6 August 2010

8-1-2010
We arrived in Valdez at the Eagles Rest RV Park in the afternoon. It was a very crowded place but one of the few places in town to stay. The WiFi was very sketchy and very hard to get signed onto. The park people say there are to many users. I can certainly agree with that. We were not able to sign on but maybe only a couple of times to get our email and could not update the blog.
After we had our supper we went to Allison Point to check out fishing for pinks. There were thousands of pinks all over the place and several were catching them on the first cast out. Not many were worth keeping. The run is getting pretty much to the end.

Eagles Rest RV Park Site

Spawning Pink Salmon Near Allison Point

Horse Tail Falls

Worthington Glacier

8-2-2010
The first thing on the agenda for the morning was to wash the rig and the truck at the site. Eagles Rest RV Park allows washing at the site. After lunch we headed to Allison Point to try and get some keepers. We caught about 50 fish and lost a few also. Most were not keepers. All the males already had large humps on their backs and their color was very pale.
We kept 3 fish we thought were still good and had one for supper. It wasn't bad eating.

8-3-2010
We woke up to sunny skies and almost clear skies this morning and were able to see the mountains surrounding Valdez and the inlet. Valdez is in a beautiful setting and this is the first time we were able to see the mountains around the town in the two different visits we have been here. Once in 1997 and this trip in 2010.
We headed out in the morning heading toward Tok from Valdez. We took the Tok cutoff to reach Tok. The road is a 35mph road with a lot of gravel spots bumps and frost heaves. Probably about 60 miles worth on and off. Some sections were very smooth and nice especially leading into Tok.
We filled up at the Tesoro station again. We filled up here on the way to AK and the people are very friendly and helpful. And there free rig washing if you want to.
We then headed on out on Alaska Hwy 1to find a camp spot for the evening. We ended up at a paved pull out 22 miles East of Tok at mile marker 1292.4 from Dawson Creek on the south side of the hwy. No one there but us for the entire night. Not a bad spot to stop. Very large and easy in and out.

Rig At Horse Tail Falls Pullout

Paved Pullout East of Tok

8-4-2010
It was a long drive from 22 miles east of Tok at the pullout to another pull out at mile marker 936.8 from Dawson Creek. The Mendenhall Culvert was a large gravel pull out along the Alaska Hwy with a deserted building. There were several young people from Homer AK spending the night in the woods in tents. They were bicycling from Haines Jct to Skagway. We were able to fill their 2 5 gallon water containers from our fresh water tanks. The day was very warm and they had used up most of their drinking water cycling from Haines Jct to the pullout.
Earlier in the day we had encountered another group of riders cycling from Texas to Anchorage in support of the Lance Armstrong Cancer Foundation. They were happy to have only 8 days left to Anchorage.

Typical Canada Road Repair

8-5-2010
The group of young people were out to wave us off this morning on our way from the Mendenhall Culvert pullout to Skagway. The day was a nice sunny day for travel until we hit the summit of White pass. The summit was very foggy and we could not see much at all. The downhill from White pass leading to the US Customs station from the summit was the first time I had to use 1st gear going downhill. It was very steep and long.
We stopped at Emerald Lake overlook and took some photos of the beautiful colors. There were probably about 12 tour buses their from Skagway and the cruise ships.
We arrived at the Pullen Creek Campground at about 1:30PM. Pullen Creek CG in located down near the boat harbor where the cruise ships come in. Our space is site 38 and backed up to about 25' from the sidewalk where the cruise ship passengers walk by heading to town to shop and look around. This is a great people watching site. People appear to be amazed to see and RV parked here from Colorado. Some stop and take pictures and most have to stop and discuss it. This park allows rig washing also. That was the first thing on the agenda after arriving. Naturally that drew a lot of attention from the passing cruise ship tourist. Our site 38 and several other sites will accommodate most rigs up to 38' with truck parking also. There is another paved RV area behind the park facing the harbor but the sites are close together. They also have water and electric. I think they put groups down there and maybe 40' motorhomes.

Entering US North Of Skagway

Pullen Creek Camp Site In Skagway

Skagway Small Boat Harbor

8-6-2010
It rained most of the night and this morning. We headed out to walk around town and see the shops and take in the free Gold Rush movie at the Visitors Center. Not as many people today since there is only one cruise ship in port today. Yesterday with three ships in the town was very busy. Skagway is a neat place to visit. I like it better than Haines on the other side of the bay. We stayed there in 1997.

Unique Building In Skagway

Red Onion Saloon

Skagway Shopping

Skagway