Squirrel Creek, Part II

One of the reasons I enjoy camping at Squirrel Creek is that we usually take one day and go road-trippin' to Valdez.  We stop along the way to see Worthington Glacier and get pictures at the waterfalls.  And I have the extra special added bonus of getting to see Sara for a little while.  Yay!

The glacier has receded significantly over the last few years.  Used to be that you could walk 5 minutes off the paved trail and be standing next to blue ice taller than you.  Now it's a bit of a hike before you get close - but it's still visible (unlike Portage Glacier, where you have to take one of the little cruises to get within binocular distance).

Nita and I opted to wait at the car for the hikers, and to pass the time she fed the birds.  Seagulls.  A whole herd of them.  Not sure what seagulls are doing hanging out at a glacier, but it was fun to watch.  I admit to ducking a couple times, and covering my head.  Didn't want to get pooped on when it's going to be a while before I could get cleaned up...  (Well, really didn't want to get pooped on at all, but especially not if I have to wear it for another hour or two.)  I overheard some tourists talking about how it feels just like home, because Utah's state bird is the sea gull.  I wanted to rush over and see if they knew any of my family that's from there, but I refrained...  =)

Valdez is absolutely beautiful - even in the rain.  We've been lucky some years to have sunshine, and then the vista is stunning!  But I wouldn't live there in the winter.  I've heard they can get 10 - 20 feet of snow - so much that people have to tunnel out of their houses to get anyplace.  No thanks!

 

Sara's work is in the lower right corner of the 2nd picture

We visited, did some sight-seeing, and got to eat dinner with Sara.  Through it all, there was a fine mist - not really rain, but grey clouds and enough dampness to eventually bead up on our clothes.  When it was finally time to say goodbye, the heavens opened up and there was torrential rain.  Methinks that might've been the elements expressing my emotions...  =)  Anyhow.  I intended to get our picture with a nice background (like a scenic mountain or somesuch), but settled for the parking lot with the burger joint where we had dinner.

Heading back to camp the weather got milder and milder, until it was cloudy with no rain at all.  Which is perfect weather to have a fire and roast marshmallows.  And that's the way we ended our road-trippin' day.  I've got a few more photos to share, so it looks like there'll be one more post about this utterly fantastic weekend.  Yay!!