Alaska and Hawaii are the only states to have glaciers flowing into their capital cities. (OK, that is only partially true.) We spent the morning in the big city. Juneau has thousands of inhabitants, and on a summer’s day thousands more may descend from the maws of gigantic cruise ships. Fortunately for us, the little ‘Lion was the only boat in town, so we had Juneau mostly to ourselves.
We travelled out to Mendenhall Glacier, passing through a suburban valley that was recently buried in ice. Mendenhall flows from the mountains to end in a large freshwater lake. The visitor center and short trails provide fine views of the ice. Many of us did a brisk walk out to Nugget Falls. Here at the foot of the falls, the view of ice and water are really impressive.
Returning toward downtown, we stopped at Dipac Hatchery. Here we learned how nature is “given a helping hand” at salmon production, as mass-produced fry of several species are released to increase salmon runs. Perhaps most fun here were large tanks filled with champion-sized seastars, anemones and fish of many kinds. Most of us then went downtown to check the shops for some Alaskan mementos.
After lunch, Andy and Paul got through their lecture on seals and otters, but not without interruptions. We went out for whales, but found a bear! The bear was on Admiralty Island, famed for having the densest population of brown bears in the world. Still, we were lucky to spot this one – sunny weather may be nice for us, but most bears find it too darned hot!
But the water is nice and cool, cool enough for big whales. Further along Admiralty Island many were scattered around the ship, but a calf was the highlight. Clearly curious, the little whale swam right to our bow, then dove, pirouetted, rolled and waved right before our eyes.
We had enjoyed a full day, but it was not over. Killer whales came for dinner! Many of us finished our meals with a few quick gulps and then headed for the bow. We stayed with the whales for a couple of hours, watching fins weave through the waves as light slowly faded in a protracted sunset.
