Day 06 - Mon - 09/21/26 - Valdez

 Early this morning, the ship found its position to hoover in place just off the marina in Valdez, Alaska. There is no dock big enough here to handle a cruise ship, however, there are docks for the oil tankers which receive the oil from the Alaska pipeline here in Valdez. I was here about 35 years ago doing work related to the pipeline construction and at the time I was here it was winter and the snow was really deep and it was pretty cold out, and I only spent time at the pipeline  terminal area. I never got into town. We enjoyed a leisurely breakfast before catching a tender into the marina at around 9 o'clock. I should note that the tenders on the Zenda now are newer models than what we've experienced in our previous voyages on this ship.Just before getting off the ship, we went out onto the stern of deck eight and a fellow with a high-powered spotting scope at spotted bears on the hillside above the town and we enjoyed views of seven or eight bears, as they are foraging for berries getting ready for their winter hibernation. After the tender ride, we walked the city, noting that many of the shops were closed because it was the end of tourist season. But the shops that were open had proprietors that were very willing to chat about the town and the city's history. We had even one grizzled old pioneer who stopped us on the street and proceeded to give a lot of his life history about living here.


The town is quite walkable and we shopped in the stores that were open and gathered some provisions at a little grocery store before our tour up the Richardson Highway. 

Our ship shore excursion tour began at 12:15 at the Harbor and took us up to Richardson Highway to Thompson Pass and the Worthington glacier. Along the way up, we stopped at Keystone Canyon, where there was a incompleted railroad tunnel from the turn-of-the-century. As we climbed up the pass, which is only about 2600 feet high, which is lower than Snoqualmie Pass just outside Seattle, the fall colors were clearly in abundance. Up here at 2600 feet we are above the tree line in the tundra area.


At our turnaround point, there was a very good view of the Worthington glacier and after we had taken a few pictures, our bus driver then drove us to the parking area, just below the face of the glacier. It was a bit chilly with sprinkles on and off while we spent time at the face of the glacier. However, there were times when the weather cleared up when I was able to get a few good pictures of the glacier. Heading back down from the Worthington glacier Way made to stop at Bridalveil Falls and took a few more pictures. Our bus driver then took us on a special side trip to the salmon hatchery, which is located on the other side of the bay from where our ship is hovering. There we found stellar sea lions in abundance and they were quite beautiful to photograph. Salmon season is now done, but they are eternally hopeful that there will still be some fish to eat. Our driver then took us back to the port where we arrived just before the 4 PM last tender. We're in fact on the last tender and I got to be the last passenger back on board. This is one of our personal goals when we travel and use tenders and that is to be the last person on the ship.

We shed our outer clothing in our state room and then went up to the Lido to watch the sail away. The ship turned 180° and then sailed out the long bay out into the open sea. We enjoyed another Lido dinner, noting that the starboard side of the ship was devoted to a seafood boil, and it was very full. Hopefully it would not be as rough as the seas that we experienced the other night. 


Theresa had one of her cocktail chats featuring Marcel (pianist and singer) and Shelly (solo guitarist). It was very interesting and afterwards we talked extensively with Shelly. It's interesting to note that she has been doing that role for many years on Holland America having started in it and then the position was taken away, but now has been brought back. Our evening entertainment was Mark Kopitzke, who did a show he called Secret Agent Man which featured songs from the 1960s. Afterwards I retired to the room to work on my blog and download pictures while Angela stayed to sit in on Marcel's set in the Mix Bar.

It was a good day in Valdez. We look forward to our visit to Kodiak tomorrow. The plan is to arrive around 11 AM.




Bridal Veil Falls


Worthington Glacier



Keystone tunnel




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