We left Valdez slowly, staying in our campsite until checkout time. Then we inched slowly back through the beautiful scenery that leads in and out of Valdez. We stopped again at the waterfalls, checked out the Blueberry State Recreation area, stopped at more turnouts taking pictures and having a lunch break.
As planned, we stopped at the Worthington Glacier and took a short walk to view it since we had skipped it on the way in.
As we backtracked along the highway, the major peaks of the Wrangell – Saint Elias Mountain Range – Blackburn, Sanford, Drum, and Wrangell were all peeking out in beautiful view on this sunny nearly cloudless day. What a sight to behold!
The scenery got a little less spectacular as we got further from Valdez, so we were able to pick up our pace a bit and make less stops as we approached Glennallen. Even so, there were still plenty of spots to stop and take pictures on this beautiful day.
After fueling in Glennallen again, we headed a short distance west to Tolsona Wilderness CG. It is a very lovely location with campsites along both sides of Tolsona Creek. It looked like it was getting a little run down but the setting was very nice and off the highway. People have complained about the bathrooms, but I have my own and so I don’t worry about that.
Day 43 (Day 9 in Alaska)
Miles: 137*
Driving time: 3:00
Roads: Richardson Highway (AK-4)
Road conditions: Good
Overnight: Tolsona Wilderness CG
Weather: Sunny (57/80)
Total miles in Alaska: 514*
Total miles since crossing Canadian border: 3,074*
Total miles: 4,642*
* Since our motorhome is our only vehicle, mileage includes side trips.