Barb's Photos: Valdez 07 26 25 thru 08 01 2013

Valdez is 304 miles from Anchorage. It is situated in a majestic valley at the base of the 5,000 foot tall Chugach Mountain rising from Prince William Sound, Valdez is often called Alaska’s “little Switzerland.” Valdez is well known for the starting place for the miner during the gold rush in 1897-98. Gold seekers bound for the Klondike goldfields starting at the Valdez Glacier. The glacier was where the early stampedes faced dangerous crevasses, snow blindness and exhaustion. In 1964 Valdez was located 4 miles east of its present location and closer to the Valdez Glacier, but, the Good Friday earthquake, the most destructive earthquake ever to hit south-central Alaska, virtually destroyed Valdez. The quake measured 9.2 on the Richter scale and was centered in Prince William Sound. A series of local waves caused by massive underwater landslides swept over and engulfed the Valdez wharf, taking 33 people with it. The Army Corps of Engineers determined the town should be relocated. By late August 1964, relocation was under way.

Valdez Glacier Park is a very nice place to start a hike, sit by a campfire or just listen to the water flow. The glacier was all the way into this valley and at the beginning of the lake during the time of the gold rush, but with the climate warming up it is impossible to slow down the decreasing of the glacier. This glacier route was promoted, by the business men, as the “back door” to the gold field. But this route was nothing but hardship and disappointment.

This was the original beginning of the town of Valdez.

This was the beginning of Mile 0 of the first Alaska Highway – The Richardson Highway. The highway was originally built by US soldiers in 1899. The highway is the reason the town existed during the 1950’s and 1960’s. The steamship would off load crates and containers for the waiting truck. The trucks were bound for military bases, communities, roadside lodges and numerous stops in between.

Old pic of the canner, a bar on the pier and the downtown area.

The Post Office site before the quake.

A waterfall coming down the mountain to the first of two visitor centers.

The base of the waterfall.

A small pond that is at the base of the falls. There is a camera in the water that allows you to view the big salmon coming into lay their eggs and then the small fish before they go back out to see.

The Whispering Giants is 30 ft tall and 10 ft wide, make of Sitka Spruce and weighs 85,000 lbs. It was done by Peter Toth to honor the American Indian. His work is displayed in all 50 states.

Abandon Ship” The lift boat #4 in the following picture was the only thing that stood between life and death for 12 hours on October 5, 1980 for up to 80 persons adrift in the treacherous water of the Gulf of Alaska. Their ship M/S Prinsendam had a fire that started in the engine room. There were 329 passengers and 190 crew members. All passengers and crew members were rescued by the US Coast Guard.

This life boat was powered by pushing and pulling on levers in the boat that would be transferred through a transmission to turn the propeller. This was done by 16 persons.

Lift boat #4.

The levers used to power the boat.

This is boat is called “The Perry”. It was built in 1939 by Fred Lambert and was docked in Cordova and survived the Good Friday Earthquake and then was call to help clean up the Exxon Valdez oil spill.

This pic shows a pig (a device sent through the pipe for cleaning the inside of the pipe). There is evidence of the pipe line all over Alaska.

A very big display of the fish, a salmon, that help to put the town on the map in the summer months.

A painting on the side of a building showing all the wonderful things about the town.

This monument was dedicated to the soldiers that build the road thru Keystone Canyon and over Thompson Pass to avoid the Valdez Glacier.

This is a pick-up truck with a camper called “Serendipity”. Never could get a side view, but it did look unique.

This sign at the fish hatchery said ” That the siren will sound an alarm should the dam, which is 600 feet above you on the hill side behind the sign, should have a failure”. There is really only one way to go – to the water. There is a road that goes along the mountain, but this is also wherethe water will travel. I figured that the only thing to do if the siren should sound is kiss your a?? goodbye.

The stream coming down the mountain at the fish hatchery.

Showing low tide by the fish hatchery.

Pic of Prince William Sound from around the fish hatchery

Oil terminal.

Pic, taken from Jim boat , of Prince William Sound .

Pic of the road thru Keystone Canyon that were not taken from a moving car.

Neat fall in the canyon

Other neat fall in the canyon

Bridal Veil Falls

This is part of the 4 mile canyon that was built with saws, axes, picks, shovels and sledge hammers and only took 35 days.

The next few pic are of an old railroad tunnel that was hand cut into the solid rock by the 9 mining companies that fought to take advantage of the shorter route. A gun battle was fought and the tunnel was never finished.