Four more days exploring Valdez

On Friday, we returned to the Valdez Fisheries Development Association Inc., (VFDA) which operates the Solomon Gulch Salmon Hatchery here in Valdez, Alaska. Constructed in 1982, the Solomon Gulch Hatchery is permitted to incubate 270 million Pink Salmon eggs and 2 million Coho salmon eggs annually. Each year starting in mid June, the Solomon Gulch hatchery awaits the return of it’s Pink salmon.

An average return is about 10 million adults. After harvesting a small percentage of the return for cost recovery, the remainder is harvested primarily by the Commercial purse seine fishermen and the sport fishermen. In addition, VFDA collects approximately 400,000 adults for brood stock.

August is for Coho’s. The annual return of adult Coho to Valdez is between 150,000 and 250,000 salmon. This allows the community of Valdez to sponsor the Valdez Silver Salmon Derby with great success. The best time for sport fishing Coho’s is late August through Labor Day.

It is a very busy place and a great venue to see the migration of Salmon, as well as Steller sea lions, seagulls, bald eagles and if you're lucky...black bear. I took a chance and flew the drone to capture video and still photos of the scene. My biggest concern was the number of seagulls competing for the airspace. I had one minor collision with a seagull but thankfully the drone stayed in the air.

Friday would be our last day together with the Earleys; Sean and Kathy wanted to get back on the road to the lower forty-eight on Saturday morning. So, we sent them on their way in the rain with our thankfulness for making the journey together a great experience. They were the easiest traveling companions we could hope for on a trip of this length and complexity. The Earley’s are about as easily going as any couple we’ve ever met, a perfect fit and just plain fun! Before leaving we prayed a blessing over their journey for traveling mercies back east to Pennsylvania, by way of Washington State.. We will truly miss their company.

So it's back to Karen and I only. With the weather still cloudy and unpredictable we stayed close to town. We journeyed out to the old Valdez town site and then up to the Valdez Glacier past the airport. We went into town by the waterfront to try lunch at the Fat Mermaid and later

took in the local ‘Magpie Follies’ show. This is a funky revue of local history with song and dance; low budget, low expectation realized.

Sunday we got up early to attend church on board the Lu-Lu Belle, a tradition that Captain Fred has done for years. Normally, he takes to boat out for about an hour service, but unfortunately his vessel was down for repair of one of the two starter motors, so we fellowshiped at the dockside. Breakfast was at the Potato Roadhouse Cafe then to Coast Guard Station Valdez for a brief visit.

We finished our tour of Valdez on Monday, July 29th with a bit more history taking in the two Valdez Museums. Two Infamous event in Valdez were the spotlight and both occurred in the month of March.

The 1964 Alaskan earthquake, also known as the Great Alaskan earthquake and Good Friday earthquake, occurred at 5:36 PM AKST on Good Friday, March 27, 1964. Across south-central Alaska ground fissures, collapsing structures, and tsunamis resulting from the earthquake caused about 131 deaths.

Lasting four minutes and thirty-eight seconds, the magnitude 9.2–9.3 megathrust earthquake remains the most powerful earthquake ever recorded in North America and the second most powerful earthquake ever recorded in the world since modern seismography began in 1900. Six hundred miles of fault ruptured at once and moved up to 60 ft (18 m), releasing about 500 years of stress buildup. Soil liquefaction, fissures, landslides, and other ground failures caused major structural damage in several communities and much damage to property.

In Valdez alone, stresses generated by the seismic shocks and the slide developed an extensive system of fissures throughout the unconsolidated deposits at the head of the fjord. These fissures plus the shocks caused structural damage to many of the buildings in Valdez and destroyed the sewer and water systems. This event caused an underwater landslide that washed away the waterfront area of Valdez and resulted in the loss of 32 lives.

Then on March 24, 1989, the Exxon Valdez oil tanker ran aground and produced a massive oil spill that impacted the Prince William Sound. The Exxon Valdez spill is the second largest in U.S. waters, after the Gulf of Mexico's 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill, in terms of volume of oil released. Prince William Sound's remote location, accessible only by helicopter, plane, or boat, made government and industry response efforts difficult and made existing response plans especially hard to implement. The region is a habitat for salmon, sea otters, seals, and seabirds. The oil, extracted from the Prudhoe Bay Oil Field, eventually affected 1,300 miles (2,100 km) of coastline, of which 200 miles (320 km) were heavily or moderately oiled. The region is still recovering to this day.

We departed Valdez on Tuesday, July 30th .hoping for better weather for our last week in Alaska..