The Switzerland of Alaska

We have hit the end of the road, so to speak. This is the final stop on our great Alaskan tour and then it's time to head out. We are in Valdez, considered to be the "Switzerland of Alaska." It is a beautiful spot with mountains all around, sitting on Prince William Sound.

We left Tolsino Wilderness Campground this morning with a low temperature of 27 degrees! We enjoyed a stop at Wrangle St. Elias National Park Visitor Center and a drive through the paved portion of the road leading into the park. We had some great views of the mountains that make up this huge park-the largest in the U.S.

Our drive to Valdez continued along the Richardson highway with more stunning scenery. Glaciers, hillsides with berry patches, tall mountains and a feeling of being very small.

We settled in at Bear Paw II Campground, adult park. It sits overlooking the boat channel with mountains across the bay and behind us. We love it compared to the other spots we saw in town! Took a drive after dinner to the Fish Hatchery where we observed salmon making their final efforts to return to their birthplace and spawn new life. Watched for bears but we have decided that since fish are literally, everywhere, they don't have to be picky!

Tomorrow will be a quiet day in camp with a few little sightseeing drives. Bob hopes to fish on Monday and we will head north toward Tok on Tuesday.

I hope you will stick with us on our journey as we take the Cassiar Highway through the Yukon Territory-a different return route than the Al-Can. We will surely have more scenic pictures to post.

Gas is 3.56-3.65 a gallon.