Blogs from Juneau, Alaska, United States, North America - page 15

Wednesday, August 13, 2008. We wake up in Juneau. Looking out from our balcony and see another cruise ship parking lot. Today eight of our family members are going to Eaglecrest ski area to do the “Alaska Zip Adventure”. We ride out in the van and after a fifteen-minute drive we arrive at the mountain and enter the lodge. The guides begin to explain the procedures for the activity and they have us sign our life away by completing a release form that doesn’t hold them responsible for anything. Because I have ALS this trip to Alaska and the zip line adventure are part of my “Bucket List”. We have been planning this trip for a year and a zip line activity is high on my list. As we line up to get our gear the ... read more

What's hot: The flowers on Mt. Roberts What's not: The temperatures. Travel lesson of the day: Go where the crowds are not. from Kathy: “We get only three sunny days a year,” the young Alaskan native operating the Juneau tram tells me. It is 52 degrees and rainy; clouds hang in the sky two-thirds up the tall mountainsides. I am looking out from the top of an 1800’ plateau on Mt. Roberts, high above the only capital city in the Americas that has no roads in or out. You can only get to Juneau by air or sea. “How do the people get enough vitamin D without sunshine?” I ask, ever the concerned nutritionist. He blinks. This college-age man hasn’t thought about nutrition recently. (If my kids were with me, they’d be dying with embarrassment!) I’m ... read more

Eagle Battle at Tracy Arm I know this one is way overdue and I've had all the time in the world to put up some of the Alaska pictures, but a lot has happened since July of 2008. At any rate, here is a teaser. Tracy Arm (a glacial fjord) is located along Stephens Passage, just around the corner from the strange little capitol city of Juneau in "Big Southeast" (which would be better called "Big SouthWet"). You can find it on a map, but don't Google it for driving directions or you might get something like, "...drive onto float plane." Juneau has plenty of roads, but they don't go anywhere and no roads lead to Juneau unless you're coming from Skagway. How you get to Skagway is via Juneau. Not that I recommend flying in, ... read more

After 12 glorious hours of sleep, we are both feeling wonderful and rearing to go. The mosquitoes here at the campsite are ferocious and the size of moose. We dodge them in the morning while fixing breakfast and again when we get back at night to fix supper. Since it is not raining, the first thing on the agenda this morning is a hike at the Mendenhall Glacier. The glacier is about a half mile wide at the base and 12 miles long and it is very impressive to look at. Huge chunks of blue glacial ice lie in the lake in front of the glacier. Glacial ice takes a long time to melt because it is so compacted and all the air has been pressed out of it. Hiking up the East Glacier Trail, it ... read more

After virtually no sleep for either one of us, we got up at 5 am, grabbed a cup of tea and a couple of breakfast bars and headed for the ferry. We are taking the Alaska Marine Highway Ferry to Juneau, with a stop in Haines along the way. We did not have any problems driving down the ramp and into the ship with the box on the back of the van. The ferry ride was smooth and nobody got sick (meaning me). There were glaciers and waterfalls interspersed in the mountainous landscape along this 5 ½ hour trek on the Inside Passage. Eldred Rock Light was one of the highlights of the trip. Dall Porpoises, Whales and Sea Otters were seen but since the ferry doesn’t stop or slow down for wildlife, I have no ... read more