Chicken Alaska and on to Valdez

Our first stop in Alaska was a day trip visit to Chicken. As you can see the temperature was quite pleasant. Chicken was one of the old gold mining towns and now it is a tourist stop for a quick glimpse of what one of these boom towns looked like back in 1898. All that remains is the original mine dredging equipment and a few old buildings; a gift shop, a bar and a cafe which serves pretty good food. You can buy any kind of souvenir you want that has a chicken theme. And some that you don't want!







The flowers in the picture below are a another example of the beauty of Alaska, they are wild and grow along all the roads. These are mini lupine.










After staying in Tok for a few days getting some credit card problems solved, we took off to go from the interior to the coast of Alaska. On the way, we stopped at Wrangell-St Elias National Park and Worthington Glacier. It is the closest glacier that you can get to by road.

Our destination was Valdez and on our way we crossed through Thompson Pass, the highest and most difficult pass that the Alaskan pipeline had to go over. As we came down the from the pass we passed by beautiful Bridal Veil Falls.

The small boat harbor in Valdez is very picturesque. All around are mountain peaks. Across the harbor is the pipeline terminal where the big tankers fill. And yes, there are museum displays about the Exxon Valdez. But, taking up more interest and space are the displays, movies, and information about the earthquake of Good Friday in 1964. The old town was built where it was convenient for the early gold rush climb up the Valdez Glacier. But that was very unstable land. When the land shifted, the dock was lost, and the resulting tides flooded parts of the town. A new town was completely rebuilt on land down the harbor on bedrock. When we first saw the town, it has an odd look to it. Many of the homes are identical, the town is very spread out, and has almost a temporary look to it. But, it has a very attractive library, civic center and schools. When you find out about the history of moving the town and even some of the houses and building, it makes more sense.

We are going to stay here for a day or two and check out one of the wildlife cruises.

Sue and Jim