Blogs from Juneau, Alaska, United States, North America - page 5

pics from today the Historic Dalton Trail - where gold was discovered in Porcupine Creek nine miles away. As people came here to pan and mine for gold, the government set up a barrier that allowed only people that had 1 ton of supplies could get a permit (food, ammo, tents etc) - and it would take many of them the entire Spring to make up to 40 trips back and forth to get their 1 ton of supplies. I can only imagine what those days must have been like.... read more

Took lots of pics today drove around town and state parks, and stopped at THE HAMMER MUSEUM - museum of old hammers. There is this guy native to Haines that started collecting hammers, and now he is in his 50's and has amassed a lot of historic hammers. Many were from the 1800's and I was in awe at the collection that surrounded me. They were closed but let me come in and take some pics. They were cleaning up the place because they are hosting the Hammer Museum Festival next week. Yeah - it really exists. http://www.hammermuseum.org/ I have some kind of allergy that is kickin my ass - reminds me of cedar fever - but there are no cedar trees here. Plenty of other stuff though. Never have allergies. But it feels like the ... read more

There is a large population here in Juneau of German descent. The Gold Rush brought many resourceful Germans here, and they have retained their heritage, both in terms of food and celebrations. And I got a chance to take part in their Octoberfest. The venue was located 800 miles above the main road - on almost the top of the mountain. We took a tram ride up, and that was really exhilarating - especially since I have developed a severe fear of heights in my old age. But I was calm, until the top when the wind blew the tram car around a bit. Once we got to the top, it was raining, and we headed to the lodge, where Justin G. was hosting an Alaskan Brewery Octoberfest party. It was great to see him I ... read more

finally figured out how to get the pics I took off of my phone. these are from the trip - in no order. I wonder how many this site will allow me to upload ? We'll see...... All is well - except it's still raining.... read more

got some more cool pics to share - will upload captions tmrw. having a great time. toured the Alaskan Brewery today. Have some nice video footage of the beer bottling process, but this site wont allow vids. also this is Justin's pad - first floor set up. Raining every day since I got here, but it's not cold, so I can deal. More rain since I have seen in Austin all year in 3 days. Gonna hit up open mic tonite - just finished getting the wood stove hooked up. I have some good pics on my camera phone, but cant figure out how to get them onto my computer. Bye For Now . . . . . JD... read more