Ferry from Whittier to Valdez, 7+ hours

Day 21--Thursday, August 8, 2002, 7+ hours on ferry

Awoke to a gritty, grey day, with light but steady rain. The cranes were busily and noisily loading the train flatcars beneath our window.

I'm really hoping the rain and fog quit so that we can see all the glaciers and wildlife as we cross Prince William Sound for Valdez later today. . .

Under strict instructions from Jess to let her "sleep in" this morning I got up at my usual early hour, took a shower, and then crept about the room organizing my BOB bag, rack pack, etc. Oiled my chain, cleaned up my filthy bike and trailer as best I could, and then went to the dining room in the next building for a breakfast that included caribou sausage. The sausage meat was good, but the casing too thick and tough for my tastes. I brought some back to the room so that Jess could taste it when she got up.

Before leaving the Anchor, we stopped in the downstairs grocery and bought provisions for the ferry (didn't want to spend our $ on ferry food). Our Japanese proprietor had a wildflower book, so I was able to look up several species I'd been unsure of or unable to identify: Harebell, Burnet, Monkshood, Twisted stalk (the flowers on this plant bloom at the ends of "kinked" stalks), Kinnikkinnik (Arctostaphylos uva-ursi).

We played cribbage at Frank's Cafe while waiting for the ferry to fuel. Fueling delayed our departure from Whittier. The M.V. Bartlett, our smallish ferry, was scheduled to depart at 2.45, but we didn't leave until 3:40. This means that we'll get into Valdez after 10:30 and perhaps have to set up in the rain.

We have our own naturalist, Amanda, on the ferry who will be helping us identify the whales, porpoises, and sea lions/seals we'll be seeing—as well as shoreline glaciers and points of interest. The scene: Fog, rain, water-touching clouds, intermittent bright skies, gorgeous islands, waterfalls, and rock formations.

I'm writing this on the ferry and it is now 8:15 p.m. Here is a list of what we have seen/are seeing: 2 common murre, 2 killer whales, 5 bald eagles, hundreds of black-legged kittiwakes at their rookery, and many jumping silver (Coho) salmon. Amanda tells us that they jump like this when they are nearing the island hatchery where they were born. She told us that the largest fish hatchery in North America was on an island near one spot where the water was filled with leaping salmon, some leaping 3 or more feet into the air.

We also passed a sea lion haul out (rocks covered with sea lions) and near the haul out, puffin caves where we saw both horned and tufted puffins, flying, swimming, and sitting in nooks on the cliffs. Too far or fast for a photo, though. We've also seen two mottled petrels.

Though the photo (left) was taken in stormy conditions, and though it was supposed to be of sea lions basking on the beach (which  you cannot see), I love it. The clouds hanging in the steep mountain crevice on this island, the two waterfalls--even the raindrops--all make me feel as though I am in a Wallhalla, garden of the gods. Wagner's Der Ring des Nibelungen should be our background music.

We are just passing the Columbia Glacier, which, Amanda tells us, calves 100 million tons of ice a day! Can that figure be  right? The water is filled with icebergs as far as the eye can see. I've just taken several photos of a beautiful blue piece of ice. It's 8 p.m., though, and rainy & misty, so we'll have to see whether it turns out.

Jess wants to stay an extra day in Valdez. She's been trying to get in touch with Alex & Catfish two friends of her Blue Waters Kayaking friend, Tom, in Inverness, CA. They run a river rafting outfit out of Valdez, and we are hoping to run a river with them tomorrow.

The colder, darker, and rainier it gets, the less we want to set up camp when we get to Valdez. Right now we're thinking that we will probably wimp out and spent the night in a motel or B&B. If we do, it will be the fourth night in a row we've spent on mattresses (1 in Soldatna at the C.E.S., 2 in Whittier at the Anchor, and maybe one tonight). Also, we will have been three days off our bikes before the strenuous climbing we face leaving Valdez. Really hope the weather improves. I like only one challenge at a time.

Well . . . I thought I'd end this update after that last paragraph, but must add a couple more to complete today's adventure.

About an hour before docking in Valdez, the skies lowered and the rain she came pouring down. This put an end to wildlife viewing . . . and to seeing anything of Valdez and its harbor. It was like entering one big, wet cotton ball.

We were the last to debark and had to push our bikes up a short, slick metal ramp in the pouring rain. All along the way people were saying "You're not going to camp in this are you?"

No we weren't. Jess had gathered a few numbers of places to stay, including a hostel. ALL were booked solid. We called the RV park where we had intended to stay because they had cabins. All cabins were booked. We called a B&B and they referred us to some friends with a B&B who might have a room. Diane at Blessing House B&B said yes come along we could have Rm 3 for $55. Wow! This is an absurdly low charge up here where an ice cream on a stick costs $2—and we'd get an all-you-can-eat breakfast to boot. It was 11 p.m. and we pedaled the mile or so in the pouring rain and dark—first dark we'd seen since leaving. The street lights were on, though, so we did all right.

When we got to Blessing House the joint was jumping. Three other couples from our ferry, including two on motorcycles were checking in. Seems Diane and her husband were booking the rooms independently. He'd just given Rm 3 to someone else, but we could have the downstairs room.

We put our bikes in the garage and hauled our stuff into the room, which was a kitchen, d.r, and high four poster bed, plus a lot of bric-a-brac. Course we're whispering all the time so as not to wake the other guests. The house was packed. There was even a bed in the garage. When we went upstairs to pay the husband, Diane put a German couple in our room. For a minute we thought we'd have to get it all back together and pedal 2 blocks to an apartment Diane owned, but it was easier to put the German couple there.

So . . . here we are lying on our high four poster at 12:15 a.m. reading and composing and wide awake.