Summer Adventure 2018 Days 48-54

The summer adventure has been slow and easy this week. We spent the week in Valdez at Bear Paw RV Park right on Harbor Dr. Valdez is a small town and we are right in the heart of it. The only places we drove to all week were Thompson Pass, Keystone Canyon to the fish hatchery on the other side of the bay.

Bridal Veil Falls

Horsetail Falls

We ate at some of the popular eateries like the Fat Mermaid for good pizza and again for breakfast one morning; Old Town Burgers for yes you guessed it - delicious burgers; Fu Kung Chinese cuisine and Sweet Cheeks Bakery, a tiny Air Stream trailer with a walk-up window to order a scrumptious cinnamon roll right here at the RV park.

This one came to visit at Bear Paw.

We would stroll along the harbor every afternoon to the fish cleaning station to see which captain brought in the biggest haul for the day. There were dozens of halibut weighing around 70 lbs. the one for the season is 226 lbs. A 149 lb halibut was the largest caught all week until yesterday when a very happy young man brought in one weighing 164 lbs and taking 3rd place in the Valdez Halibut Derby. The fish are put into a large wheelbarrow from the boat, if they are large ones they are weighed on the official scale on the lower dock then wheeled to the top level where the entire catch is hung for photos with the fishermen. After that the fish cutters, who the captain called as they were coming in to let them know when they would arrive, went to work making filets out of those fish. In less than 10 minutes they can have one of those giant halibut cut into filets and on the way across the street, to the fish packer. It isn't glamorous, but it draws a large crowd daily. Everyone in town knows about the derby.

The biggest halibut is 164 lbs.

The captain helping with filleting the halibut.

A wheelbarrow of  filets.

The fish hatchery is at the other side of the bay and we drove over there daily to check to see if the salmon had arrived hoping to see they had and the bears catching them. Everyday we were disappointed to see no salmon or bears. The eagles had been scarce this week until today. We saw 7 this morning as we went to check on the salmon, so we were happy with that to end the week.

Throughout the week we went out exploring a bit at Thompson Pass, Worthington Glacier, a stop at Keystone Canyon to photograph the Bridal Veil and Horsetail Falls and the abandoned tunnel that was dug by hand but never finished because of a feud. And there was a short little hike to a lookout over Valdez. We visited both museums and went to the site of Old Valdez. Valdez was moved after the Good Friday Earthquake in 1964.

Bill is checking out this chunk of ice from Valdez Glacier.

Can you see Bill? A tiny black speck in the lower left corner.

There isn't one thing polished or sophisticated about Valdez, but it is a very friendly place where you quickly feel comfortable and everyone we met loves Alaska and is proud to call Valdez home.

This seal caught a fish. Maybe they are coming to Valdez.