Explore the journey — one trail, museum, meal, and memory at a time.
Drive To Anchorage
Leaving Valdez, I expected a short drive to Anchorage. Instead, the day turned into a nine-hour journey with a stop at the Wrangell-St. Elias Visitor Center, an unexpected conversation about beavers with a park ranger, colorful mountain landscapes, views of the Matanuska Glacier, and a noisy introduction to Anchorage.
Thompson Pass into Valdez
Forty miles from Valdez on the Richardson Highway — walking up to Worthington Glacier, watching helicopter pilots train long-line loads over Thompson Pass, descending through fog, ice fields, and waterfalls, and booking a kayak trip to Columbia Glacier on Prince William Sound. One of the most spectacular drives in Alaska.
Chitina to Valdez
Rain, rushing water, and low clouds set the tone for a slow day in Alaska. While driving back toward Glennallen for fuel, I stopped for foggy landscapes, puzzled over a lone truck sitting in a field beneath a massive cloud bank, and eventually found a beautiful campsite where two rivers met beneath snow-covered mountains. Sometimes the best days are the unplanned ones.