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Juneau
The Fjordline tour made for a great day! We left Skagway's small boat harbor at 8:00 AM. The attentive captain immediately began telling interesting and humorous stories - all while keeping one eye on the coastline and the other on the horizon in search of wildlife. We passed by King salmon hunters - fishermen and bald eagles - on our way out of the port. A bald eagle was perched every mile or so, the area of each raptor's territory, along the coast as we cruised through the Lynn Canal on our way to Juneau. We picked up a few additional passengers in Haines and the captain stopped the boat whenever someone spotted porpoises or humpback whales. We spent some time close to the coast watching a herd of sea lions frolic on the shore and in the water.
The weather and the sightseeing were glorious. We stopped several times to take in our surrounding. We arrived in Juneau just after noon and were shuttled from the dock to the downtown area on a bus. I had plotted a walking course through town back on the boat. I was in search of some great pictures. I identified a trail that would take me up into the surrounding mountains in the hope that I could get a scenic picture of the area.
Juneau is the capital of Alaska and is not accessible by car - only plane or boat. There is a proposal before Congress to build a road between Skagway and Juneau. It has been estimated the 65-mile road would cost around $4,000,000 PER MILE to construct for a total estimated cost of $265,000,000.
The bus dropped us off in the town center and I immediately passed through the tourist-packed Franklin Street on my way up the hill to find the St. Nicholas Russian Orthodox Church. I paused for a couple minutes for pictures, then went in search of the Mt. Roberts trailhead in hopes of climbing a ways up and getting a panoramic shot of the city. The trees never cleared enough to allow a decent shot... I just kept climbing. The trail was 4 miles to the top of the mountain. I didn't expect to climb the whole thing, but my summit fever affliction struck so I just kept going and I arrived huffing and puffing at the top and hour after leaving the town center. Finally, I got my picture! And a nice attendant let me on the tram leading back down to the cruise ship port for free. I welcomed the exercise after days of driving and blogging.
Back in town, I wolfed down a cheeseburger at McDonalds. I topped it off with a cone of cookies and cream. I visited the town's information and convention center and the I walked through Marine Park and along Gastineau Channel. Also, I decided earlier I wanted to find something to occupy my mind as I drove the Canadian and Alaskan highways. I was in search of a good book-on-CD (Does anyone reading this have any recommendations?) . The selection in the bookstore was small (most likely because Juneau's resident's weren't doing as much driving as I!) I did not find anything that interested me, so unfortunately my mind would likely remain unoccupied until Anchorage.
The bus returned to drive us to the Mendenhall Glacier a few miles up the road. Our time there was very short. We were soon back on the boat and on our way back to Skagway. I spent the majority of the return trip talking to my neighbors. Everyone, it seemed, was heading either north to or south from Alaska. We swapped stories and travel experiences and relayed recommendations of what to do (and what not to do) along the way. Based on several positive reviews, I decided to take a side trip to Valdez on my way to Anchorage.
I learned the day before that that the 4th of July fireworks in Skagway would occur the night before the big holiday. Back in Skagway, I set out with Conrad into the hills surrounding the city to find a spot to watch the show. Not finding any spots that suited me, I returned to the city and walked down to the harbor. With light still in the sky, the fireworks went off at about 11:15. It was a good show. A large cruise ship in port blew its horn at the show's conclusion. I returned to my tent for bed.
The Fjordline tour made for a great day! We left Skagway's small boat harbor at 8:00 AM. The attentive captain immediately began telling interesting and humorous stories - all while keeping one eye on the coastline and the other on the horizon in search of wildlife. We passed by King salmon hunters - fishermen and bald eagles - on our way out of the port. A bald eagle was perched every mile or so, the area of each raptor's territory, along the coast as we cruised through the Lynn Canal on our way to Juneau. We picked up a few additional passengers in Haines and the captain stopped the boat whenever someone spotted porpoises or humpback whales. We spent some time close to the coast watching a herd of sea lions frolic on the shore and in the water.
The weather and the sightseeing were glorious. We stopped several times to take in our surrounding. We arrived in Juneau just after noon and were shuttled from the dock to the downtown area on a bus. I had plotted a walking course through town back on the boat. I was in search of some great pictures. I identified a trail that would take me up into the surrounding mountains in the hope that I could get a scenic picture of the area.
Juneau is the capital of Alaska and is not accessible by car - only plane or boat. There is a proposal before Congress to build a road between Skagway and Juneau. It has been estimated the 65-mile road would cost around $4,000,000 PER MILE to construct for a total estimated cost of $265,000,000.
The bus dropped us off in the town center and I immediately passed through the tourist-packed Franklin Street on my way up the hill to find the St. Nicholas Russian Orthodox Church. I paused for a couple minutes for pictures, then went in search of the Mt. Roberts trailhead in hopes of climbing a ways up and getting a panoramic shot of the city. The trees never cleared enough to allow a decent shot... I just kept climbing. The trail was 4 miles to the top of the mountain. I didn't expect to climb the whole thing, but my summit fever affliction struck so I just kept going and I arrived huffing and puffing at the top and hour after leaving the town center. Finally, I got my picture! And a nice attendant let me on the tram leading back down to the cruise ship port for free. I welcomed the exercise after days of driving and blogging.
Back in town, I wolfed down a cheeseburger at McDonalds. I topped it off with a cone of cookies and cream. I visited the town's information and convention center and the I walked through Marine Park and along Gastineau Channel. Also, I decided earlier I wanted to find something to occupy my mind as I drove the Canadian and Alaskan highways. I was in search of a good book-on-CD (Does anyone reading this have any recommendations?) . The selection in the bookstore was small (most likely because Juneau's resident's weren't doing as much driving as I!) I did not find anything that interested me, so unfortunately my mind would likely remain unoccupied until Anchorage.
The bus returned to drive us to the Mendenhall Glacier a few miles up the road. Our time there was very short. We were soon back on the boat and on our way back to Skagway. I spent the majority of the return trip talking to my neighbors. Everyone, it seemed, was heading either north to or south from Alaska. We swapped stories and travel experiences and relayed recommendations of what to do (and what not to do) along the way. Based on several positive reviews, I decided to take a side trip to Valdez on my way to Anchorage.
I learned the day before that that the 4th of July fireworks in Skagway would occur the night before the big holiday. Back in Skagway, I set out with Conrad into the hills surrounding the city to find a spot to watch the show. Not finding any spots that suited me, I returned to the city and walked down to the harbor. With light still in the sky, the fireworks went off at about 11:15. It was a good show. A large cruise ship in port blew its horn at the show's conclusion. I returned to my tent for bed.
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