Alaska
Exploring the last frontier
The Pilsons share highlights from the third leg of their northern RV journey
In the last two issues of RVwest, we have been touring through the Yukon and Alaska. The second leg took us as far as the Matanuska Valley of Alaska. Continuing our journey, we will travel straight through Anchorage and pick up the Seward Highway, which parallels Turnigain Arm, a large body of water that flows into and out of Cook Inlet, creating a large tidal bore when the tide comes in.
Wonders Of The North: Take a cruise across Resurrection Bay near the community of Seward.—photo courtesy Duane and Lynda Pilson
Take your time travelling the stretch of highway along Turnigain Arm; the first stop, if you’re a birdwatcher, is Potter Point State Park. Next on the agenda is Chugach State Park headquarters, located in the old Potter Section House, where you can get information on the park and surrounding area.
This highway has been designated a scenic byway and is very popular for its fantastic views of the arm and surrounding mountains. There are numerous viewpoints where you can pull off—the best one is at Beluga Point as it’s the best place to observe the tidal bore (up to a six-foot wall of water) coming up the arm if your timing is right—and you may see a beluga whale.
The next stop, if you’re interested in glaciers, is Portage Glacier and the Begich-Boggs Visitor Center—located south of the Seward Highway on the Whittier/Potage Glacier Access Road. For a relaxing and informative trip, take the time to go out on the lake with the M/V Ptarmigan for a narrated tour to the glacier.
In Seward there are a number of great things to see and do. Get a close-up look at a glacier by hiking up to the Exit Glacier; take an exciting ride on a dogsled; learn about the fish and aquatic mammals of Resurrection Bay at the Alaska Sealife Center; or take a leisurely cruise of Resurrection Bay.
When you leave Seward you will have to decide if you want to visit the communities of Soldotna, Kenai and Homer or head back to Anchorage. If you want to see the rest of the Kenai Peninsula and these communities, you will turn off the Seward Highway at Tern Lake Junction and follow the Sterling Highway. This scenic drive will take you along Cook Inlet after you pass the community of Clam Gulch, which offers glimpses of the inlet and the tops of inactive volcanoes—such as Mt. Redoubt and Mt. Ilaimna (located across the inlet).
Once you return to the Sterling Highway, turn right and continue on to the community of Homer, billed as the Halibut Fishing Capital of North America.
From here, you will head back to Anchorage via the Sterling and Seward highways. On the return trip to Anchorage you can stop and see anything you missed while travelling the other way. In Anchorage, be sure to visit the Alaska Native Heritage Center and the Alaska Zoo. You can also go downtown and stop in at the Log Cabin Visitors Information Center, take in the Anchorage Museum, experience what an earthquake feels like, learn about quiviut, visit the ulu factory, stroll the streets and check out the farmer’s market.
Leaving Anchorage, you will travel towards Glennallen via Palmer. This is a very scenic drive that presents photo opportunities ranging from glaciers and rivers to mountains, forests and subalpine regions. Once you have driven through Glennallen, turn south on the Richardson Highway.
The next stop will be the viewpoint for the Worthington Glacier—which is just before you go over Thompson Pass and down a long grade towards Keystone Canyon. Here, there are two impressive waterfalls: Bridal Veil Falls and Horse Tail Falls.
On the way to Valdez, you will pass the original townsite of Valdez, which was destroyed in 1964 by a tsunami that came up Prince William Sound.
Valdez is referred to as the Switzerland of the North, surrounded by mountains. If the sun comes out, it is a very nice place to just sit back and enjoy the scenery. It’s also a great place to go fishing for salmon, halibut or cod. You can visit the Valdez Museum or book a tour to go out and see the wildlife of Prince William Sound and the Columbia and Mears glaciers.
The next installment of our journey will cover Valdez to Skagway via Haines, Alaska, and Haines Junction, Yukon.
If you’d like more information about where to stay while RVing in the North, e-mail us at rvsaftee@shaw.ca.
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