Juneau, I wish I had known you earlier but I promise to make up for lost time in the future.
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| A crazy number of people come and go everyday on these massive cruise ships. |
We will remember Juneau for so many reasons: listening to the U.S. women win the world cup, camping within walking distance of a glacier (and almost being evacuated because of it), the cruise ship influx, Alaska's crazy governor and our new, loving dog (we named her Joonah).
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| Mendenhall Glacier |
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| Living, green carpet on the hike to Mendenhall Glacier. |
We hiked to Mendenhall Glacier from Mendenhall Lake campground. The Glacier is fed from Juneau Icefield which we know is immense only from satellite images; otherwise it is hidden behind the glacier and mountains. Touch, taste, see, hear and smell Mendenhall Glacier here. The kayaking guides at the trailhead warned us that the trail was treacherous and difficult to follow. We are still wondering what they meant. It was not hard. It was beautiful and worth it!
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| Mendenhall Glacier |
Our campsite at Mendenhall Lake was 20 minutes to downtown Juneau, 10 minutes to the ferry AND had power and water. Nice! It was large, flat and surrounded with wild blueberries. The campground showers were bike-able, clean and mostly hot. We did not see anyone else use the showers but we did meet another traveling couple on our ride back from the showers. They were spending the summer wandering (tent camping) from Florida across the northernmost parts of North America before heading back down to Florida for the winter. They were with us at Bartlett Cove but we did not chat with them until Juneau. So many good, friendly people, and interesting stories on our trip.
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| fresh picked wild blueberry pancakes |
On the food front, Alaska does not lack deliciousness. We had seafood, ice cream, coffee, beer, baked goods and purchased plenty of groceries. We tried salmon n' chips at Deckhand Dave’s (seafood truck), had beers at Devil's Club Brewery, treats and a latte at the Rookery (cafe), made a visit to the little Salmon Sisters shop in a shipping container and visited Rainbow Foods multiple times for groceries.
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| Latte a la Rookery |
Juneau also has a Costco. We were told by locals to stock up at the Costco before heading into the Yukon because the food that we would buy at most of the grocery stores up in the Yukon would probably come from the Juneau Costco. So, we filled up the car with everything we thought we would need for the long drive ahead.
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| Deckhand Dave's and Alaska brews in the outdoor foodcourt. |
I love museums and The Alaska State Museum, in a gorgeous building, is full of history, culture, art and science. Tucker learned all about World War II and the Aleutian Islands. Kris took away the long legacy that Russia had in parts of Alaska and I gained respect for the Alaskan immigrants who made some space to intertwine new Alaskan culture with those of the first nations.
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| Alaska State Museum |
The Alaska governor was trying to de-fund the Alaska state government while we were there including the ferry and the schools. We met many Alaskans who were outraged at these ideas. Vote, people, vote!
We packed up camp at Mendenhall Lake just before the campground was evacuated due to anticipated flooding from a glacial outburst. One last slow-paced, peaceful passage on the ferry before we hit the Yukon and the ALCAN.
