they return to spawn in July. The hatchery also spawns coho salmon, but they return in September.
We walked to a second pool where the salmon were located and watched three sea lions as they dove under the water to catch the salmon.

We got back in the car and drove less than half a mile when we spotted a grizzly bear! He was eating grass just on the other side of a pond. Sandy was with us and she started growling when she saw the bear. I tossed her treats every once in a while to keep her quiet. We watched the bear for at least 10 minutes. He looked very cute and powerful at the same time.

Next we took Sandy on a short hike on the Dock Point Trail on a peninsula right in the harbor. Valdez is in a temperate rain forest, so the vegetation along the hike looked like something you would see in Hawaii or during the Jurassic period. The fireweed was about 4 feet high, much taller than we had seen elsewhere. We also saw skunk cabbage with giant leaves and cow parsnip (the flowers look like clusters of queen Ann’s lace) about 5 feet tall. There were also patches of ripe salmonberries.

After a late lunch it was chore time. At $1.50 per load of laundry and the same to dry, the cheapest I’ve seen so far, I spent the rest of the afternoon doing four loads of laundry. Jay took advantage of the fact that the rv park allows washing of vehicles (which is VERY unusual) and washed both the car and rv. They were beyond filthy.

Day 29
Tuesday, July 18, 2017

It was chilly and foggy when we started our day cruise of Prince William Sound at 11.00 am. The forecast was for rain and a high of 49 degrees, (brrrrrr) so we wore layers to stay warm. (Today, the weatherman was right on target.) We had a really good view from our window seats on the top deck of the boat right behind the captain’s wheel. So, we mostly went outside only when the boat slowed down for specific sightings.

The cruise started at the port of Valdez and traveled through the Valdez Arm and Columbia Bay before turning back to port at Point Bull Head. Shortly before entering the Valdez Arm, the captain pointed out two bald eagles perched atop two trees, not far from each other. Next, the boat slowed down to see what the captain referred to as “rafts of sea otters” Each “raft” was made up of about 10 or so sea otters floated together on their backs. Jay and I had never seen anything like it. They looked so cute just floating along and slowly paddling with their back paws. We saw several of these rafts on the trip.

As the boat made the turn toward Columbia Bay, we started to see quite a few ice bergs. The captain explained that we were floating over the terminal moraine of the Columbia Glacier and that these ice bergs were literally stuck in the debris of the moraine. (He later explained that a terminal moraine is an accumulation of debris occurring at the edge of a glacier, marking its maximum advance.)

The highlight of the cruise was seeing the Columbia Glacier. The captain was able to maneuver the boat around the icebergs and get within ¼ mile of the glacier’s edge. The tidewater glacier is 32 miles long. At the edge, its height ranges between 200 to 300 feet high at various points and is 4 miles wide. It has been in retreat since the 1980s. Because it was a cloudy day, the blue hues of the glacier were quite visible and we got some great photos.

At Point Bull Head, the boat turned into a harbor where the beaches were full of Stellar Sea Lions “sunning themselves” ( but there was no sun).

The last sighting was unexpected, a cloud of jellyfish in the open water. The captain said they were moon jellies. Quite unusual.

Although orcas and humpback whales can be seen in the sound, we didn’t see any today. Nonetheless, it was a good day.