TRIP DAY – 28, 29
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DAILY
MILES - 0 - 0
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TOTAL
MILES – 4,657
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7/12 – Yesterday we spent the
day with Captain Fred and crew on the Lu-Lu Belle cruising the Prince William
Sound here in Valdez, Alaska. The Lu-Lu
Belle is an amazing yacht, with her plush atmosphere of teak, mahogany and
oriental rugs. Our group was out for
over eight hours and sailed through icebergs to within a mile of the Columbia
Glacier face, over 350 feet high at the water’s edge. Also along the way we saw Stellar sea lions,
otters, bald eagles, puffins and one whale. This will be hard to beat as a trip
highlight.
7/13 –Today we visited the
Maxine and Jesse Whitney Museum which has a collection of Native art and
artifacts. It was our favorite museum
thus far. On the previous day we visited the Valdez Museum
of Local History which was very informative.
Valdez was a part of the Gold Rush era and is remembered more recently for
the 8.6 magnitude 1964 earthquake; being the 1973 Trans-Alaska Pipeline
terminus; and the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill.
The current population is around 4,000 and is mainly employed in the oil
industry, tourism, or fishing and shipping.
The people here are unbelievably
helpful and friendly. Today, while out
biking along the pier we were approached by a fellow who asked where we were
from and if we had tried any red salmon. When we replied we hadn’t, he went to
his truck and brought us back a frozen vacuum pack of fillets he had caught and
just picked up from the processing plant.
This was no small gift as the local value for such an amount is well
over $30.00 retail. He refused to take
any payment and just said to “enjoy”. I now
know why I’ve always wanted to come here – the people.
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| The Columbia Glacier is 350 feet high at the water's edge. |
Tomorrow we are headed north west to
Palmer and then down to Seward. It may
be a while before I’ll have a connection, but I’ll catch you up . . . .
