Heading to Glennallen,, scratch that Valdez

After a good rest and resupply in Tok we got on the road toward Glennallen.

Our real destination is the Wrangell St Elias National Park but after stopping in the visitor center we learn the weather isn't going to be great the next few days.

Instead of seeing the park in the rain we motor on to Valdez instead. An in town stop is always better than an outdoor stop in the rain.

Along the drive we stopped to look at a section of the pipeline  It is pretty cool looking and the sign tells us a little about the technology used to prevent the perma-frost from melting and also how much "give" the pipeline can handle if an earthquake hits.

The drive to Valdez in 50% of the draw of going there, although with the rain and clouds it isn't as spectacular as it could be.

You do pass the Worthington Glacier, we didn't pull in to do the walk to it because we figure the weather will be better on the way out.

The road to Valdez is a dead end.

To get to Valdez you have to drive through Thompson pass. I don't have any pictures of that because we were in a cloud with 10 feet visibility the whole time.

The pass gets an average of 550 feet of snow a year! And holds the record for the most snow in a single day of 62 feet.

No wonder there is a glacier here.

Valdez is jokingly referred to as the Switzerland of Alaska because it is surrounded by snowy mountains.

All that snow melts and creates hundreds of waterfalls along the roads.

We totally luck out and decide to checkout a campground run by the military which is outside of town a few miles. Veterans can camp there for 1/2 price and they have some trailers they can rent too. Even at full price it is a great campground with bald eagles!

When we finally see the parking lot RV parks in town we are glad to have picked our campground. It is also 2 miles away from another glacier.

Sadly this was such a long day we decide to eat out again and the options are limited, We try the Fat Mermaid and it was OK, in hindsight would have been better to make something really easy instead of going out,