A Day in Juneau

Thursday, August 13, 2015
Juneau, Alaska, United States
Good evening

Everyone from early morning until late tonight has been telling us how lucky we have been to spend a day in Juneau in brilliant sunshine once the morning clouds burned off. And to be honest, if it had been overcast and raining we could have spent a miserable 5 hours. Gary and I had seen humpback whale bubble-net fishing when we were here before so for this trip we had reserved for a trip to the Mendenhall Glacier, followed by a couple hours whale watching with the same company we had been successful with before...Juneau Tours if you are in the area.

The sun shone, the glacier glistened, the salmon were spawning in the glacier fed streams, a porcupine slept in a nearby tree (although some of us jaded travellers thought it was fake!) and for the finale we were treated to the spectacular sight of a group of 5 humpback whales diving and then rising with wide open mouths as they fished.

We arrived as the second cruise ship in port so I was able to take some photos of the waterfront. Juneau, the capital of Alaska, has a spectacular setting, crouched under Mt. Juneau in the Alaska Panhandle. It was founded during the gold rush 13 years after the purchase of Alaska. No roads lead to Juneau so boats and sea planes dominate the landscape. It now has a population of 33,000.

Good thing I took a photo early of the Juneau from our ship. The dock was soon cluttered up with three more cruise ships to add to the first two of us who had arrived. So if you think on average there are 2,000 cruisers per ship that puts about 10,000 folks to disperse for the day.

The many tee shirt and jewelry shops absorb a large number. We found lots of us were visiting the glacier, but then we were only 49 whale watchers. Wayne and Sandra did not find the excellent museum and aboriginal culture centre to be overwhelmed and had a wonderful experience exploring Juneau. Garth and Lisa reported that the Antiquarian book shop was terrific and once you ascended the steep streets to see the old part of town, like magic there were no cruisers. Lisa thought Juneau was like a combined Prince Rupert and Victoria. They wished they had more time for exploring. Everyone concluded you just have to walk a mile from where the ship drops you off and you are on your own in Alaska.

Gary and I wandered back to the ship after our tours and sat on our deck in the sun. The Otters taking tours to view the glacier kept taking off and then landing in a tandem...right in front of our balcony...terrific for the pilot and the photographer.

We reconvened for dinner to compare stories which is such fun. Gill was thrilled to have taken a wonderful photo of the whales bubble net fishing; Charlie told me the whales were beautiful animals. Paige thought the spawning salmon were larger than the ones we saw spawning in Skagway two years ago...and she is right. Sandra was able to buy souvenirs at the Aboriginal Cultural Centre where all the proceeds go to the artist and educational programs. She was delighted.  
 
 Gill also found some perfect tee shirts for Chas and Reggie who are the two looking after themselves for the week while we are away. Everyone had a great day.


Doreen 

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