As we began packing up our luggage for our last day in Alaska I am thinking of things that I forgot to tell you about like paying $5,20 per gallon for fill-up in Glenallen, Alaska. Also, I forgot to tell you that everyday one of us, or both, have ordered salmon chowder, clam chowder, or seafood chowder. When we didn’t order chowder I was having an Alaskan caught fish of some kind. So, today for lunch I decided it was time for pizza and a beer. We found the perfect place, a very popular and famous, Moose Tooth Pizza and Pub. It was pretty good. Not as good as Joe Baccardi’s, but, pretty good.

Another random thought crossed my mind,. I was thinking about a 1946 pick-up truck. Most of them have gone to the grave-yard long before. The few that remain on the road have had many replacement parts over the years. So here I am traveling around Alaska with no body part replacements, so far. This morning I had to put on my leg brace and special support sox so that I could walk the coastal hiking trails. A lot of people born in 1946 would not be able to make the two mile walk. But, with my spry young wife at my side we made it.

Our Alaskan journey is coming to an end. We arrived early at the airport so I can watch Adam Wainwright and Yadier Molina break the Major League record for most games played together by a pitcher and catcher, Hope the Cardinals win this game being played in St. Louis. Good by Alaska, hello Seattle.

We arrived in Valdez, Alaska at 3:45pm after a 367 miles of gold Birch trees, Evergreens, Scotch Pines, Snow capped Mountains, painted color collage landscapes and waterfalls galore. So, lets start at the beginning of the day.

We left Fairbanks on a four lane Highway 2 that quickly turned into a two lane bumpy black top. We passed North Pole, Alaska and decided not to stop because we figured Santa and Mrs. Claus were having their morning coffee and Sant’s elves looked too busy to greet visitors. Highway 2 merged to Highway 4 and by the time we passed Eilison Airforce Base we were dodging highway potholes. Apparently, Alaska doesn’t invest too much in the highway systems. In the 300 plus miles we encountered one road crew working on a Sunday that shut down traffic for 15 minutes. We did find 12 miles of newly paved blacktop but that was it. One blessing, however, was we saw on semi-trailer truck the entire day.

The scenery is so spectacular but difficult to describe. Summit Lake, Paxson Lake, Keystone Canyon, Thompson Pass, and the Wrangell Mountains were among the best sights. Then, of course, there were the Horsetail Waterfalls (photo below) and Bridal Veil waterfalls which were the best among the many lesser sized waterfalls along the way. We also stopped near Worthington Glacier but we couldn’t get close enough for a good picture in the heavy rainfall. Now we are resting in our hotel near the Valdez Harbor and looking forward to tomorrow. Valdez is situated in a majestic fjord, where the 5000 foot tall Chugach Mountains rise from Prince William Sound. Valdez is often called Alaska’s “Little Switzerland” a perfect place for campers and hikers. We cant wait to explore all day tomorrow..