Juneau, AK (3rd post made on Wed. 6/9/2010)

We arrived in Juneau two hours late, again due to a sister ferry occupying the only landing spot. We got up at 4:00 AM on Monday morning to pack up to leave the boat at the scheduled time of 4:45, however we actually got off at 7:00 AM. Once one is fully awake, one cannot just go back to sleep, especially when everyone else is up too. At one point the captain made a large circle just kill time like an aircraft circling an airport. We took a "shortcut" in the inland passage that cruise ships have to go 200 miles further to get to the same place. The 40 mile stretch averages 150' wide and 24' deep. Our ship had a draft of thirteen feet so it was passable for us, but difficult to pass if meeting another ferry which did not happen to us.
We had read and heard so much about Juneau and it was a major stop for us, however when expectations run high, one is easily disappointed. I can not say that we were let down, but the three days we planned was too many. Last evening, we had visited all we wanted to see. If Melissa had been along, she would have found plenty of other things to do, but we two guys are not very creative. First thing on Monday we went to visit Mendenhall Glacier and that was fantastic as we had not seen a glacier before. It looked like a wild river flowing frozen in time. It has receded 1.7 miles since 1958, which left a lake at the bottom of it now. Since temperatures have been rising since the last Alaskan mini-ice age ended 250 years ago (yes, 250 years ago ago!) it is expected to continue to recede slowly. However it also moves forward at about 40 plus feet a year, and with increasing snowfall recently it could actually move forward a bit in the future. It is the most accessible glacier in Alaska and one of the most visited in the world. The ice in a glacier is hard and crystal clear due to the pressure of snow sitting up to a mile thick in places. This clear glacial ice only passes blue light and reflects the longer wavelengths. Glaciers form when there is snow trapped deep in mountains and when it overflows it descends like a river and digs deep u shaped trenches. Amy, the naturalist said that glaciers formed the inland waterway which is up to 2200 feet deep in places.
After the glacier the rest of Juneau is a bit like a tourist trap. Almost every morning three cruise ships dock and immediately become the tallest buildings in town. They leave in the evening around 9 PM and then another set arrives the next moring. Juneau has a year round population of 31,000 and also has no roads in or out, so air and water are the only ways to get here. When the cruise ships arrive, they also become a large segment of the total population. Then main drag runs down the harbor and is very narrow as all the roads in town are. There is a tram up the side of the mountain which hems the city in at the ocean. David didn't want to ride it but there is a restaurant and trails at the top. There are photos of it on the Website. The shops are small tourist trap types with pricey souvenirs. Also there are county fair type eating booths and restaurants which too are over priced. We quickly learned that the way to tell Alaskans from tourists is that Alaskans were wearing shorts and halter tops or T shirts, the tourists were wearing jeans and long sleeve shirts. (The days have averaged around 65 degrees, and the nights 50 degrees or so.) We found a good Asian restaurant out on the edge of town and ate there twice. After cruising the strip, we went to the Alaska Brewing Company and sampled some basic beers and exotic experiments. (They are working on a breakfast beer made with bacon, maple syrup, and oatmeal.) I was glad it was not available yet. On Tue. we drove to the state capital building and visited an ancient Russian Orthodox Church. Then we were out of things to do, so we took a hike... An 8 mile hike on the west side of the glacier to be exact. It climbed 1300' in a steep up and down manor above the glacier. We took a wrong turn and didn't realize it until we were above the trail to the glacier, that allowed you to walk out onto it. By the time we could look down and see the line of the glacier path, it was getting late in the afternoon and the mosquitoes were as large a horse flies, so we decided to go back, hiking approximately 5 miles total. We had a good meal and went to bed. Today we visited a museum of Alaskan history, then went to McDonald's for lunch and spent the afternoon catching up the blog. Tonight we board the ferry at 1:30 AM to Haines to continue our journey likely moving on toward Anchorage which will require about 400 miles through Yukon, Canada.