Juneau
A cold and windy morning, and wet. We traveled all morning long, going north on Stephens Passage, all the way to Juneau, entering the area through the Gastineau Channel. To our amazement, about an hour before we reached the landlocked capital of Alaska, two armed U.S. Coastguard boats escorted us all the way to Juneau!! Once there, we quickly docked and boarded two buses, to take us to the State Museum, where we saw marvelous exhibits of the native tribes of Alaska, as well as the Russian chapter of this huge state. After this visit, guests were escorted to downtown Juneau by Sharon. Guests on the second bus were taken on a short ride through the capital, and then to the museum. After an hour there, the bus took guests to the Mendenhall Glacier, one of so many glaciers originating in the same icefield. Here we visited the Information Center and saw the formidable Mendenhall Glacier. Yet it is retreating at a fast rate (80 feet/year). The lake in front of the glacier was full of broken ice, and the water, as is typical of situations like these, was milky, with so much glacier flour or silt.
Back again on the ship, we promptly left our dock and sailed off to the north, already en route to our next destination: Glacier Bay National Park. And, of course, we encountered a series of humpback whales feeding off krill, very probably. We had the opportunity of watching these behemoths having a good time. And during the afternoon William gave us a talk of the Russian history of Alaska!
