Juneau AK and the Mendenhall Glacier

A cold, wet day as we take a catamaran ferry from Haines to Juneau, and from there take a tour bus to the Mendenhall glacier.

The catamaran provides great views and travels fast – over 30 MPH – but the drizzle today pretty well obscures the views on this long journey.

Our catamaran drops us off about 14 miles from town and a charter bus delivers us the rest of the way.  Juneau cannot be reached except by boat or plane.

Juneau is as I remember it from 10 years ago.  A downtown cruise ship dock (2 ships in port today), a good walking area, some genuine local shops, and some jewelry shops in bed with the cruise lines.  On the waterfront is the same seaplane operation that took us on a great trip to the Taku Glacier Lodge on our visit with our sons Andrew and Kevin.

We have little time before going to the glacier.  Most people, on the recommendation of the bus driver, choose to have lunch at The Hanger, on the waterfront.  Our waiter is a graduate student and full-time resident with an extremely good memory; without notes he keeps our six orders straight, and does the kindness of prorating the price of a pitcher of Alaskan Amber across the drinkers.

Marcia goes shopping with Larry and Martha and I choose to speed-walk the town, investigating the state capitol, the governor’s mansion, a museum, and the waterfront.  This is an expensive town but I think I could live here with pleasure for a summer.

Our bus takes us to the Mendenhall Glacier but the weather limits us to the visitor center.  I’m not sure even in good weather that you can get close enough to touch the glacier.  Maybe we’ve become glacier snobs.  The Mendenhall adds little to our experience.

The trip back by catamaran is in a light rain with limited visibility.  We scoot by several rock reefs marked with towers but no visible warning lights.  Our captain points out a famous reef from early in the last century; a Canadian “Princess” ship grounded on it and the ship’s captain declined rescue choosing to wait for the next high tide.  The weather changed and the ship broke up, with over 300 deaths.

Sea planes to Taku Lodge.

Resting in Juneau, with a friend.

Alaska State Capitol building 

Sara's home as governor.  Beats the California governor's mansion.

Mendenhall Glacier, from the visitor center.