The Tok Cutoff and Richardson Highway: Tok to Valdez, AK

Today the plan was to drive to Valdez, take a quick look around, and then drive back north to Copper Center. But the weather was so nasty that we decided to stay in Valdez and hope for better conditions in the morning. There are gorgeous mountains all around us and all we can see are clouds and fog. Hopefully the drive tomorrow will be better, and we will make it into McCarthy, the tiny town in the middle of Wrangell-St. Elias National Park. We'll be based there for the next few days. Below are the only two interesting pics I took today.

There are several signs to watch for horses in the road, which I still can't get over. It just seems like such a bad idea to me having horses grazing in the middle of the highway. Here's one on a big rope, in between the 4 lane traffic. WTF??


And, below, the best hotel bathroom wallpaper of all time! The original townsite of Valdez was completely destroyed in the Good Friday earthquake of 1964, and they rebuilt the town 4 miles away. My theory is that the place we're staying was brand new when the town relocated, and has not redecorated since then. Check it out!