Drive from Haines, Alaska to Valdez, Alaska

08/01/07 - 08/05/07

We took five days to get from Haines to Valdez. We drove for two days, spent two days in Kennecott and McCarthy, and then drove one more day to reach Valdez.

On the first day, we drove to Beaver Creek, Yukon. That evening, at sunset (at 11:15!!), a brief rain shower produced the best and longest lasting rainbow I've ever seen. It was a full rainbow and all the colors were very bright and intense. I got my camera and started taking photos. About 15 minutes later, I realized that I didn't have my memory card in the camera. By then, the rainbow had faded some. But I got a memory card and still had time to take a few more photos. The rainbow lasted at least a half hour.

On the second day, we drove to Kenny Lake, Alaska.

We spent the third and fourth days at Kennecott and McCarthy. We hired an outfitter to drive us there. It is 60 miles over a nasty gravel road to get there. So we decided to leave the driving to someone else. These two towns are left over from a big copper mine. The mine was in Kennecott. The National Park Service has taken over the mine and is in the process of restoring and stabilizing the buildings. McCarthy is a small town about five miles away from Kennecott. We spent the night at a local lodge that had an awesome view of the Kennicott Glacier, which is near the mine.

On the fifth day, we drove from Kenny Lake to Valdez. The last stretch of road coming into Valdez is supposed to be very scenic. Unfortunately, it was all fogged in. So we didn't get to see any of it.

Kennicott River
Steve Winker