Valdez, Alaska

Horse tail waterfall

This is fun!

Our ring side seat on Valdez bay!

Our view. Of course it beautiful on this sunny day. The only one we have had so far. But it was GEORGOUS!!!!

Trying to get up the man made spill way!

A pink salmon. They are called Humpy's because of the hump in their back. Actually the males are the only ones with a hump and it is there during spawning

Sensing something is not quite right! If I were those people fishing I'd be nervous about now! They don't even seem to notice!

We're out of here kids! Dad's coming and he's ate some bad fish!

We're coming!

Whats wrong Mom?

Hey you guys, come on Mom went this way!

Play time!

Keeping an eye on the kids from a safe place!

Gotcha

Family dinner!

We made it to Valdez on Thursday, the 22nd. On the drive in we stopped next to a river and had lunch, drove through picturesque mountains marbled with snow; saw several more glaciers and huge waterfalls. With so many glaciers it is no surprise there are so many waterfalls but some of the falls look as though they came right out of the middle of the mountain. There was nothing directly above them to indicate water should be flowing. We turned off on Dayville Road and drove the 4.5 miles to where they indicated you could camp. I was really excited to see the blinking sign that read "Bears in Area". That is the one thing that I will never get tired of seeing in the wild. We had heard there were Sea Lions here because of the hatchery but nothing about bears. Allison Point Campground is right on the bay and we had a ring side seat. I loved being able to sit in the motorhome and look out the windshield to see a sea lion devouring it's catch or a sea otter floating effortlessly on its back. Our first trip to the area near the fish hatchery was incredible. To literally see 1000's of fish trying to get up the man made spill way and the fish ladder was unbelievable. There were so many fish the water was black. The fish here now are the red salmon. At different times there are different types of salmon since the hatchery releases all types. Salmon released from a hatchery try to come back to spawn just like any salmon on any river. The problem is, we've heard there are actually 30,000000 fish and the hatchery only takes in about 6000, to remove the eggs, fertilize them and release them into the wild. Each female has between 1100 and 1700 eggs. Some actually do get to areas where they spawn naturally and their offspring return also. The fish don't die in vain though because they are caught by locals for their winter food. They are also caught by commercial fishermen for pet food and other uses. That is all good but it doesn't make it any more pleasant to watch them. But that's just me!
Back at the motorhome Chip was finally able to go down to the bank and fish. He has been waiting for that since we got to Alaska. He put his raingear on and headed down to the shore. He caught 4 red salmon, 3 in the mouth and 1 snag. Not bad! Everyone we have seen fishing have all been snagging their fish. I guess because of the sheer numbers of fish they are allowing you to keep the salmon even if you snag them. Chip didn't keep any of them though since he has been told by so many people that "reds" are not good to eat. He had fun that's all that counts.
That night we went back over to the hatchery to see if the sea lions were there feeding but instead we go a treat and were able to watch a Mama and 3 cubs. That was incredible! It was fun to watch the cubs clumsily try to catch fish and Mama just doing her own thing but keeping a eye on the cubs at the same time. We watched them for a good 20 minutes when all of a sudden Mama stood up on her hind legs and started sniffing the air. She did this 3 or 4 times before she bolted. She must have smelled or heard something. She took off across the street to where the tundra is thick and hunkered down on the side of the road. The cubs followed her but not until she made this "huff, huff, huff" sound did they seem to be paying attention. They still didn't get any further than the middle of the street. So here she is on the side of the road keeping her eyes and ears peeled and the entire time watching the cubs play and wander around in the middle of the street. There was one cub that seemed to be the instigator of the rough housing and was the smallest of the 3. That was also the one that always was lagging behind and doing its own thing, and was also the one that seemed to be the most curious of people. It came within 30 feet of where Chip was standing. That made me nervous, not because of the cub but of course the Mama bear. Chip backed away and the cub turned and went back to playing with its siblings. Eventually Mama went higher up the mountain side further into the tundra and it was at at that point the cubs followed.
We decided to go and let them be (not that just the 2 of us probably made any difference, since there were a lot of people watching). We went for our 30 minute evening walk. When we returned they were back on the shore side of the road feeding. They were making their way towards the fish hatchery where the fish were easy pickin's, especially for the cubs. What an awesome start to our time here in Valdez! We have another 10 to 14 days here. I can't wait to see what those days have in store for us.