Tuesday, July 4 I knew that Tom woke up at 5:00 this morning, and I was glad that when he left the trailer he stayed gone another hour. Even then, 6:00 was appallingly early to have to get up when he returned – until I looked out and saw sunshine. This prompted an early morning walk down to the harbor. Turning away from the harbor we ventured off in the truck – Tom had seen a name on the map that got his imagination going – Mineral Creek Canyon. We couldn’t find anything written in Mileposts, so I respectfully submit my own narration. On the North edge of town, past a residential neighborhood of well-to-do-homes, a dirt/gravel, potholed, road plows north into the wilderness. The visual lure is the mixed-green (emerald, lime, olive, jade, bottle) mountains and the fact that you are heading directly into . . . nothing. Tom, who has never been called on to use the 4-wheel-drive feature on his truck, shifted enthusiastically. For the next hour (7 miles) we bounced along the road, enjoying the views of the mountains and the water that was falling (and in some places leaping) down the mountain-sides. At one point where an old bridge was washed out, the road resorted to the stream-bed. Back on the main road, and it still wasn’t 9:00, we headed back to the harbor area to climb the Outlook Trail – wanting to be sure to see it while there was sunshine! We had a good view of not only the harbor and the mountains, but the business and residential neighborhoods. We dropped back by the Silvermine and packed a lunch, and headed for another trail at the end of the Harbor parking lot. The Dock Point Trail was rated as easy – but the first 1/8 mile was a killer! They must have not thought it was necessary to put in the customary log-cut stair-steps and the climb was very steep. But once up that hill, the trail was nice with boardwalks leading to two overlook viewing platforms. We stopped at the second overlook and got out our lunch and enjoyed the view. Our next jaunt was by truck – back out the Richardson Highway (that brought us into Valdez) to the Dayville Road -- a 5-mile road that loops around to the other side of the Valdez harbor. It stops abruptly with heavily restricted access at the point that the pipline ends and the oil is loaded onto the tanker ships. From that point we could see Valdez across the harbor, and had a view of the Valdez Glacier. The Bear Paw RV Park is a rarity in that it allows you to wash your vehicles right at your campsite! Tom bit on that and gave the Airstream a good wash. Meanwhile, Charlie Button was a mess from all of the hiking, and I dropped her in the sink for a good wash. After feeling successful with those chores, we walked the 5 blocks from our campsite to the location of the 4th of July festival. There were a few food tents and a few booths that had hand-made items (and some garage-sale items) for sale. One lady had an outstanding truck, and her specialty was making large satchel-type bags from carpets! It was a real small-town USA celebration! Earlier in the day, Tom commented that today was our only full day in Valdez; I think we did it justice. The only things left on the menu for the evening is . . . shrimp! We have found that we much prefer buying our seafood and cooking it ourselves than eating in a restaurant. Tomorrow is a special treat – an 8-hour glacier/wildlife cruise on Valdez’s most luxurious yacht the Lu-Lu Belle!
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October 2021
We don’t go camping any more . . . we go ‘streamin’ ! The “SIlvermine and His” is our 2018 25' Airstream Serenity with Salsa interior and front twin beds., and ‘streamin’ is the name we use to describe our adventures. Stream along as we document everything from weekend trips to longer summer excursions and full-blown vacations. You know what they say: if you’re not in an Airstream – you’re just camping!
Tom & Ella Brown |