Lazy Fun Day on Monday

Day 68 – Monday, August 19

We had a leisurely day, slept in, caught up on laundry, Jim washed the motorhome, and then we did a little touring around Valdez.  The harbor is filled with boats—fishing boats, pleasure boats, tour boats, etc.  It almost seems like there are more boats than there are people! 

In addition to oil, the main industry in Valdez is fishing.   A fish hatchery is located in Valdez to make sure there are plenty of salmon that return and reproduce each year.  Their goal is to produce an annual return of 10 million pink salmon, 100,000 coho and 10,000 king salmon!  We visited the hatchery today and couldn’t believe the number of salmon returning to their place of origin to spawn.   As we approached the hatchery, we saw a small stream at the side of the road, with a bunch of salmon swimming upstream.  There was also a bear at the pond, sifting through the fish, and picking out the choice ones.  What a sight to see!    The number of fish was unbelievable, and there were many dead ones who hadn’t been able to reach the hatchery.

Then, we were blown away when we got to the hatchery and saw thousands of fish trying to make their way upstream.  

There were also many many dead fish along the rocky shore.  Makes me wonder why they put a limit on how many you can catch each day!! 

We saw sea otters and sea gulls (or arctic terns) enjoying the appetizers, along with an eagle watching from above.

We enjoyed the views of the Port of Valdez from the opposite side of the bay, and on our way back to the campground, we saw yet another bear in the stream, enjoying a salmon snack!

  

Then, we stopped for another dose of Northern Lights!  We are hoping to see the Northern Lights before we leave Alaska, and enough of these will guarantee it!!Tomorrow we leave for Tok, a place we’ve been before.  It is a stop along the way to Skagway. 

Oh, I forgot to mention Gabriel, the young Italian photographer who sat with us yesterday on the cruise to Meares glacier.  It was his first time in America, and he is spending 30 days here.  He had just come from a week of camping in Denali and commented on the wonderful national parks. I never thought about it, but he said Europe does not have parks…all of their land is covered with people.  He said their countries started too late preserving land for parks.  What a great observation about something that we often take for granted.  This trip has given me a new appreciation for our parks, and for preserving the natural beauty of our wildlife and our world.