Day 17 - Thursday, July 16/2009
Starting Location: Valdez, AK
Ending Location: Valdez, AK
Distance Travelled: none today
Distance Travelled to date: 5320 miles or 8946 km
Today we stayed in Valdez and decided to take a boat cruise along the Prince William Sound to see the glaciers, do some whale watching and catch a glimpse of the wildlife.
The day was very overcast and the clouds hung very low, reducing the visibility. We could not see the snow-capped mountains nor much of the open water.
As we cruised along, we had a great narration of the history and events of the area such as the largest earthquake that ever hit the United States (9.5 on the Reichter Scale and lasting 5 minutes)and tsumani that destroyed the original town of Valdez and killed many people who were on the piers when the tsunami struck. We also learned about the Exxon Valdez that ran aground, killing thousands of wildlife and
destroying the prestine coastline.
We saw the Columbia Icefields with ice going far into the inlet and came very close to another glacier and watched it calf (large sections breaking away and crashing into the ocean).
We saw humpback whales, sealions, an eagle, puffins and porpoise.
As we came back to Valdez, the skies started to clear up a bit, but still not revealing the area's shear beauty.
Tomorrow, we are off to Chicken, AK to pan for gold.
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