This is our favorite Alaskan city – an assessment
partly attributed to our longest period of non-stop warm and sunny weather we
have thus far enjoyed and only slightly influenced by the presence of a
Starbucks and Costco. Juneau is the
third largest city in Alaska and the state capitol. It also has the worst internet service we
have experienced (hence no blogging), as well as a north south road that leads
to nowhere – it simply stops on both ends.
You can’t go east - there are only mountains - you can go west but only
by boat. This explains the Palin fiasco
and evokes a bit of sympathy from me - how can you know anything about the
world's geopolitical scene when your own town is a dead end? Nevertheless,
the road that does exist takes you to some of the most scenic vistas, beautiful
glaciers, and spectacular mountains we have encountered.
 |
| Salmon Going in for Smoking |
Our boat is moored in the heart of downtown, at the foot of Mt Roberts, and sandwiched
between the cruise ships - as many as 6 a day - and there is always one right in
front of our boat - which is now starting to feel like a bathtub toy. There is also a fish processing facility at
the top of the ramp from the dock and every day thousands of salmon are
unloaded from the fishing boats and thrown into a conveyer belt that feeds
them into the processing plant and then out the door as smoked salmon. And the smoked salmon? Let me
just say that I will be shipping all my future smoked salmon needs from Juneau.
 |
| Mendenhall Glacier |
Our first stop is the Mendenhall Glacier, an inland glacier that
has an enormous waterfall and great hiking.
In fact, we did a fair amount of hiking during our entire stay,
including a 2,200 foot hike up Mt Roberts on some rough terrain with muddy
washouts on parts of the trail causing us to scramble up and over tree roots. Luckily we had our trusty dog, Zippy, to lead
the way, he is clearly part mountain
goat. We decided against the hike back
down and opted for the luxury of the tram – a decision Zippy clearly endorsed.
 |
| View From Mt. Roberts (We Hiked All the Way) |
 |
| Water Falls at Mendenhall Glacier |
Of course the highlight of our stay was the arrival of the
Moores clan, sans Peter, with the addition of a Dickie – Brian. They were there with us for two whirlwind
days of activities before we set sail south back toward Ketchikan. We made the most of our time including a helicopter
ride to Hebert Glacier for dogsledding.
Now I have always had a certain antipathy for helicopters - a single blade that takes you straight up in
the air seems to defy gravity more directly than the gradual ascent of an
airplane. But I was comforted on the
drive to the airport when our van driver assured us of the capable and highly experienced
pilots we would have – retired air force pilots and commercial airline pilots. Ah yes, the crusty, crew-cut ex-air force lieutenant, maybe even a general,
with a twinkle in his eyes as he expertly, for the millionth time, takes
control of the cockpit and safely deposits us on the face of a glacier. Unfortunately, that was not our pilot. When we boarded, we found a 12 year-old girl with a pony tail
at the controls. I quizzed her on her air force training, none, but she seemed
capable, mainly because I lived to write this.
 |
| Looking as Skeptical as I Feel |
The dog camp, in a bowl of the glacier, at 2,000 feet
, was sunny and pristine. The dogs
were harnessed and eager, based on the barking jumping up and down, to get
going. It was an hour ride with many
stops for the dogs who were getting hot from the sun. Most interesting, the Iditarod dogs are
trained to poop as they run…, hmmm, if only Zippy could be so trained.
 |
| Hebert Glacier |
 |
| And the Winner Is.... We milked Juneau for all it had, superb fish, good tourist shopping and even a great haircut/color job by, none other than, Sarah's stylist - and you have to admitt, she does have great hair. But, it's time to take the Moores' clan to the rawer parts of Alaska and have some adventures of the wild life kind. |
No comments:
Post a Comment