Yesterday I dropped Robert and Grandpa off at the 'Chugach Girl' fishing boat, at the small harbor dock, for their halibut fishing trip with Valdez Outfitters. We pulled up about 5:35am, the whole group of six was there and ready so off they went!
It was a foggy, chilly morning and the guys dressed warm and had rain ponchos ready to go just in case. The weather ended up clearing up and the sun even came out for awhile- it was so much better than expected.
My dad ended up catching the biggest fish at 40". You were allowed 1 over 32" and as many as you wanted under that. They ended up with 27.5lbs of fish total and we had it flash frozen and shipped home- that was pricey!
While they were fishing, I went on the Stan Stephens Wildlife cruise. It didn't leave until 10:30 so I had a few hours to kill. I drove up the mountain pass to Blueberry Lake and put my kayak in for an early morning float as the sun was coming over the mountain. Perfect start to the morning, kayaking on a flat lake with mountain reflections all around!
I checked out the fish Hatchery again at low tide on my way back, before the cruise. Sea lions and spawning salmon were there again, shrouded in the fog.
The wildlife, glacier cruise left out of the small boat harbor and headed for the Columbia Glacier. Fog rolled in pretty heavy as we were leaving, but ended up clearing just as quick as we headed out of the Valdez port.
We saw bald eagles on the way through the Valdez arm, Sea Lions at Point Bull head, the Columbia Glacier as we headed around Heather Island and whales on the way back to Valdez.
The Columbia Glacier is the second largest Tidewater Glacier- it didn't start receding until 1980 and has moved 17 miles since then. We were able to get pretty close, within about two miles- furthest they have been able to get this summer.
The tour was great- lots of information about the area, from settling the town, the earthquake from 1964 (was 9.2 on the Richter scale and lasted 5 minutes with a tsunami- destroyed the area!), and the Exxon Valdez oil spill after the freighter hit Bligh Point in the bay.
Both expeditions were successful and we would highly recommend both!
We would also recommend the Nat Shack which is the taco food truck we ate at for dinner!
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