Sam And Saundra's Year Long Adventure - Part 139

Sam and Saundra’s Year Long Adventure – Part 139

Alaska

6/28/09 – Copper Center, Alaska

We decided last night to try and get up early for a change.  This should not be difficult – Sam was a 5 am’er and he used to drag me up at that time too.  This should NOT be difficult.  Luckily, with the use of an alarm and hefty internal fortitude (?) – we got up at 6 am. We take off in Brutus, following our neighbors.  Sam suddenly swerves to the side of the road and stops.  A Grizzly had decided to give a show and we had to pull over to help take pictures of him. Some other gawkers actually got out of their vehicles and walked toward him – way too close.

Valdez Grizzly

We made it to the church services dock at 7:45 am. We are going to attend the Chapel Of The Sea service and board the MV Lu-Lu Belle at 8 am.  The service was very good and the location of the service was inspiring.  We were in the middle of the nearest arm of the Prince William Sound.  The boat and ‘cruise’ were donated by the owners of the MV Lu-Lu Belle. The service is provided by the Baptist Church of Valdez.  It was nice to meet others who are ‘on the road’ in such a glorious place for such a glorious reason.

Starting Place For Sunday Services

Then, we have to leave.  Our Sound-side neighbors from Minnesota, Kenny and Annette, are also leaving today.  They were great neighbors, sharing their experiences, humor and knowledge.  We have met and spent time with several people who are on ‘adventures’ of their own. Though we may never see them again (well maybe at the sani-dump line), we will remember them. We can’t help but look back at the beauty of Valdez as we climb away from the town.  Brutus gets a good workout following the same (only) land route back inland.

One Last Picture Of The Glacier

The One And Only Picture Of The Sani-Dump

Sam has been doing a little ‘talking’ here and there with fishing guys and has decided we are going to stop at Klutina Charters Campground to see if we can catch some salmon. Silly me, I thought we were going to do that later in July.  Luckily, there were some dry camp spots available and we took one.  This campground is located at Copper Center, in Copper Valley on the Klutina River.  It is about 20 miles to Glennallen. It is a private, fairly primitive campground, which is full of scads of people.  Compared to Valdez, it wasn’t very pretty.  We did not care.  We are going to fish…   After watching others, we go out and try.  We tried and tried and tried and gave up for the night.