Brrrr, it's cold in Valdez - Montana Owners Club

jrgwdenner · 08-26-2005, 06:46 PM

Sorry, I just had to say that. It was 44' when we got up this morning in Anchorage but it did warm up to about 65. We are now in Sea Otter RV Park right on the coastline of Prince William Sound. There's a chill in the air which will only get worse as the sun has gone down behind the mountains. Be sure to add Valdez to your future trip itinerary. The drive south from Glennallen is unbelievable and should not be missed.

Valdez is set between the mountains so the scenery is great. The sea otters play just behind our Montana and the boats are fun to watch. We even saw some swans feeding in one part of the bay. There's always something interesting to watch.

vickir · 08-26-2005, 07:59 PM

Brrr is right! We got an early start on our road trip yesterday morning and there was frost on the ground. I love it but Steve has been whining for days about having to use space heaters, wearing jackets and (worst of all) not being able to wear shorts and sandals in August.

jrgwdenner · 08-26-2005, 09:18 PM

I think we're still doing better than those poor folks suffering in 100' weather! I wish we had a space heater along with us. We should have looked for one when we were in Anchorage but it's hard to remember you need one when it's in the mid 60s.

vickir · 08-27-2005, 04:20 AM

Not to worry ... you'll soon be back in the land-of-many-Walmarts and can pick one/two up for future travels. I'm sure we're going to need them in Reno.

Yesterday Steve read a forecast for an inch of snow here last night and I thought he was going to have a cow!!! I would much rather deal with cold than heat!

Kathi · 08-27-2005, 04:57 AM

Hold on, all is not lost. Last night in So. Cal. at 11pm it was only 90 degrees. I had to check it 3 times before I believed what I was seeing. So I kinda envy you and that cold weather. I can take the heat alot better then the cold because of my leg, but right now cool does sound alot better then hot....

padredw · 08-27-2005, 05:52 AM

Vicki, when we were there in July they were having a 'heat wave'. That was one of our disappointments about our visit to Yellowstone. We had been there two or three times before and we had never had it to be so hot as it was this July.

Like you, we found the effects of the fires still to be a real loss to the scenic beauty of that wonderful place.

My greatest disappointment was at the Mammoth Hot Springs area, where I remember the glistening, white formations with multi-colored highlights. This time they appeared dry and 'dead' for the most part. I do hope that was a very temporary situation.

We are continuing to enjoy your post cards.

I edit this to add that we have been having 'triple digit' temperatures over the past several weeks, and with the typical high humidity for this area that puts the 'heat index' up around 110. We are thankful for our good air conditioning in our home.

jrgwdenner · 08-27-2005, 06:04 AM

Hot and humid is what we'd be experiencing in Alabama, if we were there. Now there's a hurricane heading our way and even though our home is 3 hours from the coast, the rain weakens those old pine trees and makes things worrisome. Our prayers go out to those near the coast. I trust they will use wisdom in dealing with Katrina......like hit the road and find a safe place. These situations make me really glad to have an RV. We stayed at home during the last big hurricane and had 8 hours of sustained winds. I made Glen promise 'never again'.

jpkelpe · 08-27-2005, 10:07 AM

for those of you who were in Yellowstone, we were told that several things have made changes in the geysers, etc. one of them the droughts that they have been having but more so are the earthquakes--seems they shake up the things underground and everything works differently--maybe sort of like taking the Monty on real rough roads.

dsprik · 08-27-2005, 11:31 AM

Actually, Yellowstone is sitting on top of one of the worlds largest volcanos, called a "supervolcano" (where do you think the hot springs and geysers come from?). There are always earthquakes near active volcanos. It covers 1,500 square miles. Mt St Helens, by contrast, was 2 square miles

. Discovery Channel ran a two hour fictional movie this past winter about what would happen if it erupted. It was based on scientific facts. It has erupted several times in the ancient past. Western 1/3 of the US was covered with lava and ash. It is still considered an "active" volcano. I am sure we all would have plenty of warning by the USGS if something were starting up again there. It will eventually erupt again. In the meantime, everyone should enjoy one of the most spectacular spots on earth and our very first National Park. Thank you, Teddy Roosevelt!

Aren't you glad I'm a retiring Earth Science teacher???

See this link ~

http://dsc.discovery.com/convergence...ervolcano.html

vickir · 08-27-2005, 12:50 PM

Dave, You are correct that Yellowstone was the first National Park. However, last night I was reading a timeline of the history of the Park and, according to that source, "With support from the Northern Pacific Railroad, which saw the potential benefits on tourism, the bill creating the park was signed by President Ulysses S. Grant on March 1, 1872." I know Teddy Roosevelt was directly responsible for the establishment of Yosemite as a national park, but Yellowstone was a little before his time. And you are definitely correct that this is a spectacular place!

dsprik · 08-27-2005, 02:15 PM

Thanks, Vicki! That's the first time I had heard that. I always thought it was Teddy. Never too old to learn new things. Did you look at The Discover Channel's "Supervolcano" website? Pretty awesome.

Wordsmith · 08-27-2005, 02:17 PM

Judy, I would gladly trade temperatures with you!

Georgia might not be Alabama, but I figure it is close enough. Our temps have been in the low 90s with very high humidity, so the thought of mid-40s to mid-60s sounds like heaven right know!

jrgwdenner · 08-27-2005, 03:31 PM

My personal preference is to camp in cooler weather or just live in cooler weather, for that matter. But while it is hot in Georgia and Alabama for 3 or 4 months (we can always stay in the air conditioning), I love the other three seasons there.

We had an outstanding day in Valdez. The temp hit 70' with a nice breeze off the water. Glen and I visited the local museum which is very interesting. They have a couple of films and a lot of information about the 1964 earthquake. We drove to Bridal Veil Falls and Horsetail Falls and walked around with Greta. She loved sniffing along the trails until she met up with a "monster" or two.
Don't know what it was, but she jumped back a few times like she was in mortal danger.

People were catching fish off the dock, silver salmon. One little girl about ten years old had to show us her huge silver. She was very proud and rightly so.

Valdez is a place that you should visit for a couple of days, longer if you're a fisherman and it's late summer. The silver salmon leading the Derby is over 18 pounds, larger than the one in Seward.

We're heading out for Tok tomorrow, Lord willing. I'll be posting new pictures on our blogspot.

vickir · 08-27-2005, 04:05 PM

No Dave, I haven't seen that website. I have this aversion to knowing too much negative information about (in this case) a place where I will be living. I also didn't watch the "what if" movie about the eruption of the supervolcano upon which we are, at present, parked for the same reason. When our son said should there be an eruption, the ashes would reach as far as their home in Kansas City, Steve reminded him that we could very possibly BE some of those ashes if it erupts while we're here!

dsprik · 08-27-2005, 04:12 PM

We are a LONG ways away from something happening there. It is really cool science though. You must know my wife. That was her reaction! Sorry to both of you. It's a "guy" thing.

So your son did watch the movie then? Guys think that stuff is cool. Some of us also think it's cool to jump out of a perfectly good airplane at several thousand feet and float down under a giant hankie. Is that rational, or what!

jrgwdenner · 08-27-2005, 04:14 PM

I agree with you, Vicki. Too much information can be very damaging to a positive outlook in life. Danger is everywhere, but why dwell on it. Here in Alaska there is the danger of earthquakes and Tsunamis. I know what to do if one occurs and that's all the knowledge I need. I'd rather be undereducated in such things.

sreigle · 08-28-2005, 07:16 AM

Dave, I'm not sure if he watched the movie but he sent us some urls about it all. He's a techie type so anything scientific or technology related catches his attention. It's nice to know we're temporarily living on top of an active volcano, especially since that earthquake at Dillon, MT, a few weeks ago is not that far from here. I guess an earthquake could trigger the volcano. Darned if I really know and hope I don't find out.

dsprik · 08-28-2005, 07:46 AM

Vicki and Judy ~ stop reading here////////////////

Steve,

I am very much a techie guy. I don't look at this stuff as scary. I think it is very cool science! Just like the fact the next major earthquake that scientists are concerned about is NOT in California, but on the New Madrid Fault in the Central US.

Cheryl & I rode out our first hurricane in Disney last year (Hurricane Charley). We know it caused damage, and we are sorry for that, but we thought it was neat. Disney buildings are very secure. We were on a third floor of the Yacht Club and we didn't ever feel threatened by the 105 mph winds that went right over us. They did have all guests stay in their rooms, pull in their wrought (sp?) iron deck furniture off our balconies and advised all of us to stay in the far end of our rooms ~ yeah, right! We are Northerners (from Mich). We ain't never seen a hurricane! We weren't missing this, so we ran to our windows to watch... for a while. We also each have one free, nonexpiring, one day all parks pass whenever we get back to use, as Disney closed all of their parks that day.

I would go see Mt St Helens in a heartbeat if I could get the chance. I don't consider it dangerous... just part of history in the making and also a part of our country's natural wonders that I want to experience.

Dave

jrgwdenner · 08-28-2005, 08:19 AM

Sick, Sick, Sick! I bet you'd want to chase tornadoes, too. You wouldn't like a hurricane with 80 MPH winds if your house was in the middle of a pine forest, frequented by pine beetles. They have killed our largest (did I say 'LARGE') pine tree since we left for Alaska. It's right between our house and the neighbors and in front of our storage shed. We sat out the last hurricane and I promised Glen that we would always relocate when another one was coming. I can't think of a better use for our Montana.

sreigle · 08-28-2005, 09:35 AM

I think tornado chasing would be really cool! I lived in tornado alley for much of my life but never saw nor experienced a tornado.

I, too, am, or was, a techie. My career started as a programmer and went from there. But I find as I age I more and more like the automatic things, the easy-to-do things. But I still enjoy technology.

We felt that earthquake Dillon, MT, had. We were way north by Glacier, in Hungry Horse, MT. It was dark and we thought some kids were pusing on the side of the nose of our Montana. An hour later we heard about the earthquake.

Mt. St. Helens is a really great place to visit. We visited there last year. Allow most of the day to do it right. I also remembered Mt. St. Helens back before it blew. I could see it from my ship (Navy) when we were in overhaul in Portland, OR. It was a beautiful mountain.

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