Juneau and the Mendenhall Glacier
No visit to Southeast Alaska is complete without a visit to Alaska’s capital city, so early this morning we pulled into Juneau and nestled in among the massive passenger ships that dominate its harbour. Several exciting missions awaited us: flight-seeing, glacier-viewing, hiking, museum-ing, gondola-ing, and (of course) joining in the end-of-season clearance shopping frenzy!
First to leave the ship were our brave helicopter explorers who flew to the Mendenhall Glacier to walk on and photograph its icy contours and sapphire-blue water holes. The rest of us followed by bus to visit the lake, information centre, and trails at the base of the glacier. The weather shifted constantly, alternating between swirling mists, splashes of blue sky, and Alaska’s famous liquid sunshine. Shedding our raincoats, we boarded the buses and moved on to the Alaska State Museum. This incredible building houses art and artefacts of Alaska’s rich history, including many traditional tools and ceremonial pieces from its First Peoples and early explorers. A contemporary exhibit – “Sharkabet” – by southeast’s own Ray Troll brought a humorous twist to our visit as we donned 3-D glasses and chuckled at his outlandish (and scientifically accurate) depictions of Megalodons, Goblin Sharks, and Guitarfish.
After lunch, we split into many groups. Some rode a gondola to the top of Mt. Robert to explore sub-alpine flora and fauna; others returned to Mendenhall for a longer walk through its quiet trails; and the rest of the group contented itself with self-guided shopping, exploration, and napping. The group on the mountain encountered grouse and an erratic (though spectacular) view of the environs, while the hikers at Mendenhall were treated to a rainbow floating over the lake and ice, and encountered black bears on the trail. Those on the self-guided expeditions encountered whatever their hearts’ desired (at fifty to seventy percent off!).
Returning to the ship we enjoyed a diverse recap of Alaskan history, glaciology, and poetic expositions on the meanings and causes of rain. Another spectacular day!
No visit to Southeast Alaska is complete without a visit to Alaska’s capital city, so early this morning we pulled into Juneau and nestled in among the massive passenger ships that dominate its harbour. Several exciting missions awaited us: flight-seeing, glacier-viewing, hiking, museum-ing, gondola-ing, and (of course) joining in the end-of-season clearance shopping frenzy!
First to leave the ship were our brave helicopter explorers who flew to the Mendenhall Glacier to walk on and photograph its icy contours and sapphire-blue water holes. The rest of us followed by bus to visit the lake, information centre, and trails at the base of the glacier. The weather shifted constantly, alternating between swirling mists, splashes of blue sky, and Alaska’s famous liquid sunshine. Shedding our raincoats, we boarded the buses and moved on to the Alaska State Museum. This incredible building houses art and artefacts of Alaska’s rich history, including many traditional tools and ceremonial pieces from its First Peoples and early explorers. A contemporary exhibit – “Sharkabet” – by southeast’s own Ray Troll brought a humorous twist to our visit as we donned 3-D glasses and chuckled at his outlandish (and scientifically accurate) depictions of Megalodons, Goblin Sharks, and Guitarfish.
After lunch, we split into many groups. Some rode a gondola to the top of Mt. Robert to explore sub-alpine flora and fauna; others returned to Mendenhall for a longer walk through its quiet trails; and the rest of the group contented itself with self-guided shopping, exploration, and napping. The group on the mountain encountered grouse and an erratic (though spectacular) view of the environs, while the hikers at Mendenhall were treated to a rainbow floating over the lake and ice, and encountered black bears on the trail. Those on the self-guided expeditions encountered whatever their hearts’ desired (at fifty to seventy percent off!).
Returning to the ship we enjoyed a diverse recap of Alaskan history, glaciology, and poetic expositions on the meanings and causes of rain. Another spectacular day!
