Blogs from Juneau, Alaska, United States, North America - page 3

Today we are cruising to Anchorage from Icy Strait Point. We have been lucky in the weather so far. The sea is like glass and that made whale watching easy. On the way from Ketchikan, pods of dolphins stopped by to say hello. There were dozens of them, some swimming up close to the vessel. Our day cruising Tracy Arm had to be scrapped since the ice pack was too dense. Instead we went to Endicott Arm and the Dawes Glacier. The arm narrowed as we approached the glacier. It was a wonder that the Captain held the ship steady and pivoted, using his thrusters, so that we turned 360 degrees. Everyone on board had a good look. We went back to the room and I wrapped myself in blankets and watched the scene from our ... read more

We have done so many things in the last week that I hardly know where to begin. Chronology may be one suggestion but that is too logical. By activity? Hmm. Again too logical. By awesomeness? Not possible. I'll just list things as they occur to me instead. Time and days have lost all meaning as I am now very rested and fully in holiday mode. The Polar Plunge. I had a very air-head moment the other day. The water temperature around glaciers is about 16 degrees. That's not too cold, my wee brain thought. The water at the sailing club is that in September when I have held the boat before a race. Hmm. That's not in Fahrenheit is it? Silly Margaret! Kel can tell you the difference because yesterday he jumped from the second level ... read more

Click here for photos from Juneau At the start of several of these posts about Alaska, I've mentioned how it will be short because the photos for the day were scarce and dull, yet rambled on as if I didn't mean it. For this post of our day in Juneau I mean it. There were a paltry 25 pix that made it to the gallery from this constantly raining day, and not one of them is anything to talk about. So essentially we're done here, but I'll ramble a bit because that's the way I do. After a wonderful breakfast with our fellow travelers at Johnny's Cafe (in the back), we disembarked into the cold rain of Alaska, an excellent choice. The weather was so bad that I only brought the small Canon SX50. We were ... read more

Returning to Juneau, the state capital, our most common hub and sometime overnight camping location for the last time was nostalgic and bittersweet. It was an overnight voyage and the glow of other ship lights and moonlit glaciers were dreamlike in their beauty. During the trip, we shared crowded seating with a family from our Haines campground. The Taylors, a dad, two sons and an adorable Australian Shepherd pup named Kelly were hauling a truck and boat for a month’s family vacation in Sitka from their home in Portland Oregon. The rest of their family would fly into Sitka to meet them. When we arrived at the terminal and had trouble getting a taxi to our Mendenhall Lake Campground, the Taylors swung by and offered us a ride. Their gesture turned out to be mutually beneficial ... read more

Geo: 58.3677, -134.58The.mist, the cloud and the rain all hung low over the harbour this morning for our return to Juneau but we knew not to let this dampen our spirits as we responded to the 5.45 am alarm call. It was helicopter morning and we scrambled to shower and layer-up for our glacier walk.We arrived at the meeting point after the gallop up the steep incline of the ramp with just two minutes to spare to hear them making announcements that the helicopter ride was cancelled. That was a little disappointing for about two minutes until Mac worked out it was the "other" helicopter tour that was cancelled...the dog sledding adventure. We were still on!We were given our preflight cards that ask for your weight estimates - now that was embarrassing and other than our ... read more