We were not originally going to go back to Valdez but we are glad we changed our minds. Craig suggested that we take the Alaska Marine Highway ferry from Valdez to Whittier so we didn’t have to back track at all and it looked like the weather would be nice and clear. The last time we were in Valdez and Whittier it was raining and overcast so we were hoping to experience those towns without it raining.
The drive down to Valdez on the Richardson Highway is beautiful and the views of mountains and waterfalls are breathtaking. If you haven’t figured it out yet, pretty much every road you can drive in Alaska has awesome views.
We drove over Thompson Pass, which is only 2600 feet in elevation, but had a ton of snow yet. It is the snowiest weather station in Alaska recording 500 inches of snow per year on average.
Once in Valdez we got a few supplies and grabbed some appetizers at the Fat Mermaid and then went to find a spot to camp. There are not many options close to town for boondocking and the one good spot was already occupied. We ended up parking next to where the post office used to be in Old Valdez. The post office building was barely 2 years old when the Good Friday 1964 earthquake occurred and destroyed the old site of Valdez. It wasn’t ideal but it worked. It was kind of weird that people were coming to take pictures of the signs at 11:00 at night but to each their own.
It was raining when we went back into town on Wednesday so we went to the Maxine & Jesse Whitney museum. This is a free museum that contains one of the largest collections of Native Alaskan art and artifacts in the world. It is very well done and we found it very interesting.
We checked out a few stores and then made our way to Valdez Brewing which wasn’t there when we were here in 2018. We really enjoyed the beer and a halibut & chips basket from the Poor Betty food truck outside. We would definitely recommend going if you get to Valdez.
We had to check in at 5:30 am the next morning for the ferry so we went to find camp and were happy to see that the good spot had been vacated. Sometimes we have terrible timing, but we were thankful this was not one of them. We pulled in and just got set up and 3 or 4 other RVs drove past, probably with the same disappointment we had the night before.
We were up bright and early and got in line to wait to board the Aurora. The Aurora is a significantly smaller ferry as it only does day trips. The front viewing area was really busy so we went up to the solarium and opted for lounge chairs under the heaters. This was a great spot and we enjoyed the scenery as it passed by. We got into Whittier 6 hours later and went back to a small little cafe that had great halibut as well. We really like halibut!
Awesome views from the ferry
We got in line for the Anton Anderson tunnel which is a one way, 2 1/2 mile long tunnel that must be shared by cars and trains traveling in both directions. The unique design of the tunnel allows single lane traffic to travel directly over the railroad tracks. Once through the tunnel, we went back to another great boondocking spot we had found when we were here before.
The next day we made our way to Homer. We wanted to try and camp out on the spit and meet up with friends from Michigan that were vacationing there. After looking at our camping options, we decided to stay at Ocean Shores RV park just a little bit before the spit. We got an awesome spot with beautful views, the neighbors were a little close but it was ok for a night.
We met up with Dennis and Pam Driesenga at Alice’s Champagne Palace. It has a fancy name but was a great spot that locals frequent and we had an excellent dinner. It was great to catch up on what was going on back home, hear about fishing in Homer and talked about their upcoming cruise heading south through the inside passage.
Before we left camp on Saturday morning, we took long hot showers and I was able to do laundry. We love to have those ammenties available to us when we have to pay for camping. We went and parked on the spit and walked around enjoying the beautiful sunny day! We made our way to the Salty Dawg Saloon and met up for a drink with Dennis and Pam before we parted ways again.
We grabbed a beer at Homer Brewing and while we were in the parking lot video chatting with friends from home, a big mama moose and her baby ran right down the middle of the road right in front of us. It was pretty spectacular and I was so shocked I couldn’t get my camera out fast enough.
We headed back north and checked out a couple beach camping spots to find them pretty busy. Fishing season is in full effect and it was fun to watch as boats were getting loaded up and taken out of the water in a very non traditional way that we don’t see in Michigan. The views of Cook Inlet and the mountains in the Aleutian Range were awesome.
We had passed the American Legion in Ninilchik on our way to Homer and saw they were going to have live music Saturday night. So we popped in and enjoyed meeting the local old guys and listened to the music. Howard was a super nice gentleman that was fun to talk to. He bought us a beer and offered to let us camp on the beach by his house. We also met Red who was going to be 89 this year! He was a funny guy and we all had fun. We thanked them for their generosity but continued to head toward Kasilof and a boondocking spot that we had found.
It was just a parking lot on the beach that they allow people to stay in and when it’s clear the views of the mountains are amazing.
We woke up Sunday morning to a very overcast, cold and windy day. The sun tried to peak out but the mountains never showed themselves. Many people came out to walk the beach but none stayed long. We hunkered down in the camper and stayed warm and read.
Monday we headed to Kenai. We had found a used bookstore called Already Read in 2018 and had a few books to trade in. This place has so many books that it takes time to find what you are looking for. We may have went a little overboard but that’s okay. We enjoy reading a lot and carry way more books than we should but oh well.
Kassick’s Brewing happened to be pretty close so we stopped in there for a beer and then continued north hoping to make it to Possession Point. Craig tries to track down where roads and trails go but we just never know what the condition is. We ran into a big muddy mess and turned around. It’s fun to explore even if we can’t make it through.
There was not a lot of boondocking options up here. There were more “No Camping” signs than we have seen yet in Alaska. We found a large pull out that would have to do for the night.
Craig had found some boondocking spots he wanted to check out on Kenai Lake. The first one wasn’t that great so we kept going. The second was awesome but super busy. The road from the lot was full of large pot holes and somewhat steep so we were surprised when we saw a lot of vehicles and people down there. The beach curved around and we decided to walk to see what was back there. Low and behold it was a nice secluded site that was empty! We parked right next to the water and settled in for a couple of days.
Our timing was great again because many vehicles came around the corner and I’m sure were disappointed to see us there. We had many different neighbors in the 2 days that we stayed here and most kept their distance with only 2 couples walking right through our camp for some reason.
We are thankful that we got some nice sunny days here. We keep an eye on the weather and try to plan accordingly. We booked a 6 hour boat trip out of Seward tomorrow. The weather looks to be good until Sunday. Crossing our fingers that we see lots of whales and puffins!
Off to Seward…