Dear Diary,
We slept in and awoke to full sun, cloudless sky, all peaks revealed, clear into the Sound and into the Pass. Even the stubborn wall of peaks behind the town that rarely lose their cloud are clear. Called for rain all weekend. We could come here every year and never have this day. When we lived here Valdez was always so far away and mostly rainy. So we didn't go. So, we know what we have today. The small harbor is getting busy. A boat with kayaks goes by heading out to Columbia Glacier. Pat is feeling better but not 100%. The small tanker off our shore is getting filled up. It is very low in the water now. Apparently this is at least a 48 hour job. A large oil tanker has docked to fill across at the pipeline terminus, that's a long process as well. We can hear lots of sea birds and eagles. But no sign of the mating death spiral by the eagles. Pictures and words can't capture this. We know this is something special so we prepare to go out for the day. There is an airport on the far end of the Arm, small landing strip ringed by close-in high peaks. We see a small jet come in to land. There is no opportunity for a circling descent. The pilot aims down and lands, same in reverse for take-off. It must be a hairy experience. There are small bush planes and float planes in the area as well. Aside: got a text from Bren, Cousin Sarah and her friends left on Thursday and had a great time, Laura and Dave Flarerty from Tennessee just arrived. Laura and Brenna went to school and church together in Hudson. We will get to see Laura and Dave a little before they leave. We take off with our new REI walking sticks, a gift from Bren, and head off for Mineral Creek Trail. We had to walk a long way through to the western edge of town for the trail head. We follow this pretty glacial creek paralleling a neighborhood. This is a high use trail for locals, snowmobiles, ATV's and Nordic skiing. It's smooth and flat with large stones so we can't take our eyes off the trail for long. We are in Cottonwood, Poplar and Alder forest. Alder have a sweet smell, if you can smell sweet. It's very recognizable once your know it. The ground is lush with growth. Horsetail, burdock, fireweed foliage, fiddlehead ferns, devil club, and a small star shaped pink rose that must be some species of primrose. And there is a large leaf plant that looks like the lily family. The fiddleheads are just unfurling, so they have tight caps not yet opened. They are a delicacy when sauteed by chefs. There is a feast here! We have to cross the creek on a one lane bridge. We meet ATV's a couple of hikers and some trucks. There is an old stamp mine at the end of the 12 mile trail. But there is active individual gold mining claims back here as well. So while we have times of seeing no one, there is the occasional meeting. The valley is beautiful and lush. Steep mountain sides with waterfalls everywhere. It is 65-70 degrees and we are quickly too warm for our layers. We start to undress and between our dark colors and sweat the mosquitoes start to attack. Chuck has at least 50 on his back at once. We have to put back on the warm clothes for protection. We packed drink, check, toilet paper, check, Pat's trainers, check, Pat's wind jacket, check, Ibuprofen, check, Purell, check, Forgot the mosquito dope! We are thinking about whether or not to endure and then we come across fresh bear scat in the road. And we forgot the bear whistle. We decided it's not worth it and we did meet our goal of seeing something new and found it lovely. Now to return. Pat is whistling through her teeth constantly to let the bears know we're there. Chuck spots an eagle on its nest in a Cottonwood tree near the river. We are able to walk in pretty close to take a picture but still too far for detail. It is a treat to see this. Of course Pat's whistling up a storm and we're watching the underbrush. What we do for eagles! A local tells us they are not nesting as much as in past. We ask why no sign of moose, they would love this smorgasbord of plants. Local tells us there is too high a bear population for this enclosed area and moose can't survive. Not sure if that's the reason but moose are conspicuous by their absence. We retrace our steps and decide to take the neighborhood streets back to town. This neighborhood is very beautiful and relatively new homes. Some with incredible views. They are built very near the schools. These homes are not apparent to the average visitor because they are off the main drag. Valdez is flat with broad streets and easy to walk. It's a working town with all kinds of businesses coinciding with the tourists when they are in town. We find it a very pleasant place. We walk over to Prince William Sound Community College. They have a very nice totem there. The Whitney Museum is also here. We love this museum. It is the most eclectic collection under one roof we have ever seen. Maxine and Jesse Whitney traveled all over Alaska trading and buying and selling native art and craft in the 40's. Their personal collection is the basis for this museum. Artifacts, fossils, all of nature's materials represented. Some of the best masks, beading on hide, ivory and parkas anywhere. And some very different designs. They also have one of the best taxidermy collections anywhere. They have a little gift shop with a few nice things. A couple movies play, Eating Alaska and a film documenting the rise and fall of tides. We walk over to the sculptor Peter Toth's 'Whispering Giants'. Large (50-75ft) sculpture of a native chief done using a tree. He has installed these all over the world. We have one located in West Akron/Fairlawn area. This one is located near the near CC dorms, renovated last year. Very nice. We stop at the visitor center and then to the Valdez Museum next door. Their museums here are all well done and of high quality. We stop off to check the gift shop. Buy a caribou, beaver, and carved cottonwood face native made ornament. They are selling handmade Sac-eyes. They're very nice plastic bag storage shaped as salmon in fun materials and embroidery. We bought one last year. We pass through a few more gift shops including the very odd Sugar and Spice store. A kind of dept store that sells odds and ends and consignment, an ongoing yard sale.
Finally we head for lunch. There are special days and special meals. This day and our lunch at the Harbor Cafe are just that. A young couple started this place 2 years ago when Brenna and I were here. The lady gave us t-shirts. Their business is thriving. It's family owned with a tiny indoor dining area and outdoor deck and picnic tables on the grounds. Everything is homemade. So we're sitting in the sun looking over the harbor and the incredible mountain landscape. Not a cloud in the sky. They're playing Sirius, John Mayer, Dave Mathews acoustic and Paul McCartney singing Yesterday with acoustic. Pat's guacamole burger is handmade, slaw made with cream and horseradish. Chuck's halibut sandwich has grated carrots on it as one of the ingredients and he loves it. They make a curry pepper dip for their fries. To finish off we share a homemade carrot cake. Pat thinks it's her blue ribbon recipe. Carrots, raisins, walnuts, crushed pineapple, orange zest, toasted coconut, and hot buttermilk glaze. The lady chef's version, cake is cut into rounds, cream cheese frosting layer, then another round on top with real whipped cream and toasted coconut. It was so good that Chuck forgot he hates coconut. We stroll by the harbor and head for the Dock Point Trail. We have attempted this trail in the past but were always warned about bears. We do it anyway. The trail follows the duck flats and area of sloughs. We climb the hill and find some nice viewing decks in the woods. Very peaceful. The sign says we are in a Borreal rain forest and it looks it. There are nice Arm views and views of the town and harbor below. Pat does a quick tour of the Best Western gift shop, they have none so that's a zero. Chuck gets firewood and we return to camp. We figure we have hiked about 10 miles today. Sitting in the sun watching the day and the busy harbor. Talk with Seth for a while. Things were wet and now they're hot and wet. They are having brown-outs. Things are going well at our house, no damage from the big storm. Seth biking the United Way fundraiser. Hope the weather is good. The owners have flowers out. They have giant fuchsias and what looks like hibiscus. They have their blue and white lobelia baskets hanging. Everything is clean and extra attention. Note to self: If we ever come back here ask for slot #12. Our village service fuel tanker has finally taken off. The tank is a barge and a large kind of tug boat is attached at the back and it pushes the fuel barge out into Arm toward Prince William Sound. The fire is growing low, the fading light makes the mountains pink. We will not get a lot of dark tonight but the sunset is awesome. We are heading for Eagle River outside Anchorage tomorrow about 250-300 miles. We will be off Internet for May 31 and June 1as it is a state campground with no access. We end the RV adventure on June 2 when we turn in the RV that has been our home for the past 18 days. We talk with Brenna tonight and can't believe that we will be seeing her soon. Travel Time: 0, Mileage: 0 Night.
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