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Published: July 16th 2011
July 13, 2011 - JUNEAU, AK.
Today we traveled to Juneau aboard the Fjordland, a new 65-foot, state-of-the-art, fast-hulled catamaran specially designed for the waters of the Lynn Canal. This was a long day, leaving Skagway at 8 am and heading south through Lynn Canal, the continent’s longest and deepest glacial fjord. Lynn Canal stretches over 100 miles long and is over 2,000 ft. deep. Along the way our ship’s captain went out of his way to bring us close to any wildlife we saw along the way. Throughout the day we were able to view Dolphins, Humpback Whales, Bald Eagles, Stellar sea lions, but no mountain sheep!! A bus met us just outside Juneau and took us on a tour of the city before dropping us off for 3 hours to do our own exploring of the city’s downtown attractions as well as enjoying a leisurely lunch. We were amazed how small the city is and how jammed up against the mountains it is. The total population is 31,000 and there are no roads into or out of the city. It is completely surrounded by mountains and access is only by boat or aircraft. After three hours, we re-boarded the
bus for a trip to spectacular Mendenhall Glacier. This glacier is receding at the rate of 50 feet per year in the current cycle of warm years. As a matter of fact, all glaciers in Alaska are retreating except for one, the Meares Glacier in Prince William Sound, which we will visit when we get to Valdez.
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lois cartmell
non-member comment
Fun!!!
Thank you so much for all the pictures that you are sending. I love it!! Again the weather is perfect and you look like you are having a wonderful time. You must feel really blessed to be experiencing such a trip. I know that I felt that every day. What a beautiful world we live in!!!