Juneau-
Awoke at 6:15AM to see us moving into Juneau. Mist and fog, but at least no rain. Breakfast in Horizon Court. Up on deck, bald eagles were flying all over the place. There was an eagle's nest in the hill alongside the dock that two eagles were camping on. While they were difficult to take pictures of because they were too far away, it became common to recognize the white specs in the trees.
Bus excursion at 8:20AM to State Museum, Hatchery, Mendenhall Glacier,and Glacier Gardens. Our bus driver was Wendell. He was from Anchorage, so he had a great knowledge of Alaska. He was a poet and entertained us throughout the tour with both original poems and Alaskan poems that he had memorized. He gave us a quick tour of the town of Juneau before going to our first stop.
First stop was the State Museum for an hour. Enjoyable stop to pick up the history of Alaska and the natives. Picture display is very impressive. Next stop was the hatchery. Can't believe how many salmon were climbing up the fish ladder and begging to be caught! the ponds were full of one to two foot long salmon trying to jump to the next pool. Salmon samples were being passed out. We ordered vacuum packed salmon to be shipped home. Fish tank and hands on exhibit was great for children. Half an hour there and we were on the road again.
Next stop, Mendenhall Glacier. Best part of the whole tour. Unfortunately, we were only given about an hour here. The parking lot is set up so that only 4 buses at a time can park, so buses had ten minutes to drop off passengers or pick them up. Our bus driver set up a time for us to be back and left. I knew walking down to the glacier and back was going to take about 45 minutes. My wife went to the views from the river. The views from the river's edge were beautiful enough without walking down to the glacier, but I knew there was a waterfall that was somewhat hidden from view, so I headed out to the glacier at a fast pace.
I remembered the description of the trail as being either following the river's edge or climbing up the ridge and that the river's edge was easier, so I made a left and followed the river's edge. I took the ridge path on the way back. In my opinion, the ridge path is the preferred method. The way I went down, I had to cross 3 streams on rocks. The streams were only about 4 inches deep, but the rocks were a little slippery and not good on the knees. I also found myself going through high brush and the thought of bears in the brush crossed my mind a number of times. The ridge path is wide and bridges have been built over the streams.
The view from the glacier was terrific. Blue sky by this time made it all the more impressive. The waterfall combination with the glacier and the high mountains caused me to take more than the normal pictures and movies. Some are included in the attached pictures and movies. I could have sat there for an hour enjoying the view. Unfortunately, I could only allocate about 10 minutes.
I headed back towards the Visitor's Center. The bus driver had given us wrist bands that allowed us to get into the Visitor's Center at no charge. I rushed through the visitor's center and touched the iceberg and took some more pictures of the glacier from the picture windows. I had no trouble getting into the Visitor's Center, but apparently when my wife tried, the line was a mile long. She counted at least 10 buses dropping off in a short period of time and the first stop seemed to be the Visitor's Center. I'm glad I went to the glacier first.
Back on the bus and off to the Glacial Gardens. This is essentially a nature hike where all the Alaskan flowers, trees, etc. are identified. It was nice to see more than the fireweed that every tour (and I mean every tour) talks about. You are given a numbered list of the greater than 100 species in the garden. Each area has a large number that can be read to determine the species. The walk is about three quarters of a mile and ends up at the parking lot. You are then presented with a good size muffin and hot apple cider and a place to sit and talk. The garden is owned by one couple. They talk about the wildlife around the garden, their hunting trips, the building of the garden, anything Alaska you want to talk about.
Last stop for the bus tour was a scenic area just down the road from the Glacial Gardens. A straight on view of the Mendenhall Glacier with a full bed of flowering fireweed. Again, the blue sky made it perfect. This will make a really nice picture post card.
Overall, this excursion was quite enjoyable. With the exception of Mendenhall Glacier, it was not for those who want to get a lot of exercise. However, it gave us just enough exercise to keep the bus blues away. Also, we are people who like conversation and it was nice to have the opportunity to talk to people. The bus driver helped to put everyone at ease by his poems and jokes and funny stories.
We were given a choice of being dropped off at the beginning of the dock or at the ship. As it was at least a 10 minute walk to the ship, we decided to save time by being dropped off at the beginning of the dock. Time to get some shopping in! Knife shop, sweatshirt shop, fur shop (got one of those Alaskan winter hats), brewery store ): Stopped to have lunch at the Red Dog Saloon. The piano player here was from Louisiana (displaced by the Katrina, he will tell you) and he interacted with a number of people in the restaurant. The floor is sawdust and there are animal statues all over. The food was good and the Alaskan Amber was great. We then walked around some more and then took the Mount Roberts Tramway($27 per person) to the top of the mountain. If you want to hike around a little, there are a number of trails. They have a live eagle in a cage that is great for the kids to see up close! We viewed the movie on native Americans, walked through the nature center and gift shop and viewed the eagle's nest that is about half way down the mountain ( the one with two eagles watching it).
We were shopped out, so we walked back to the ship. We went down for dinner at the Bordeaux Room at 6:20PM. We were asked to share a table and happily accepted. It was Italian night. Prosciuto/melon, minestrone soup and veal parmigiano. Doreen chose pot roast. For dessert, Doreen had tiramisu. I decided to try the volcano from the kids menu that I had heard about through cruisecritic.com. This is essentially a banana split built like a volcano. No one at the table had heard about it. Big and delicious! One of the people at the table shared a drink special that they had heard about: a dirty banana. We tried this at the Explorer Lounge the next day and it tasted like a banana split on steroids! I notice the bartenders really load up the alchohol on the drinks.
We were tired from walking around town,so we walked around a little, then went to our room and enjoyed watching the Princess pull out of dock and head for Skagway. Goodnight Juneau!
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