Del_s Bunk and Chow Valdez

... The view was compelling and we stopped off at a couple of places to take photos before heading on to the Ric******* Highway.<br><br>Travelling down to Valdez we saw the pipeline and also stopped in at the Wrangell-St Elias National Park Visitor Center. Heidi and I halved a 'World Famous' Chocolate Idaho Spud. I would describe it as an interesting texture and maybe not so great ...

... were still on the hwy. (luckily on a passing lane), but still on the hwy. Several others stopped and some just passed by waving as I waved to them wanting them to just send the DPS with flares to warn drivers to be careful and not run over us as we blocked a lane of hwy. We were about to get desperate when the tow truck finally came. He could only load up our truck, but couldn't pull our truck and 5th wheel. He asked where we had stayed while we were at ...

... he had to bring in the halibut and it really was a halibut this time. It was about 57" long and weighed 80 some pounds. So he was happy. I have videos of him reeling it in and it just about wore him out. We continued then and got our limit which is 2 per persons and there were 6 of us on the boat. We came on in and once again hit the fog at the narrows. We got in about 6:00 pm and then cleaned and wrapped the fish and got them in the freezer. It was a good day.

... the Crooked Creek Waterfall and the trail that goes up beside it. Beautiful&#8212;different levels, a flat pool area that you could wade in if it weren&#8217;t ice cold water. There were salmon berries here too. <br><br><br> During all the rain, we had a great time playing Pegs &amp; Jokers with our TN friends. The awning over the picnic table and 2 little electric heaters ...

... told us the drive to Valdez was their favorite, and we can certainly see why. Even with the smoky haze, the views were stunning&#8212;wildflowers, rivers, mountains, so many glaciers. WOW!! Even saw two trumpeter swans. <br><br> <br>Took tons of pictures ...

... you could see all sides of the boat and hear the commentary by the ranger. Plus it was inside, which I liked since it was freezing and I was starting to not feel well. <br>The captain got us into Whittier a half an hour early at 11:30 pm so we could see the 4th of July fireworks at midnight. It is absolutely crazy that at midnight the sky was still as bright as it is at about 7 pm. I wish I could ...

... as many of you will remember -- suffered much harm from the oil spill from a tanker owned by Exxon. Although the harbor was an environmental disaster, it appears that they have recovered, although we were told there is still oil lingering in the rocks along the shoreline. Stopped at the Long Rifle Lodge - many heads and bodies of animals were displayed -- it was very sad -- but we did not pass up this photo opt as you'll see ...

... taste better knowing we had actually caught it! We made loads of enquiries both in Valdez and Anchorage but unfortunately US customs forbids anyone to send salmon overseas so we failed in our attempts to surprise our parents with a bag full of freeze-dried silver salmon and instead we gave it all to our friends John and Margot in Anchorage who I'm sure will be having delicious salmon meals on us for breakfast, lunch and dinner for the next six months. Enjoy... I know we did!

... at the glacier viewpoint there were two juvenile goshawks sitting on the rail. They finally flew off allowing us to get pictures of the glacier. Then we hooked up and headed east. The rain continued as we drove the Glenn Highway, obscuring the views we may have had. It finally stopped as we neared Glen Allen. We turned south on the Ric******* Highway toward Valdez. There are several nice areas for photos along the Ric ...

... agreed not keep any more until around 5 minutes before we had to leave , just in case the BIG ONE was down there passing us by. We all were enjoying ourselves, even the woman came back out and took part for a few minutes, but disappeared again, at one stage with five guys fishing , all hooked fish at the same time and did our individual battles attempting to keep the lines from tangling, unsuccessfully I might add. At this stage Rick hooks a fish and begins to take it in, the ...