Keystone Canyon, Valdez, Alaska

     The sky is still full of low-hanging clouds so we can't see the mountain tops.  We talked to a lady in the camper right next to us.  She is from Fairbanks.  Her family comes to Valdez each year for a couple weeks to fish for salmon.  She says that it is usually sunny this time of year.  We have seen her sons-in-law come back each day with fish.  She says they only keep the Kings and the Reds - the best for eating according to her.

    We spent the morning cleaning the RV and sewing due to the cold and the rain.  Finally this afternoon it let up a little and we decided to get outside and explore for a while.  We drove a few miles back up the Richardson Highway to Keystone Canyon. It is a beautiful area, full of waterfalls.  We stopped at Bridal Veil Falls and Horsetail Falls.  In the early 1900's the military worked to put a road through to Valdez.  They used a native trail and widened it.  It was called the Military Road or the Goat Trail.  Some of that trail is still passable.  We walked it for a bit.  It was very overgrown with lots of wild flowers but led to a nice overlook. During the gold rush days there was an attempt to put a railroad through the canyon.  One of the historic sites along the way was at a tunnel which had been created in the days of working on the rail road.  The tracks were never finished.

     We also drove to Old Valdez where the city stood before the 1964 earthquake and tsunami.  Only a couple signs and foundations are still there.   Our big event for the day was to get a take-out pizza as a change of pace for dinner on this dreary day.