Monday-July 17-Day 27-Valdez to Tok

Before we left this little Switzerland-like place called Valdez this morning , Barb and Marie decided to take advantage of the nice laundromat here, while I got caught up with my blog. When they were done we were all hungry so Barb cooked us some scrambled eggs with ham and cheese, served with toast and coffee.  A lot of days we do not take the time to cook breakfast, but each one grabs whatever they are used to eating in the morning. So this was a special treat!

We were out of our site at check-out time at 11 AM. Before we headed out on the highway, we drove back a dirt road to see where Valdez had been located before the '64 earthquake. When they re-built, they placed the town 4 miles away from the original site. There were just foundations left, where descriptive plaques were placed to describe what had been there.

Driving back through Keystone Canyon.

Waterfalls never get old....always beautiful!!

We have seen these bent rods along the road at various places.  They are Snow poles that mark the road edge for the snowplows in winter.

So many beautiful views out of the side window, to be enjoyed by whoever is sitting in the back at the time. We do play musical chairs (without the music😁), taking turns.
 This is "27 Mile Glacier" along the Richardson Highway.

♬You shall go out with joy, and be led forth with peace♪♪

♬the mountains and the hills will break forth before You♬

♫There'll be shouts of joy, and the trees of the field, will clap , will clap their hands.♫♫♬

(Wrangle Mountain Range in the distance blends in with the clouds.)

Today we drove under a canopy of blue skies and white clouds!

We had previously made an appointment at Glennallen Fuel to have the oil changed and the tires and fluids checked.  We have had no trouble with the motor home, and we want to keep it running well. That took an hour of our afternoon.

These are Fireweed, my very favorite  wild flower. And they are everywhere! They often grow along the roads because they are one of the first things to grown after the land has been disturbed by things such as  grading or forest fires. 

We took a 10 mile voluntary detour on a side road to see Copper Center. It was an older town, founded in 1896, as the first white settlement in the area. Less than 300 people live here now.

We saw too much of this today.....construction....time delays....rough roads....

And speaking of rough roads....how do you like these ripples and waves?  They are from frost heaves, and cause us to go very slow, and even then we bounce around!

We were looking for animals all day.  Some of us saw several elusive bears who were out of the picture as quickly as they came into view. And then, down the road, we saw this regal lady standing along the road. We turned down the window, grabbed the camera, quickly changed seats so I would have the best access for the camera, and then.....a car sped past us, spotted the moose, and pulled over right in front of him, sending him into the forest. Nice job, car! 😠😉But we were thankful for telephoto lenses so we could get these two shots.

Changing scenery along the Richardson Highway.

After 263 miles of driving, we came back to Tok, where we had entered Alaska 12 days ago. We filled up with gas at the Chevron station, where they allow you to park out in the back, for FREE! so we did! We had  hamburger goulash and steamed broccoli for supper, then hit the sack early.