Valdez @en
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The crossing to the east continues…
Still in New Mexico, I crossed the El Malpais area – “the bad country” – a volcanic site that spread a large lava flow approx. 3,000 years ago…
1. A lava tunnel revealed by the partial collapse of its vault. Its access was closed to protect bats that overwinter there.
2. View the gigantic lava flow from El Malpais, an Hawaiian type volcano. It covers nearly 35 miles.
3. La Ventana Arch, one of the largest natural arch in New Mexico.
4. The Pueblo Acoma on a hill of sandstone. I have not been allowed to visit it, the access being restricted, paying and … suspended for the winter!
5. Further, the Pueblo Laguna Library and its Hispanic-style church.
6. The next morning I woke up on the Valdez Caldera, remains of a giant volcano that collapsed on itself. This caldera is 14 miles in diameter!
7. Beautiful sky while there is still a few snow at over 7,000 feet. Yet, for 5-6 years, the place doesn’t receive the usual 6-10 feet snow…
8. East Fork River.
9. By collapsing, the volcano has poured an incredible amount of tuff nearly 55 miles around, sometimes more than 600 feet thick. It’s in a canyon carved in the tuff that are the Bandelier Dwellings. In addition to the cavities in the tuff, the Indian built houses at the foot of the walls. Note the horizontal rows of holes that allowed to fix the frames on the wall.
10. Natural cavities.
11. They were connected by passages duged into the tuff. Note soot that still covers the vaults.
12. At the bottom of the canyon, the ruins of an impressive semi-circular pueblo.
13. A local resident who allowed me to approach, which is rare for a woodpecker.
Further upstream, there is a kiva – a room for rituals and ceremonies – found almost intact under a large overhang; only the roof was rebuilt there sixty years ago. It is 140 feet above the canyon and you have to climb on long ladders to get there.
15. Detour in Oklahoma to discover the original work of an artistic collective: 10 old cars planted in the ground from the front…
16. Quite original, it must be said. Too bad, I arrived a little late, the light wasn’t great…
17. Winter wake up in the middle of a Wind mill field in which I spent the night. It was blowing a strong blizzard (announced between 50 and 60 mph!) and actual temperature was 15F…
18. Hellish road conditions! Freeway was just a carpet of ice, the few inches of snow fell during the night was packed with trucks before freezing. VivaLaVida traveled almost 450 miles in these conditions, a little tiring for her driver…
19. The next day in Arkansas, it was not much better: snowed all day to more than 400 miles. I stopped counting the vehicles out of the road at 50…
20. It improved a bit as I crossed the Mississippi River in Memphis TN.
Without showing it that much, this update relates to a three-day trip and more than 1,300 miles in very difficult conditions. After a stop at Maryville TN to eat with a couple of friends, I found the snow back on the road to cross the Appalachians but arrived in the region of Asheville safely.
I’ll be on the departure to Switzerland when you’ll discover these lines…
This blog will then be quiet for a few weeks … but will continue to relate VivaLaVida’s journey from early May no doubt!
Thank you for following this journey, I’m always very pleased to read your comments. 😉
East Denali HighWay & Valdez (AK)
The Denali Highway is definitely not a highway, it was in poor condition and it took me almost the full day to drive the seventy remaining miles of dirt.
1. Glacial plains make the rivers meander.
2. During my lunch stop, I first saw the mother ptarmigan…
3. … then some of its progeny. Two months after birth, they have grown and are about half their adult size.
4. Wide glacial valleys offer great views.
5. Getaway on a side track.
6. There to, there is nice flowers.
7. Near the East Junction, the view opens on the Alaska Range.
8. A weather opening allows me to see off one of the highest mountains in that range, Mount Hayes, which rises to over 13,800 feet above sea level.
9. Light patch…
10. Clouds arrive…
11. Boondocking on a hill in the tundra.
12. Given the bad weather announced, I continued the road to Valdez. The road ends here!
13. The mouth of Valdez Glacier Stream is a real birdhouse for bald eagles! I observed more than thirty of those, awesome! Here is one that comes…
14. … and lands not too far on a hunting spot. I crawled 300 yards in the mud to get closer… 😀
15. Returning, I see fresh grizzly tracks.
I talked to a local who stopped to see VivaLaVida and he tells me that this place is frequented by many grizzlies, especially late in the day for a good reason. This place is close to a salmon hatchery. And as you probably know, after a 4-year cycle, to reproduce, salmons return to their birthplace. Here, they try to go upstream in a nearby river but are blocked by a waterfall and remains between the bay and the waterfall. While this is only the beginning of the breeding season, there were already thousands of salmons crowded into this little river and bears have understood that it’s easy to catch food up here to make their required reserves for hibernation.
So I decided to wait a moment and I was lucky… 😉
16. A male probably 4-5 years old arrived on the scene and catched a first salmon without waiting!
17. He repeated the operation 6-7 times, not leaving much to the seagulls quickly ready to steal the remains. It was funny to see the bear trying to scare thoses when they came to close. 😀
18. I’m only about 12 yards away and enjoy the spectacle!
19.
The grizzly is not the only one to take advantage of the opportunity; This sea lion is also hunting. He catched about 12 salmons in about half an hour!
20. Eyes still dazzled by this show, I went to sleep at the bottom of the glacier.
21. The rain fell again, moisture was probably at 100%, giving an atmosphere of rainforest…
22. To complete this update, a small iceberg rather aesthetic in layers of mist…
Way back from Valdez and McCarthy Road to come in a few days.
Thank you again to follow us with as much fidelity! 😉
D5 Creation