Today we arrived about half-hour early in port so had time to check out tourist shop near dock and I am glad we did. I got a nice rain jacket on end of season sale and it really came in handy. I ended up really glad I did as it rained the whole day we were out and it was cold. The extra layer was really appreciated as I had a vest on, rain jacket and down vest at at times a poncho on to stay warm. The tour we took was the Mendenhall Glacier and Alaska Garden tour.
The bus first took us to the fish hatchery where there were descriptions of the Alaska Fish Hatcheries and how they operated
. We also got to see various tanks with fish in them at various stages in the process. It was okay but the least interesting part of the tour for all of us. The Alaska Gardens were the work of a couple who with land they owned and some Tongass National Forest land ran a lovely garden and tour into the rainforest to an overlook of Juneau. It was very nice and very wet. The tour vehicles were small open sided vehicles and the overlook was not real interesting due to the rain and low clouds. The main garden area was really cool a riot of colors from various plants and flowers planted each year and then dug up and moved to greenhouses in the off-season. The Flower Towers were especially interesting and attractive as they were upside down trees with the flowers and plants planted in the roots.
This was a very nice stop and while it would have been a little nicer without the rain we thoroughly enjoyed our time there. The Mendenhall Glacier part of the tour was the highlight. We decided to take the 45 minute or so walk to Nugget Falls the closest point to the Glacier you could walk given the 80 minutes they gave us at the stop
. The falls given all the recent rain was really a powerful force as it came down to the shore sending mist high into the air. My pants were damp in a few minutes of standing in the mist coming off the falls. The Glacier itself was very impressive. Its hard to get you hands on the size of some of the features we have seen and would see given the breath of the views we had. The glacier was hundreds of feet high and close to a mile across but seeing it in the vast landscape indicated just how big the land was in Alaska.
I am not good at the words to describe the beauty and strength of the land here even in the rain and having low lying clouds. It was all very impacting to the senses especially sight and sound with the roaring falls in the background. We were all glad we skipped to visitor center and just enjoyed the glacier in the rain and wind.
As the tour started a little late we were not back in Juneau until almost 6:30 pm. Many tours had been canceled due to the weather and we had two buses for our tour and we were thinking an extra bus was added to help with people whose tours were canceled
. Basically any tours involving airplane, helicopter or boat was canceled due to the weather. Any ways we decided to just get off in Juneau as we had until 10:30 pm to get back and have dinner there and visit some shops. We ate at the Red Dog Saloon an original place from the early days of Juneau now a tourist spot but fun anyways. We the drifted back to the ship stopping at shops and doing some souvenir shopping. The last few blocks to the ship were miserable walking into the driving rain and quite wet by the time we made it back.
We were definitely glad to make it back and get dry close before the 9:30 show. We have been having a great time and the main shows each night have been really good. With a cast of 4 girls and 4 guys singing and dancing to various tunes. A great way to end the day which was fantastic as it was wet.
Shore Excursion Details: Mendenhall Glaciers and Gardens Tour
Savor the rich beauty of Glacier Gardens, see the largest salmon ladder in Alaska and visit Juneau's top natural attraction, the Mendenhall Glacier in Tongass National Forest - including entry to the visitor center - on this approximate 4-hour tour
.
Enjoy commentary about Juneau's gold rush and local history as you depart from downtown en route to Glacier Gardens. Upon arrival, meet your personal tour guide and transfer to a covered shuttle for an intimate look at this natural wonderland. Here, colorful plants, trees and flowers create a dazzling contrast to the lush green forest backdrop.
You will be amazed at the diversity of the rainforest as you wind your way along pathways carved from the mountainside toward the upper regions of the forest. Visit a one-of-a-kind Alaska garden featuring towering upside-down trees covered with planted flowers. From the viewing platform at the 580-foot level, capture images of the Gastineau Channel, Douglas Island and the Chilkat Mountains. Explore deeper into the forest on your return trip.
Next, we'll travel on to Macaulay Hatchery, where you can see salmon spawning from late June through September or have an opportunity to feed salmon fry from May through early June. Learn all about the fascinating reproductive cycles of Pacific salmon through museum-quality exhibits that illustrate the hatchery's production of over 150 million salmon per year. There are also hundreds of native marine life on display in aquariums and touch tanks.
Your tour continues with a visit to Juneau’s grand monument: Mendenhall Glacier. This meandering river of compressed blue ice ranks as the largest glacier accessible by road in southeast Alaska. It is a half-mile wide, hundreds of feet deep and fed by the 1,500-square-mile Juneau Icefield.
Rain and Great Sights - Mendenhall Glacier
Thursday, September 10, 2015
Juneau, Alaska, United States
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Comments

2025-02-11
Cindy Putman
2015-09-13
Sounds like you are having a great time
Mandy
2015-09-13
Thanks for sharing!!
Marci
2015-09-14
Your descriptions do not actually lack words, but space for this marvelous vision of Alaska's wonders.
Bev
2015-09-16
Wow you ate at the Red Dog Saloon. We were there and had lunch. Great place and so is Juneau