August 11, 2015
Shortly after leaving Grand View RV Park, we came upon the Wrangell-St Elias National Park, so we pulled in for a short look
All but the little red truck are from our caravan, ours is the fifth wheel with the tan front
This is a food catch that was used a lot in the frontier to keep the food away from wildlife, especially bears
This is a fish scoop type of operation that the First Nation people used to fish for Salmon. It spun around from the middle scooping the fish up in large numbers. They also used large nets
This is a pictorial view of the glaciers that Phil took a picture of because the mountains were buried in clouds while we were there, couldn't even see the bottom of them!
Being an armature worker in stained glass, I thought this piece was well done.
The architecture of the visitor's center was very interesting, as seen from the inside below.
A World Heritage Site, very high honors indeed!
A collection of different bird eggs, all shapes and sizes
We came around a corner, and as usual, I was looking along the side of the road for wildlife. I almost didn't believe my eyes when I saw this little female standing in the small pond on the side of the road.
I screamed 'MOOSE' and nearly scared Phil to death, but he slammed on the breaks, through the truck into park, grabbed the camera and was out of the truck to take pictures before I could say 'Jack Rabbit'. By the time the others in our group caught up to us, the moose was walking away.
A closer look...and then she walks away
A lot of reflection from inside the truck in this picture, but it's good enough to show the fall colors already happening, on Aug 11th!!
The contrasts between the lighter colored leaves with their fall foliage and the darker ever green trees is really striking!
The drive into Valdez was stunning with all of the glaciers and the waterfalls falling from them. Every turn of the corner brought another stunning view of Mother Nature at her best!
Hard to tell from this picture, but the water fall starts at the very top of the mountain and snakes it's way all the way to the bottom of the mountain!
This falls stair steps it's way down the mountain
We arrive at the Eagle's Rest RV Park in Valdez
This waterfall is directly behind the RV Park, we got to look at it every day we were here. Tough uh???
Our site
Resident bunny rabbits had free run of the entire park. Leash rules on dogs was tightly enforced!
The port of Valdez
Deadliest Catch fans (which we are) will recognize the Cornelia Marie. There were several crab boats in the harbor while we were there. They were meeting the smaller fishing boats farther out and bringing in their catch, mainly just acting as transportation so that the smaller fishing boats could stay out longer to catch their limit.
This is a device used to raise and lower wheel chairs on the ramp to the boats. It was used with one of our members who had suffered from Polio. These ramps can be quite steep as they rise and fall with the tides, without this devise, it takes several guys to get a chair up and down these ramps.
Another Deadliest Catch boat, the Saga
And, of course, we can't forget the Coast Guard ships!!
This is an aerial view of the Columbia Glacier that we will be going to see tomorrow
This is the Salmon Fish Hatchery just outside of Valdez. It was suggested as a place that bears frequent, so we made a couple of trips out here. This is a sort of dead end for the Salmon as they struggle to return to the hatchery where their life began. This stream ends just a little bit beyond this spot at the water fall in the picture below, which is straight from a glacier. The Salmon have to find their way into the opening for the fish ladder, on the far side of the stream, just above the rocks. The fish that don't find the opening of the ladder die of their struggles to get past the barrier, or they become food for the many Sea Lyons at the mouth of the stream, the
Sea Gulls and the bears, that we never saw!!
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