Thursday, June 27, 2013

Day 24 Glennallen, AK to Valdez, AK

Day 24 was a very beautiful drive to Valdez, AK.  We all remember Valdez because of the big oil spill that occurred here, but it is all cleaned up and we could see no signs of it.  South out of Glennallen, AK we continued driving through a broad wooded valley.  The Wrangell Mountains were to the East, and they were very impressive.

The road started to climb and we approached a large mountain with Worthington Glacier coming down it’s side.  Stopped and took several pictures and then continued on up to Thompson pass at 2700 feet.  The area around the pass receives over 900 inches of snow each winter and is closed for a lot of the winter.

After Thompson Pass we started down the hill into Valdez, and did we ever go down the hill.  Check out the graph on Basecamp to see how steep and long the downhill grade was.   All I can think about tonight, is I have to drive back up that grade tomorrow to get out of here.  I told Mom and Day they may need to get out and push.

Near Valdez, we went through Keystone Canyon and saw some great waterfalls.  They were right next to the road.  In Valdez, all the campgrounds are the parking lot variety, but the views were incredible.  This area gets 495 inches of snow each winter.  Mom does not want to spend the winter here.


There was a good Safeway store in town and the prices were not too bad, so we stocked up on food and beverages before heading back north and into Canada.

Click here to see Day 24 route and pictures.


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