LOVE AFFAIR WITH ALASKA: Part 11

Lots of time has elapsed since I last blogged about my love affair with Alaska and "visiting" Hubbard Glacier. After leaving Hubbard, our ship chugged toward Juneau, Alaska's capital. Below is just one of the shots I took along the way. Nice scenery, huh? Be sure to click to enlarge the pictures.

A touristy town, Juneau is clean and interesting. Bald eagles seem to be everywhere. We learned that the only way in and out of Juneau (except for the local roads) is by air or boat. Because Juneau is landlocked, several years ago Alaskans voted to move the capital to Anchorage. The legislature approved the move, but when folks realized how much that would cost they decided Juneau would remain the capital! Smart people, the Alaskans; they pay as they go.

A shot of Juneau before we docked.

 Flowers abound in Juneau.

Juneau is loaded with jewelry stores.

 A view of the docks.

The next morning we rode a tour bus to Mendenhall Glacier, the most easily accessed glacier of the Juneau Icefield. Mendenhall receives over half a million visitors a year, and offers several trails to explore the area on foot. Mendenhall receives over 100 feet of snow annually. Because our time was limited, we chose to take advantage of the visitor center for a quick education on glaciers, vegetation and wildlife. I'd like to re-visit it some day. Actually, I'd like to re-visit Alaska!

Mendenhall Glacier. Note the gray color of the water.

At Macaulay Salmon Hatchery's visitor's center, we learned much about salmon and the corporation called Douglas Island Pink and Chum, or DIPAC, founded in the 1970s "to sustain and enhance the valuable salmon recources for the State of Alaska. . . ." We also tasted some of their delicious salmon products.

Macaulay Salmon Hatchery

Sunset aboard ship in Juneau.

Picture above is of Juneau just before pulling anchor and cruising all night to Skagway. I really enjoyed Juneau. Skagway was just as much fun. But that's another blog.