RV ALASKA - High Spirits (and Expectations!) on the Way to Valdez

I can’t say that I was sorry to see the K’seugi Ken Campground in Denali State Park in our rearview mirror.  Maybe with a different set of circumstances and different weather patterns our visit would have been more enjoyable. It was with no small amount of anticipation for a better experience in Valdez that we packed up and headed south on the Parks Highway.

Valdez was always a possibility in the back of my mind, but it wasn’t a line item on our itinerary.  Other destinations in Alaska held a higher priority, but we were hoping to squeeze in some time in this port city at some point during our weeks in Alaska.  In retrospect, swapping several days in Valdez for our now useless reservations in Denali National Park turned out to be an excellent idea; Valdez was the salve that healed our wounds.

Alan and I had developed a fondness for the Palmer-Wasilla area of the Mat-Su Valley on our earlier pass through.  There aren’t many major roadways in Alaska, and the valley was perfect for transitioning from one area of the state to another due to its central location.  Plus, travelers’ services were abundant.  On our way to Valdez, we stopped at the Walmart in Wasilla to reprovision, then followed the Glenn Highway east to the Richardson and turned south on it toward Valdez.

We expected to see some wildlife in our travels that day, but didn’t.  What we did see, however, was pretty darn impressive.  We passed the main Visitor Center for Wrangell-St. Elias National Park, and could see the Park’s majestic mountains off to the east.  We also passed the Worthington Glacier which can be seen briefly from the highway.  We planned stops at both for our return trip.

Also along the way, we were able to catch quick glimpses of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline, the 800 mile system of pipes that carries oil from Prudhoe Bay to the port of Valdez.  More than half of the pipeline runs above ground to prevent the hot oil flowing through the line from melting the permafrost upon which much of the pipeline system was built.  Alan and I had gotten up close and personal to the pipeline on one of our previous visits to Alaska, so were weren’t concerned with finding a good access point from which to view it on this trip.

After traveling up and over Thompson Pass, we began our descent toward Valdez through Keystone Canyon.  O.M.G!  (Our kids will tell you that I don’t use “OMG” often.  In fact, I use it so infrequently that, when I do, one of them will point it out to the other.)  Keystone Canyon was deep and exceptionally dark on this drizzly day.  The canyon contained an abundance of waterfalls from thin, steady ribbons of water to the gushing gallons of its crown jewel – Bridal Veil Falls.  The 600’ falls, which were flowing at an incredible speed and with an incredible force, tumble into the Lowe River running right alongside the Richardson Highway.  They are the tallest roadside waterfalls in Alaska and very popular with ice climbers during the winter months.  I could show you a hundred photos and a thousand videos, and they still couldn’t convey the sense of awe and wonder we felt standing beneath all of that water cascading so freely down the high walls of Keystone Canyon.  Just around the bend from Bridal Veil Falls, we came upon Horsetail Falls.  At 328’, these falls are quite a bit smaller, but still spectacular and charming.

We pulled into the Valdez KOA around 7 o’clock in the evening and were delighted with the location.  About five miles or so outside of town, it’s in a small valley and surrounded by mountains.  This KOA advertises 360 degree views – and it delivers.  After a warm welcome at check-in, Alan and I tucked ourselves into our site and hit the hay, looking forward to exploring the port city of Valdez the next day.

Date(s) – July 6^th

Total Miles Traveled to Date – 9,399

Wildlife Sightings to Date – One cow moose; 1 grizzly sow with 2 cubs; 1 back end of a grizzly bear, 6 black bears; 1 snowshoe hare; 3 rabbits (including one very fast bunny that just managed to cross the road safely); several small herds of bison with at least 2 dozen young calves; 9 deer (2 of them bucks with their racks covered in velvet); 9 mountain goats (including 3 tiny and adorable kids); 23 bighorn sheep; 62 elk (including 7 calves that hadn’t yet lost their spots and a number of bull elk with full racks covered in velvet); several small herds of pronghorn antelope (including 2 mamas with 3 newborn fawns between them); 7 eagles (including 2 fledglings); 3 great blue herons; dozens of American white pelicans; at least a half dozen families of adult geese with goslings; and several dozen ducks (with lots of little ducklings).

Highlight(s) – Honestly, leaving the Denali area and moving on to something new (and hopefully more exciting) felt great, like a huge weight (and wait) had been lifted off our shoulders.  Beyond that, traveling through Keystone Canyon and taking delight in its many waterfalls was an amazing experience.

Lowlight(s) – Really, the only lowlight of the day was our gas fill up at the Hub of Alaska Tesoro station at the intersection of the Glenn and Richardson Highways.  For whatever reason, the pumps were acting very strangely, pumping gas at the s-l-o-w-e-s-t rate we had ever experienced in our entire lives.  The guy at the pump next to us had no problem, but when the couple from Texas towing an Airstream pulled up to use his pump because the one behind it was so slow, the fast pumped dropped down to glacial speed.  At one point, Alan stopped our pump and started it again – at which point it started pumping at a regular speed.  I told you it was strange.  We (eventually) filled our tank, and that 30 minute gas stop was the only lowlight of the day.

Campground(s) – I really liked the KOA in Valdez, not only for its scenic location, but also because I thought it was well-managed.  We had received a welcome text on the day of our arrival, and another text went out to all campers at one point during our stay.  That one advised us that the dumpster near the bathhouse was full, and asked us to please use the dumpster near the exit instead to prevent the trash from overflowing and attracting bears.  The three times I stopped in the office, the folks on duty were friendly, welcoming and happy to help.  Alan and I considered the sites tight, and we did have difficulty parking the truck so that it was within our site.  Because we’ve used private RV parks on this trip more than we ever do, I’m starting to wonder if the tight spacing is more “normal” than we think it is.  Maybe we’re just missing the extra space and privacy public campgrounds, like our state and national parks, allow.  Getting used to the lack of space and privacy we’ve experienced on this trip is the biggest adjustment we’ve had to deal with.  We’re making the best of it though, and we really enjoyed our stay at the Valdez KOA.  Because the decision to move to Valdez was a last minute one, I grabbed the available site at the KOA because we knew what to expect and our KOA Rewards account would allow a 10% discount.  You know Alan and I love our waterfront sites and, under other circumstances, I might have looked closer at the RV parks in town that were on or near the water.  Looking back on our decision to stay at the KOA, we realized it had been a good one.  We gave up water views, but had a quiet place outside of town in a wonderfully scenic setting.  I’d return to the Valdez KOA in a heartbeat, booking a pull-thru site to give us a little more breathing room.

Pic(s) of the Day

Spectacular scenery on the way to Valdez

The Trans-Alaska Pipeline as viewed from the Richardson Highway

Keystone Canyon

Bridal Veil Falls

Horsetail Falls

The entrance to the Valdez KOA

Our truck is parked in the next site over, and that's our neighbor's picnic table on the right.

Bonus Pic

Remember those frost heaves I mentioned in a previous post?  You can see them in the photo below.  Note the squiggly white lines at the right and left, as well as the squiggly double yellow lines.  They call your attention to the dips and swells in the road.

Up Next – We had so much fun in Valdez that we ended up extending our stay by another night!  This port city isn’t huge (population: 3,865), but it proved to be right up our alley.