Juneau, Alaska

Juneau, Alaska

When we landed in Juneau, Liz and Walter were the first off the ferry, while we were buried in the back of the hull.  They had pulled over to wait for us near the Auke Bay Harbor marina.  As we pulled in behind them, a young man strolled up and asked if we were tourists.  He said there was a humpback whale in the harbor, and he would be happy to show us where it was.  Needless to say, we parked our rigs and followed him down.

Eagle perched on mast in Auke Bay, Juneau

Several eagles flew overhead, one adult perching on a mast.  Then the humpback blew… it was, quite literally, amazing.  We watched this enormous mammal reconnoiter within the bounds of the small marina, feeding on herring.  In error, I had grabbed my long lens… I only needed the short.  When the whale waved his pec (pectoral fin) at me, I could barely fit it within the camera lens.  Amazing!  We watched him for over an hour, completely enthralled with the experience. 

Humpback whale feeds in Auke Bay, Juneau, Alaska

Humpback whale's pectoral fin, Auke Bay, Juneau

As we returned to our rigs, we spied a young eaglet hopping along the pier.  Juneau was looking very promising, indeed!

Eaglet, Auke Bay Harbor marina

On the advice of a Juneau resident, we drove to the Sandpiper Café for breakfast then strolled to the visitor’s center.  Three cruise ships were in dock, and the streets here were abuzz with tour buses and adventure tours.  In fact, many times I plugged my ears because of the noise, and the very ground beneath our feet rumbled when the buses passed us.  Yet the city also had character.  Young girls were taking a painting class along the boardwalk.  A seaplane landed in the harbor.  Artwork adorned walls.  Juneau was obviously more than just a tourist town.

Art class, Juneau

Float plane lands, Juneau

Art wall depicting Tlingit legend of Raven and First Man, Juneau

Liz, Walter, and David wanted to take the Mount Roberts’ tram up to the mountain's top.  Because of my claustrophobia, I reluctantly agreed to join them.  Thankfully, the tram only had about 15 people in it, rather than the maximum 60.  I was so glad that I took the tour.  The view from the top, overlooking the city and harbor, was absolutely lovely.

View from Mount Roberts' Tram

We first visited the resident eagle at the raptor center atop Mount Roberts.  This eagle is blind in one eye and has an injured wing, making it impossible for her to be released back into the wild.  From there, we hiked up to Father Brown’s cross, named after a Jesuit priest who had helped build the Mount Roberts’ trail.  Then we watched a film on the Tlingit peoples in the theatre, followed by a short concert by the talented Alaska String Band. 

Resident eagle at Mount Roberts' Raptor Center

Father Brown's Cross on Mount Roberts, Juneau

It was time to settle in for the evening.  Liz had been trying to call to make reservations at the Mendenhall Lake Campground, only to find the line busy each time she tried.  David and I found a seafood shop that sold fresh Alaskan fish, so we took on the task of buying supper.  We drove to Jerry’s Meat and Seafood.  What a treat to find a REAL seafood shop!  They also made their own dips and had samples… we ended up buying two different kinds of dip plus a beautiful filet of rock fish.

Liz finally was able to connect with the call-in reservation site for the campground while we were at the seafood shop.  (We had been informed that it was the only way to book a site at Mendenhall Lake Campground and that it cost $15 for each site, plus an additional $10 for the service fee.)  It took over twenty minutes for Liz just to place the reservation, then David got on the line so we could book ours.  The lady assigned our sites to us.  When we arrived, we found our site to be short and not level.  David called to change it to the next site up.  Another twenty minutes and a $10 change fee later, we were finally ready to set up camp. No wonder this lovely campground was nearly empty!  Additionally, it had been frustrating and unclear to Liz, who spoke English… can you imagine how difficult a procedure it must be for someone who speaks another language?  A ranger later told us that this is the first year for the call-in reservation system and that it has not worked well.  No kidding! 

With two more cruise ships due to arrive in port the following day, we woke up early so that the four of us could arrive at Mendenhall glacier before the tour buses.  The glacier was beautiful, and the lake had dozens of small icebergs floating in it.  We hiked over five miles, up Glacier Loop Trail to Auk Falls, then the glacier view trail, and finally to the powerful Nugget Falls. 

Mendenhall Glacier, Juneau

Bear-shaped iceberg, Mendenhall Glacier

Auke Falls, Mendenhall Glacier

Nugget Falls, Mendenhall Glacier

Nugget Falls, Mendenhall Glacier

Liz and Walter at Mendenhall Glacier

It was our final evening with Liz and Walter.  We toasted our new friendship and poured over maps, trying to see if our paths would cross later in their trip.  Perhaps Valdez over Fourth of July?  Liz wanted to spend the holiday in small-town America.  It looked like the perfect spot for our next rendezvous.  We hugged goodnight and goodbye.  We knew we would miss them greatly.

We heard Liz and Walter leave the campground about six the next morning to catch their ferry to Sitka.  As gray clouds returned, David and I spent the day visiting the island Shrine of St. Theresa and its lovely, wooded grounds.  The stone Chapel was built in the late 1930's from stones gathered along the shoreline around Shrine Island.  The Chapel is connected to the mainland via a small causeway limited to foot traffic only.  

Chapel at the Shrine of St. Therese

Resident squirrel at Shrine of St. Therese

View of Pearl Harbor from trail with the St. Therese Shrine Island to the right

Several times we drove to the harbor, hoping to catch site of the humpback whale again but couldn't find him.  Finally we stopped once again by Jerry’s Seafood for more rockfish.  To our surprise, we saw dozens of eagles perched in the trees surrounding the shop.  On closer inspection, we discovered that we were parked only about a hundred yards from the Juneau landfill.  David scolded these regal-looking birds, telling them that they were our national symbol and shouldn’t look like scavengers.  Unfortunately, they were not in the least bit deterred.

Scavenger eagles in Juneau

The rain softly drummed on the camper roof as we readied for tomorrow’s early morning sail.  We needed to be at the dock by six, so we were in bed early.  This time we would be sailing on the Fair Weather… we hoped that she would, indeed, bring us fair skies.