Last Day in Valdez

We ran out of “tourist” things to do, so we took the day to get caught up on a few things. Don installed the CB antenna spring replacement he found at Radio Shack while I held the ladder (he’s now trained not to use a ladder without someone holding it). He repaired the electrical connection between the car and motorhome; one of the wires had come loose in the plug that he had recently replaced. And he fixed the sliding door leading to the bathroom that had been sticking.

I updated our expense records and discovered that we’ve spent an average of $22.40 per night for parking, counting 21 days on the road since leaving Dawson Creek, BC, including 4 nights of boondocking. The lowest per-night fee was $21 and the highest was $38. Diesel costs ranged from $0.45 to $0.89 per mile, depending on how many hills we climb and the price of diesel. The per-gallon price was a low of $4.79 (in Tok, Alaska) to a high of $5.54 (Canadian$) in Pink Mountain, BC. We’ve driven 1432 miles and spent about $990, for an overall average of $0.69 per mile. I’m tracking our groceries and some of our more expensive dining out, but not reporting them since they will vary widely for everyone.

After a drizzly morning, the sun came out this afternoon for the first time since we got here 4 days ago. We did a little exploring of some streets in Valdez we hadn’t seen before. And, lo and behold, who should we run into? It was Pat and Jim coming back from a hike! Don told them they could try to hide but we’ll always find them!

Dennis & Carol left this morning to go scouting for a place near Palmer for us to meet up tomorrow. The Forbes and Olsons went with them. The Fradettes planned to go, but discovered a problem with their air bags so will have to stay here until they are fixed. Jim & Pat will leave with us tomorrow.

Since I didn’t take a single picture today, here are some from previous days. The first 4 are from the Valdez Museum.

Living barge for tug boat operators and tug boat in Prince William Sound.

Carol and Dennis hamming it up through the cruise ship’s window.

Wonder what kind of story Don’s telling Dennis and Carol?

We’ve found some DVD movies at Safeway to buy from the previously-watched (rental) racks, most costing less than what we’d normally pay for one ticket at a theater. Tonight’s movie is Mind Prey.