Wednesday, June 29

The mural across the street from the museum.

This old boat sits outside the Valdez museum.

I saw this boat in the harbor when we were going to dinner and it reminded me of my dog, Molly.

Outside the Fat Mermaid where we ate Wednesday evening.

We spent a relaxing day in Valdez after a breakfast of stuffed French toast and bacon. We went to the Valdez Museum and learned a lot about the area. It was quite interesting as it led you through a time capsule beginning with the area when it was inhabited by the native Chugach and Ahtna Eskimos to Captain Cook and the Russian fur trappers. There were many artifacts and replicas of the tools, furs and furniture used by the peoples of all the eras. As it progressed through the time line it also ended with a short film on the Valdez oil spill and the clean up. In another building was an exhibit that was dedicated to the old town of Valdez that was destroyed in the earthquake of 1964. The quake, a 9.2 left the town 9 feet lower and the land where the docks used to be was swept out to sea. 32 lives were lost on that day in Valdez. Because the land was now lower it was decided by the town council that the town would be moved to it's present location, 4 miles to the west