Glennallen to Valdez, Alaska

Thursday we left Tok and headed for Valdez. We didn’t want to drive the

whole way in one day, so after about 140 miles we stopped for the night

near Glennallen at the Dry Creek State Recreation Area. Although the road had been re-surfaced and was pretty good for part of the way, there was still a lot of it that was rough - frost heaves and the roller coaster ride of 30-40 mph. We followed the Wrangell Mountains which were off to the west and saw snow covered Mt. Sanford that was over 16,000 feet! We also saw a moose with a calf - came right out into the road in front of us.

Yesterday (Friday) we drove the Richardson Highway from Glennallen to Valdez. We keep wondering how the scenery can keep getting better. The road was still roller coaster for a lot of the 120 miles, but the slower ride allows more time to “ooh and ahh”! Here’s a couple of pictures just riding down the road.

We stopped at Worthington Glacier State Recreation Area and walked the paved paths to the base of the glacier. One of our “life” birds for this trip is a Mew Gull.






After Worthington Glacier we crossed Thompson Pass at 2675 feet and then descended a 7.5 mile grade down to Keystone Canyon. The canyon floor is at 400-500 feet elevation and the high canyon walls on either side of the road are covered with the most beautiful green vegetation imaginable with waterfalls all along the way. Spectacular!

From the canyon the landscape flattened out through a broad valley all the way into Valdez at sea level. This small town is on the Prince William Sound and we have a campsite right on the water. Across the inlet is the terminating point of the Trans Alaska Pipeline and the back drop is more of the beautiful snow covered mountains. A really beautiful place - we’re going to be here several days.


Our campsite

The view out our back window