The day started with a very rare sighting, (hint: note the shades)
It wasn't sunny all day but at least partly sunny and NO RAIN!!! We found a nice community church called Bayside. As it turned out that Pastor Dan Bower was once the pastor at church in Livonia, MI. We also met a nice young lady who was born and raised in Dearborn. Her parents both graduated from MSU!! Does it get any better? Well, yes it could if our Wagon Master/Mistress Jerry and Gail, along with Heidi the Super Scout were here with us instead of battling severe depression in Anchorage. We hope all their friends will call them to cheer them up. Really, they're loaded with rollover minutes.
Back to Valdez, population 4353, founded in 1898, whose major employer is the Alyeska Pipeline Service Company. I guess those are the folks that maintain the pipeline and terminal. That's the town across the bay.
Their rather large, small boat harbor
The city of Valdez was badly shaken but not destroyed in the March 27, 1964 Good Friday Earthquake. Liquefaction of the glacial silt that formed the city's foundation led to a massive underwater landslide causing a section of the city's shoreline to break off and sink into the sea.
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| Site of old Valdez |
The underwater soil displacement caused a local tsunami 30 feet high that traveled westward, away from the city and down Valdez Bay. Thirty-two men women and children were on the city's main freight dock to help with and watch the unloading of the SS Chena, a supply ship that came to Valdez regularly. All 32 people perished as the dock collapsed into the ocean with the violent landslide. There were no deaths within the town itself.
Residents continued to live there for an additional three years while a new site was being prepared on more stable ground four miles away. The new construction was under the supervision of the Army Corps of Engineers. Fifty-four houses and buildings were transported by truck to the new site, reestablishing the new city at its present location.
The buildings they didn't move they burned. About all that's left of old town are foundations.
We decided to go take a look at Valdez Glacier and saw some interesting places along the way.
The airport. How'd you like to shoot an approach in here at minimums?
A "man camp"? Really?!?!
We made it out to the glacier and it's lake
Complete with ice chunks
Then we went critter hunting and found another eagle.
What can be better then that? How about a double eagle?
We were watching this tanker coming in for oil
when we ran into a "bear jamb".
She was fishing with her two cubs
We sat and watched for about 15 minutes
Pam wasn't so eager to try cozying up to this bear.
Finally, having seen eagles and bears fishing we headed back to camp. But there was one more shot to be had on the way.
Tomorrow we are heading to Chitna to visit the Wrangell -St. Elias National Park and Preserve, entering a hold while we wait for our Wagon Master/Mistress and scout to catch up. Does anyone else see the resemblance between JC and Ward Bond?
Okay, maybe this post will show up!! The pictures are beautiful. I'm sure being there is so much better. Hope you are almost fixed (haha) and back on the road soon!! Love and miss you guys!
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