Valdez and Worthington Glacier :D

[glacier_kitty]

Yesterday we drove to Valdez..really the whole point of the trip was to go to Worthington Glacier (I wanted to climb up to it since we didn't the first time) but we needed a place to stay so we just went to Valdez too. The weather was pretty nice most of the way. We got past Paxson and saw some new things I couldn't see the first time since it was so rainy and cloudy..like the Wrangell Mountains (though they were rather cloudy). Whoaa. Then we came into the mountains near Valdez and I was like "OMG GLACIERS!!!" There were a whole bunch of glaciers clinging to the mountains! Man we missed SO much scenery the first time! Worthington Glacier was pretty impressive. We started walking up the moraine to the side of it (the glacier has two "arms" and we went up to the one on the left. You'll see in the pics). Mom was freaking out..she thought it was scary. We eventually got up the moraine to the side of it and..I STOOD ON WORTHINGTON GLACIER!! WOOHOO! Haha. That "arm" looks pretty big up close like that but it's just a tiny part of it! I tasted some of the meltwater and then we walked back down to the bottom and found another trail that look you to the bottom of the glacier (and only very small streams to cross!!). Now THAT was neat..it was kinda like a big crevasse and you could touch the ice and just observe the glacier. I think it's melting slower than Gulkana Glacier. While walking to the car I saw a fox in the parking lot! And there was a cute weasel thing on the moraine! Aww hehe. Then we drove to Valdez and saw more clinging glaciers and lovely scenery. We checked into the hotel and walked on the dock..wow I was loving the feel of the town. It just felt serene and peaceful. There was some blue sky too (remember..this is Valdez haha. It always rains there). Then we ate dinner at the hotel and went to sleep

Today mom got up, went over to the window and was like "OMG HEATHER GET UP THE MOON IS OUT!" After mom got ready I got up and looked..IT WAS TOTALLY CLEAR!! At least that way..after I got ready I went outside..there were some clouds and fog BUT OMG THERE WAS A LOT OF BLUE SKY!! IN VALDEZ!!! THAT NEVER HAPPENS!! Ahhhh haha. Before we left we checked out Valdez Glacier..there were a whole bunch of icebergs it calved off in a small lake. It didn't look like it went all the way to the lake but we only saw a tiny part of it. Then we left and had a way better view of the Wrangell Mountains before it clouded up again. The icefield on Mt. Wrangell is INSANE. It is MASSIVE. It's also a volcano. And we went by these HUGE moraines possibly from Gulkana Glacier..it must have been a huuuuge glacier before it retreated. I shall post pics tomorrow!





Today's trivia: Vanilla comes from orchids

Comments

[foxydanish.livejournal.com]

Yaay! That's so cool! That's awesome that you guys had a beautiful clear day, too. My mom told me yesterday that she and my dad were having dinner with a couple of their old friends and one of their friends just came back from a hiking trip through Glacier National Park in Montana!

I actually had no idea that vanilla comes from orchids...that's pretty sweet.