The ferry
ride from Petersburg to Juneau was our longest ride to date, lasting eight
hours. It was also the noisiest ride to
date with lots of kids, including a school group from Petersburg. Taking part in sports or other
extracurricular activities is much more complicated in Southeast Alaska. Traveling to another school for a softball
game, for example, involves a ride on the ferry. I think it’s great that the ferry system
modifies its schedule to accommodate school and cultural activities.
It was a
beautiful ride, with a little rain off and on.
It even rained the night before in Petersburg – our first real rain
since we’ve been in Alaska. I’m still
not believing how fortunate we’ve been.
There was
lots to see on the ferry ride. I
happened to spot a lighthouse and learned that it was the Five Finger
Lighthouse, which stands on the site of the first U.S. lighthouse built in
Alaska. Completed in 1935, it is the only
Art Deco style lighthouse I’ve ever seen.
This style seems to be unique to Alaska, and the Five Finger Lighthouse
is one of an interesting group of Art Deco concrete towers built during the
late 1920s and 1930s.
Five Finger Lighthouse |
The ride
through Frederick Sound provided us with a good opportunity for whale watching,
and we lucked out with several humpback whale sightings. I wasn’t very quick with the camera, but did
catch a few tails. We also spotted
several glaciers.
Watch that Tail |
Where's the Rest of You? |
Sum Dum Glacier at the Entrance to Tracy Arm |
After
making it safely to Juneau, we proceeded to the Mendenhall Campground, one of
the fanciest U.S. Forest Service campgrounds I’ve ever seen. Many sites had full hookups, and the Verizon
4G signal was very fast. It was foggy
and cloudy when we arrived, and it even rained for a while. I swear, it really did rain! Although the campground was not full, I’m
glad we had a reservation. The
campground is rather odd in that you cannot walk in and pay for a site. All campsites must be booked through
Recreation.gov. You can do this in
advance, or before 8:00 pm on your day of arrival, and there is a reservation
fee as well as the campground fee. I
wouldn’t want to have to deal with trying to make a reservation online or on
the phone after a long ferry ride.
For the
last two weeks, Tim and I have been traveling in some pretty remote parts of
British Columbia and Alaska. We’ve hiked,
driven, and boated in wilderness-like areas and have only seen one bear, and
that one was along a major highway. So,
imagine my surprise as we were driving in a “suburban” area of Juneau, in the
middle of the day, when a mama bear and her three cubs walked across the road
in front of the car in front of us. I
usually have my camera handy, but not that day.
I was watching the action as I scrambled to pull out the camera to
record the moment. It’s a pretty lousy
photograph, but I will include it anyway.
I assumed that Tim would pull over so I could get a better photo, but
no, he just kept going. I was
incredulous. A mama bear and her cubs –
isn’t that worth a stop? He was
completely oblivious to the moment. Too
many elk jams while we lived in Estes Park, I guess.
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A Happy Family |
Almost
every cruise ship visits Juneau, and there are so many things to do here that
it can make your head spin – walking tours, whale watching tours, flightseeing
tours, helicopter tours that land on a glacier, fishing charters – you name it,
you can do it here.
Juneau
has a nice downtown that is set on a hill that steps down to the water. As the state capital, government is a major
focus. We enjoyed walking through the
downtown area and visiting some of the historic buildings. We toured St. Nicholas Russian Orthodox
Church, a very picturesque structure and the only remaining octagonal Russian
Orthodox church in Alaska. We learned
that a major preservation project is underway.
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St. Nicholas Russian Orthodox Church |
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The Iconic Onion Dome |
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The Iconostasis Was Shipped from Russia |
We had
hoped to tour the State Capitol Building and the Alaska State Museum. It turns out that quite a few state buildings
are currently being retrofitted, or replaced, all at the same time, so we
struck out on both of those. We were
able to get as far as the lobby of the Capitol, which features a unique cornice
with Alaskan motifs, as well as WPA-era relief panels. The building is one of the few Art Deco style
capitol buildings in the United States.
![]() |
Renovation of the State Capitol Will Include a Seismic Retrofit |
![]() |
Lobby of the State Capitol |
I had
never really associated Alaska with Art Deco style architecture, but I have
come across quite a few buildings, including the Capitol, several downtown
commercial buildings and even lighthouses.
It’s been fun to actually seek them out.
We
wandered by the Governor’s Mansion and took the steps down to the dock
area. Since the Alaska State Museum was
closed, we decided to visit the brand new Walter Soboleff Center, a cultural
center for the Sealaska Heritage Institute.
Sealaska is the regional Native corporation in Southeast Alaska, and
the institute seeks to perpetuate and enhance Tlingit, Haida and Tsimshian
cultures.
Dedicated
just two weeks ago, the center’s is a fabulous addition to downtown Juneau. The center is a visual delight, from the
interesting architecture to the monumental works of art that were created for
the building. The center allows Alaska
Natives to share their heritage, culture and arts with the rest of the world. Although the main exhibit was small, it was
very well done. The exhibit illustrates
the traditions that are based on the four cultural values of the three Native
Alaskan peoples – family, land, strength and balance. A mixture of contemporary and historic pieces
illustrate these core values, and the pieces were true works of art.
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Monumental Artwork on the Exterior of the Center |
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Cultural Values Reflected in Art |
Almost
everyone who travels to Juneau visits Mendenhall Glacier, an “urban” glacier
and one that you can actually drive to.
Of course, we wanted to go as well, but we really hoped to avoid the
cruise ship crowds. That’s a little more
difficult in Juneau, since the ships often do not leave until late in the
evening. We thought 5:30 pm might be a
good in between time, and indeed it was.
Several buses were just leaving, and another group did not arrive until
we were heading out. That was good
timing. Late afternoon is also the best
time of day for photographs. Although
the visitor center is open until 7:30 pm, we found that the face of the glacier
is in shadows by around 6:30 pm, depending on the month, so don’t wait too late
in day to go.
Mendenhall
Glacier is an impressive sight, and it is neat to be able to get so close to
it. Mendenhall is a tidewater glacier, a
glacier that descends to the sea and typically breaks off into icebergs. It’s also a glacier that should be visited
sooner rather than later. The glacier is
shrinking, and it is amazing to see how far the ice has retreated in just a short
period of time.
![]() |
Mendenhall Glacier |
Enjoying the View with Few People Around |
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I Love the Blue Ice |
Tim and I
have been enjoying all of the delicious seafood that Alaska has to offer. One surprise, however, on almost every menu has
been fish tacos. Almost every restaurant,
whether funky or elegant, features them prominently. I love fish tacos, and I’ve made it my
mission to sample as many as possible. It’s
amazing how different each one is prepared, but I’ve enjoyed them all. The ones in Juneau at the Capital Cafe contained
halibut and were quite tasty.
Tasty Halibut Tacos |
We had
planned one major tour for our visit to Juneau, and that was a day trip to
Glacier Bay National Park. I’ll tell you
all about it in the next post.
love Alaska...through your eyes!
ReplyDeleteand the glaciers..almost as nice as the three cub bears :)
Thank you. You would love it here. It's hard to pick what I like best - the scenery including the glaciers, or the wildlife.
DeleteHow very cool to see mama and her three cubs!! Husbands just don't get it!! Glad you got a photo:) The blue ice is my favorite part of the glacier. Just gorgeous!
ReplyDeleteI was so excited when I saw them. They were very close and so cute. I'm glad you understand about husbands!! I have to give him a lot of credit, however, since he is so patient with me (most of the time) when I want to take photos.
DeleteAlso loving your pictures. With us it is just the opposite though. I want to slow down see everything and take photos of it all. The wife just glances and then says as we drive by, 'Oh did you want to stop' or 'I didn't see a good place to pull over'. Some times it infuriates me since I know I'll never get that shot again.
DeleteI'm sure that some wives can be just as exasperating! I know exactly how you feel. I guess that everyone has their own priorities and interests. Maybe we just need to speak up and say "Stop!" and not assume the driver is a mind-reader.
DeleteJuneau is a wonderful city. I'm looking forward to your pictures of Glacier Bay - I've never been there but hear it is amazing. I'm going to have to add fish tacos to my list!
ReplyDeleteA lot of people dislike Juneau, but we really thought the city had a lot to offer. We are working in Sitka right now, so between an eight-hour work day and sporadic WiFi, the posts are a bit behind. It's also extremely difficult to select among the hundreds of photos I took in Glacier Bay! Soon, I promise!
DeleteWe really enjoyed Juneau when our cruise ship stopped there. We didn't spend much time in town, though ... whale watching was on my mind ;-) And of course, Mendenhall Glacier. We would love to stay in Juneau for a few days and explore it in more depth. Those fish tacos look yummy. Seafood in Alaska ... hard to go wrong with it. Fresh salmon and fresh halibut ... amongst my favorites.
ReplyDeleteI can certainly understand making whale watching a priority. We've seen a few from the ferry, but not as many as I had hoped. We are loving Alaska seafood and can't wait until the salmon start running.
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