The summer of 2012 my husband and I, along with another couple, drove to Alaska. At the time we were there, it was wetter than usual and also chilly.

One of my favorite spots in Alaska was Valdez. We spent several days there, the weather was wonderful, and the scenery was beautiful. From Anchorage, the drive to Valdez was breathtaking. There was an awesome scene around every turn. The landscape was made up of lush green trees, mountains, lakes, lupines and fireweed.

In Valdez we could see the harbor and snow-covered mountains from our campground. There was a road just outside of town where we could observe bears, sea lions, otters and eagles while the fishermen hauled in salmon from the harbor. At the time we were there, pink salmon were running, so we watched the eagles either capture the salmon or snatch the remains from the banks.

In another area of the road, we sat on the banks for hours and watched the fishing boats maneuver and haul in the salmon. Some boats were close enough to the shore that we could hear the captains giving commands to the help. On the opposite side of the road, we watched a mother grizzly and her four cubs explore.The bears were there both days we visited the area.

Another area of interest in Valdez was the Solomon Fish Hatchery. This hatchery has a fish ladder, which the salmon climb so they can spawn in the same place each year. North of Valdez we visited the Valdez Glacier and Worthington Glacier along with some beautiful waterfalls. Before heading out of Valdez we decided to visit the Valdez Museum and the Remembering Old Valdez Exhibit.

In Alaska, we realized that items we grew up with were included in the museums since it only became a state in 1959; antiques just don’t seem as old in Alaska. The Valdez Museum tells about the town's beginning and history, including the Exxon oil spill. The Remembering Old Valdez Exhibit describes the 1964 Good Friday earthquake — both before and after the quake.

The original site of old Valdez is still visible, but today’s Valdez has been relocated 4 miles from the original site. It was slightly unsettling to see "tsunami evacuation" signs throughout coastal Alaska, but we realized the signs were a necessary precaution.

As we headed out of Valdez toward Tok, the chilly weather returned for a while. We encountered some wet snow and 35 degrees in Thompson’s Pass on the Richardson Highway and there was a new, light snow covering on some far off mountains.