I could make a simple statement, such as, we left Glenallen and took the Richardson Highway to Valdez, Alaska. And that is a fact. But it wasn’t the experience. That’s often the case, isn’t it? The basic truth doesn’t quite capture the full experience. I’ve taken a lot of beautiful drives in my life. This one ranks pretty high. It’s definitely the only one that included a glacier, snow, and majestic waterfalls. If I’m honest, I wasn’t ready for any of it. 

We were at the tail end of two weeks in interior Alaska and were about to board the ship for the last week with multiple ports. (If anyone tries to talk you into cruising before you traipse around interior Alaska, stop in your tracks. Keep the relaxing, stay-in-one-place portion of the trip for the end. You can thank me later.) We still had energy, but it was energy for the next phase. We were going to take a catamaran from Valdez to Whittier to board the ship. We had a long day ahead. It was time to go. I knew it was supposed to be a pretty drive, but what in Alaska isn’t pretty? Not much, as far as I had seen.

We weren’t on the road much when we pulled over to see a glacier. Call me naive, but before I went to Alaska, I had no idea there were so many types of glaciers and they are located throughout Alaska. Here’s a list if you want to take a look yourself.

https://library.alaska.gov/asp/alaska_glaciers.HTML

We continued to climb in elevation and stopped again. The snow hadn’t melted yet. It reminded me a bit of the Rockies, the roads that get shut down during the winter storms because snow plows simply can’t keep up. As I looked around, I realized the co-existence of winter remnants with spring sprouts pushing through, not letting the winter slow-pokes hold them back. The sun wasn’t vibrant because of some cloud cover, but as we began to descend, the sun pushed through, the snow disappeared, and we entered a stunning canyon.

The walls were black volcanic rock, almost perpendicular to the road. They were angular. The waterfalls poured over the tops. It was majestic—and so different from where we were what seemed like a few minutes ago. Greenery sprouted from the rock. Pools formed at the bottom of the waterfalls then flowed into rivers. It was powerful and beautiful. Photos didn’t quite do it justice, but I tried.

We reluctantly continued and reached Valdez, which was a quaint, welcoming town. We had time to explore, including a grocery store, which we hadn’t had access to for close to a week. I tend to pack prepared; however, since I had the chance, I decided to pick up a couple items. We made a quick stop in The Valdez Museum and supported the local dance team at their bake sale. Then it was time to head to the catamaran. (Little did I know our bus would literally drive onto the dock.)

The transportation was simple—board a bus in one town, end in another town, board a catamaran. But it was so much more. I think that’s true with so much of the simple parts of our lives. We think the routine, mundane, here-to-there steps can easily be overlooked. They’re necessary but not meaningful. They’re essential but not incredible. They don’t surprise us, because we aren’t attentive. We check out. We scroll. We sleep. And sometimes that’s okay. But we need to accept the cost. We need to accept that we might miss something. There is beauty to experience if we’re only willing to watch, notice, engage, and appreciate.

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