964 June 23, 2023 Let’s Go To Juneau!
Today we got up early and drove the Jeep to the small boat harbor. We had booked a cruise on the Fjord Express to Juneau.
We had wanted to see the Inside Passage. We looked into taking the ferry with the RV from Washington but it was about $15,000.00 and we decided that there were better ways to spend that money. This daytrip allowed us to see a portion of areas only accessible by boat or plane. Lots of people would like to see a highway constructed from Skagway to Juneau. There are some good reasons to do this and lots of good reasons not to. One of the main deterrents is the 22 avalanche areas that would intersect with the proposed roadway. It would be the most extensive road construction project in Alaska history.
It was a cloudy morning but the sea was a smooth as glass. The water here is 1,800 feet deep; as deep as the mountains on either side are high.
We passed a waterfall that was glacial ice just 2 or 3 hours earlier. The water tumbled though the rocky crevice pure and clean.
Just over the mountains to the east is the largest glacier field in the world. On the west, is the largest contiguous piece of unmolested land in the world.
We began to see bald eagles perched in trees and on granite outcroppings.
We arrived in the fishing community of Haines. Although it is only 14 miles from Skagway by water, it is 352 miles by car. More passengers boarded here and once again we were on our way.
The shore appeared to be sandy but it is actually granite ground by natural forces. This silt is carried down to the waterway where deposits have altered the depth of the water to 50 feet. Cruise ships need 35 feet to pass. Eventually, changes might be necessary to allow large vessels to travel here.
We passed a red navigational marker. This is a reminder to ship captains that there is a large mountain beneath the surface of the water.
Rainbow Glacier.
There is still snow on the mountains. This is unusual at this time of year but it has been colder and rainier this spring.
We stopped at the sea lion rookery to watch.
We saw our first humpback whale. Spout, hump. and fluke! When you see the tail, you know that they are going for a deep dive and will be down for a while.
Eldred Rock Lighthouse; no longer a manned light house; but now automated and functioning. Harbor seals were swimming off the shore here.
Another glacier in the saddle between two mountains.
Bits of sunlight catching the snowy peaks.
Most of the rivers here are spawning sites for salmon; chums or the lowest level poorest tasting of the 5 varieties, sockeye with the best flavor, kings that are also delicious, silvers and pinks.
We saw stellar sea lions lolling on this buoy and an eagle perched on top.
This is the Herbert Glacier. The center appears to have a road passing through. This is called the medial moraine.
As we got closer to Juneau, we saw more humpback whales. These whales are coming from Hawaii and have journeyed for about 37 days to get here. New moms are traveling with their calves. We saw a couple of pairs.
The boat docked in the harbor at Auk Bay. The water by the capitol is non-navigable from this direction. We took a bus into the city center. The sky began to turn blue and the sun came out. This was an exceptionally beautiful day. Juneau is a rainforest. It rains here 240 days a year. We were lucky to have such a gorgeous weather.
We traveled through the Mendenhall Valley and past the Mendenhall Glacier. This is the most accessible glacier in Alaska.
We disembarked the bus and had 4 hours of free time. There were 5 humongous cruise ships in port.
Looking around this city, it is hard to imagine how EVERYTHING here had to be ferried or flown in. All the busses and machinery and construction materials and food and other goods. It was amazing how many cars there were for a place that only has some city streets and one 39-mile road out to the north.
We walked to The Hangar Restaurant and enjoyed a nice meal. Tim had halibut fish tacos and I had a hearty chowder with huge pieces of whitefish and salmon.
We watched seaplanes gliding across the water and lifting off.
We walked to the fishing dock and watched guys throwing Dungeness crabs into huge bins of ice.
Parasailing.
The tram to the top.
We walked to Overstreet Park and admired the 30-foot, life-sized, bronze sculpture of a humpback whale.
We had taken off our sweatshirts and we rested in the shade. It was 75 degrees and sunny.
We walked back into town and mingled with the throng of cruise ship passengers. Many had shopping bags and armloads of stuff. We bought postcards and waited for the bus. We met several interesting people today. There was a woman was maybe in her sixties who lives out of her Nissan. She has all of her earthly belongings and toys in her car. She travels everywhere on her own. She rents VRBOs and finds other interesting places to stay. We also met a couple from Texas who has been fulltime in their RV for 5 years. They had visited a lot of the same parks and places we have and it was nice to share experiences and recommendations for future travel.
We had a 4-hour boat ride back to Skagway. The mountains looked completely different with the sun shining on them.
We saw more whales.
There were also a bunch of dahl porpoises in the water.
We stopped again at the sea lion rookery. The babies and moms and younger guys were all in the water. Only the bull sea lions were on the rocks. It was too hot in the sunshine for them to be out.
We arrived back in Skagway at 8:15. The last cruise ship was pulling out of port. The town was empty and most of the businesses were shuttered for the night.
We had a spectacular day. Lots of mountains and glaciers and eagles and whales. Calm seas all the way and brilliant skies. We are so glad that we made this trip!