Adam and I forced our eyes awake at 5:45 this morning in order to do some early-morning whale watching. We stood at the bow of the shop on the eighth floor and stood (well, shivered) for about twenty minutes until we had our first sighting. Two humpback whales were off the starboard side. Later it seemed that about every 15 minutes or so there would be a sighting of one or more humpback or killer whales. Most of the time, we only saw the spouts of water rising up from the whales’ blowholes but a couple of times we caught their tails out of the water. Once the tails went up, it meant the whales were diving deep so they wouldn’t surface for another 20 minutes or so…long after our ship had passed. It was cold out there –upper 40’s maybe? – but not unbearable. We also saw a couple schools of dolphins pass by. That seemed strange as I always think of dolphins in warmer waters.
We pulled into the Juneau port about two hours later. Being the state’s capital, I had expected it to be larger, but Juneau has a population of only 30,000 people and is completely landlocked. Their longest road is twenty-something miles with dead-ends in both directions. We did a little shopping before taking the tram up to Mount Roberts. The view from Mount Roberts was spectacular. The sun had come out and many of the clouds cleared up and you could see many miles in both directions. The air was crisp but warm, and eagles soared all around us. We spotted numerous bald eagles and golden eagles both flying and sitting in trees. At one point, I counted 17 in the sky at one time.
Once we took some photos at the top of the tram, we walked over to the nature center, where they had a bald eagle that was being rehabilitated for the wild after being shot. The bird was much larger than I expected, standing maybe two and a half feet tall with a six-foot wingspan. The guide said this particular bald eagle was named Lady Baltimore and was actually 25% smaller than most. She was truly majestic.
Lady Baltimore...
Next, we did some hiking up to the top of Mount Roberts. Every time we would round a bend, we were rewarded with an even more beautiful view than the last. It was truly breathtaking. At the top stood a simple wooden cross, a poignant reminder of the One who created all the beauty before us.
I love this picture...
You have to watch out for all of the wild animals in Alaska...
Check out the crazy Alaskan daylight hours and warm weather (18 hours and 12 minutes of daylight)...
It doesn't get more beautiful than this...
After we hiked to the top of Mount Roberts...
The cross at the top of the mountain...
Hiking down the mountain...
The porcupine we spotted on our hike...
After a prayer of thanks, we went back down the mountain and spent about a half an hour walking through town. We ended up in the Red Dog Saloon. After entering the saloon through the swinging doors and treading on the sawdust floor, we sat at a small table and ordered some drinks. After our first round, we decided to reward ourselves for our exercise with some Juneau hometown favorites – reindeer sausage pizza, smoked salmon, and clam chowder.
Next, we loaded on to a bus and drove to the Mendenhall Glacier. We had a terrific tour guide who informed us of how lucky we were to have such beautiful weather. It was sunny with clear skies in the sixties….our guide told us that yesterday and today were the only clear days they’ve had in a month!
On our way to the glacier, our guide pointed out more eagles and told us about the history of Juneau and it’s early growth from a Gold Rush in the 1880s. After 20 entertaining minutes, we arrived at the Mendenthal Glacier. What an amazing site! It was a huge wall of ice spanning many miles with small chunks of ice breaking off and floating into the lake below. We spent almost an hour at the glacier snapping pictures and gazing in wonder before loading the bus to go to downtown Juneau.
Next, we did some hiking up to the top of Mount Roberts. Every time we would round a bend, we were rewarded with an even more beautiful view than the last. It was truly breathtaking. At the top stood a simple wooden cross, a poignant reminder of the One who created all the beauty before us.
I love this picture...
You have to watch out for all of the wild animals in Alaska...
Check out the crazy Alaskan daylight hours and warm weather (18 hours and 12 minutes of daylight)...
It doesn't get more beautiful than this...
After we hiked to the top of Mount Roberts...
The cross at the top of the mountain...
Hiking down the mountain...
The porcupine we spotted on our hike...
After a prayer of thanks, we went back down the mountain and spent about a half an hour walking through town. We ended up in the Red Dog Saloon. After entering the saloon through the swinging doors and treading on the sawdust floor, we sat at a small table and ordered some drinks. After our first round, we decided to reward ourselves for our exercise with some Juneau hometown favorites – reindeer sausage pizza, smoked salmon, and clam chowder.Next, we loaded on to a bus and drove to the Mendenhall Glacier. We had a terrific tour guide who informed us of how lucky we were to have such beautiful weather. It was sunny with clear skies in the sixties….our guide told us that yesterday and today were the only clear days they’ve had in a month!
On our way to the glacier, our guide pointed out more eagles and told us about the history of Juneau and it’s early growth from a Gold Rush in the 1880s. After 20 entertaining minutes, we arrived at the Mendenthal Glacier. What an amazing site! It was a huge wall of ice spanning many miles with small chunks of ice breaking off and floating into the lake below. We spent almost an hour at the glacier snapping pictures and gazing in wonder before loading the bus to go to downtown Juneau.
The Mendenthal Glacier...
Pieces of ice breaking off from the glacier and floating downstream...
Family Photo...
It was getting late, so we stopped to have a bite to eat at Tracy’s Crab Shack, famous for being one of the restaurants that serves crabs from the fishing vessel on The Deadliest Catch. Just as its name suggested, the restaurant was an open-air tent reminiscent of a southern fish camp. We had the Alaskan king crab, crab cakes and she-crab soup. It was scrumptious!
Anne Marie...just, being Anne Marie...love her!
We headed back to the boat to talk about our day and make plans for tomorrow. It’s going to be another early day so we turned out the light about 12:30 and went to sleep dreaming about the beautiful landscape that surrounded us all day.
Pieces of ice breaking off from the glacier and floating downstream...
Family Photo...
It was getting late, so we stopped to have a bite to eat at Tracy’s Crab Shack, famous for being one of the restaurants that serves crabs from the fishing vessel on The Deadliest Catch. Just as its name suggested, the restaurant was an open-air tent reminiscent of a southern fish camp. We had the Alaskan king crab, crab cakes and she-crab soup. It was scrumptious!
Anne Marie...just, being Anne Marie...love her!
We headed back to the boat to talk about our day and make plans for tomorrow. It’s going to be another early day so we turned out the light about 12:30 and went to sleep dreaming about the beautiful landscape that surrounded us all day.
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