Juneau, Alaska

Friday, May 2, 2014 Juneau, Alaska

                                                            Sailing into Juneau
 After cruising through endless snow capped mountains and evergreens, the ship pulled into  Juneau dock around 1:00pm in the afternoon. Juneau became the capital of Alaska when it became a state in 1959. Population currently is 30,000 making it the third largest city in Alaska. Before that, Tlingit Indians inhabited the area. After lunch Larry and I strolled through this very western style town of shops, restaurants, galleries, and bookstores.

                                          
We bought tickets to go up the Mount Robert's Tram, owned and operated by Tlingit Tribe.

                                                             Inside the tram ticket office

Cool shot of the Tram and our ship!

 

The tram whisked us up 2800 feet above the city giving us tremendous views of the snowcapped mountains that nestle around the third largest city of Alaska. Juneau sits upon reclaimed mined land on the Gastineau Channel. The views were spectacular and even more enjoyable were the bald eagles that soared all around us. There was a great little nature shop to visit that actually had a bald eagle's nest on display....it was huge!

Paths lead off to the north and south on top of the mountain with lots of snow and mud. We can imagine that during the summertime, it would be wonderful to hike these trails. We also saw a short documentary  about the Tlingit Tribe.

                                              View from the top of Mt. Roberts Tram

                                                            Capital of Alaska, Juneau


After our ride back down the mountain in the 60 person tram, we walked the streets of Juneau. I can't begin to even comprehend living here. Although the streets have lots of cars and motorcycles going to and fro, the only way into Juneau is by float plane or boat.

I'm sure that during winter very few boats come and go...the cruise season ends in September. The road through the city and along the mountainside is 50 miles long so you have a very short distance to use an automobile; however, it has 300 miles of mining shafts.

                                       Famous Red Dog Saloon dating back to the late 1800's

We have been told over and over today how lucky we are to have such a beautiful sun shiny day! It sounds like most of the Alaska days are filled with rain and fog. We continue to feel very fortunate about having such great weather!