Museum Flower Garden

There is a beautiful flower garden planted in front of the Valdez Museum. Today, I brought my camera over and took some pictures. Here are my favorites - I just wish I knew what they are called!

Bumblebee pollinating this one

Dock Point Trail

This afternoon the sun came out for the first time in weeks, so I decided to go for a short hike on the Dock Point Trail, near the small boat harbor. I went there against my better judgment, as I recently injured my left ankle somehow, but I just couldn't resist taking a walk in such beautiful weather.

The three-quarter mile trail looped around a wooded peninsula on a nice gravel surface and provided several lovely views of this part of Prince William Sound. The trail began with a short, steep ascent and then flattened out for most of the remaining distance. Lush vegetation, including trees, shrubs, and wildflowers surrounded the trail throughout the hike. Although it was a gorgeous hike (and I'm glad I did it), my ankle hurts much more now as a result. I am hoping some rest will help it feel better soon, because there is a lot more I want to do while I'm here in Alaska!

Dock Point Trail Map,

From Valdez Convention & Visitors Bureau Website

The beginning of the Dock Point Trail

First view of the sound from the trail

Beautiful view from the trail

A boardwalk to a nice little overlook

A really pretty mushroom along the trail

I came across this pretty marshy area near the end of the hike

Beach next to the trailhead

The small boat harbor was really beautiful, too

I really loved this little boat

An Evening on Blueberry Hill

This evening I walked around on Blueberry Hill with Don. Blueberry Hill is located just behind the museum annex where I work, and parallels Prince William Sound. We started walking around 8 PM, which sounds late, but it doesn't get dark here until after midnight, so we had plenty of light. We walked along a rocky gravel road and several dead end roads that intersected it. Once we got up on the hill just a little ways, it seemed as though we were outside Valdez, when in reality the town was just a few hundred yards away. It was a nice little walk, and it was good to get outside after a week of work. We enjoyed the area for a couple of hours before heading back home.

Valdez and Prince William Sound from Blueberry Hill

Alaska Marine Highway System ferry at the dock,

with Alyeska pipeline facility in background

A nice mountain view

Lovely waterfall

I think this is Fireweed budding

A mushroom with four slugs

A really beautiful mushroom along the road

Heading toward home