July 27th, 2018
This morning it was constantly raining, so when I finally got up I made my usual breakfast from the back of the truck. Great set up, as the tarp kept me and all my truck cooking utensils dry.
I made my way around town to see if there was any wildlife out and then headed to the Information Center. After sitting for about 25 minutes, Lesley came over and told me that she just got a phone call from the salmon hatchery and they are opening the gate to allow the salmon up their ladder. I headed over there right away.
It was quite an amazing site to see … so many salmon! They were literally climbing over each other. I got there at the right time as they were just opening the fish ladder.
I walked around the side and noticed between 3 and 6 sea lions coming in for a smorgasborg. They would slowly glide in and the salmon were so thick that they could not get away fast enough. Almost every time the sea lions came up with a fish. It was quite entertaining and I was there for quite some time. What a site!
Eventually, I made my way out and decided to visit some of the sites along the highway up to 15 miles outside of Valdez. I drove by this one calm swampy area and there as a trumpeter swan there! It made for some beautiful shots.
I continued up the main highway and stopped at Horsetail Falls … amazing.
Just around the bend on the highway was Bridal Veil Falls … just beautiful.
Again, a short distance up the highway was part of a tunnel that was built for the railway. Apparently, there was a gunfight that occurred here and the tunnel was never completed.
A little further up the road was another pull-off that indicated where the old packing trail of 1896 and was approximately 200 feet above the river and also the original road that was first built through this canyon.
For such a short distance there was quite a great deal to see. Before I knew it, the day was done.