The End of the Road – Valdez, Alaska
Alaska Road Trip:
Shepherdsville, KY to Valdez, Alaska
88 Days (5/9/25 to 8/4/25)
8,865 miles
After taking the ferry back to Homer, Alaska from our week on Kodiak Island, we drove 500 miles up the Kenai Peninsula across to Glennallen and down the Richardson Highway. The road ended at Valdez, beyond is the Prince William Sound and the Pacific Ocean.
And so that’s where we headed – 50 miles out in the Prince William Sound on the Lu-Lu Belle. At 86 years old, Captain Fred Rodolf still takes tours out every day during the summer, and this is his 46th summer in Valdez.
You may recall Valdez from the Exxon Valdez oil spill that occurred on March 24, 1989, when the oil tanker named Exxon Valdez ran aground in Prince William Sound, releasing over 11 million gallons of crude oil. We passed the simple steel post now extending up from the Bligh Reef marking the spot where it went aground.
It was a great day at sea! We saw puffins birds, bald eagles, Orcas (killer whales), sea lions and stunning scenery. All this while making our way to the Columbia Glacier. As we approached the glacier, we floated around and gently nudged icebergs that had calved from the Columbia Glacier. We saw and heard small pieces of ice fall from the glacier into the Prince William Sound. There were even some brownies hot out of the oven as we navigated back to the city of Valdez.
Valdez is a small coastal fishing community surrounded by beautiful snow capped mountains. It is also the end of the 800-mile Alaska oil pipeline.
There was a full weekend of activities in Valdez for their annual Gold Rush Days. The steak dinner at the Elks was great. We perused the booths and of course watched the parade.
On our way down to Valdez, we stopped by Wrangell-St. Elias, America’s largest National Park. The park is larger than the entire country of Switzerland.
We stopped by Worthington Glacier which is not far north of Valdez, and walked as close as we could.
Valdez Glacier Lake is just on the edge of town and has small icebergs floating around the lake.
The Valdez Animal Shelter had posters around town asking people to walk their dogs. We stopped by and took Prince out for a walk to Crooked Creek, a Forest Service site. We stopped at a little river and he jumped and splashed and seemed happy to be out of his kennel.
The Sea Lions were feasting on salmon at the Solomon Gulch Fish Hatchery. They incubate 270 million salmon annually. These salmon go out to sea for two years before returning to swim up river to lay their eggs.
We are nearing the end of the road for our Alaska adventure. We are making final arrangements to sell the van very soon and fly back to Kentucky.
The Wrangell Mountains extend above 16,000 feet.
Sea Lions near the Solomon Gulch Fish Hatchery.
Sea Lions feast on the salmon as they return to spawn, eating 15-20 pounds of fish per day.
We walked up towards the Worthington Glacier.
On the approach to Valdez, Worthington Glacier accents the scenic mountains.
Lu-Lu Belle is a 65 foot Kelly Hull that owner and Captain Fred Rodolf spent ten months building and refurbishing.
Sea Lions often float on their backs.
Sea Lions have a single pup each year.
Puffin live in more remote coastal areas and not around populated areas.
Captain Ron eased the bow of Lu-Lu Belle into some tight little rock outcroppings to allow us to see puffin.
Columbia Glacier fills the valley between several mountains.
A pod of Orcas (killer whales) in Prince WIlliam Sound.
I’m confident Prince enjoyed his walk and brief reprieve from the confines of the shelter.
Gold Rush Days in Valdez.
Gold Rush Days in Valdez.
The river extending south from the Valdez Glacier Lake.