On Thursday, June 5 we boarded the “Fjord Express” for a day trip down the inside passage south to Alaska’s state capitol, Juneau. The mountains on each side of the fjord were unbelievably spectacular! (see below) All the sights along the way were so special. The boat ride took 3 hours each way. Oh my gosh! We turned into “boat people”!
The ferry made a quick stop at Haines to drop off a passenger. The road goes there but it is over 350 miles – one way. The water up here is truly the Super Highway. Haines is a quaint little village with one rv park and good fishing. What a setting!! I could live there, but then I’ve said that about almost every little village we’ve seen.
On the way to and back from Juneau, the captain stopped at a huge rookery of sea lions just basking in what little sunshine they could find up on slippery-looking rocks. There were about 4 giant, I mean GIANT bulls in the group. At one point, 2 young pups were pestering a huge bull (probably papa) and he would swing his head to avoid them and actually played with them. It was awesome.
We docked some distance from Juneau and loaded up on a bus that was waiting for us. We had a funny, funny driver who really enhanced the trip into town. We had a city tour from the bus and then about 3 hours on our own to get into financial trouble. Oh!, the shops!
There was a beautiful bronze statue depicting the hard rock miners of the late 1800’s
Connie and I shopped a little, found the only quilt shop in town and finally, got our fresh seafood. Connie got a crab boil and I opted for my favorite; fish and chips with fresh halibut. Man, that was some good eaten’! 
Back on the bus and headed for the Mendenhall Glacier. Only about 1/3 of the island where Juneau is located is habitable. Very little flat, dry, non-perm frost land is available. I’ve seen the Mendenhall Glacier in 2008 when Mom and I traveled to Alaska so now when I get home to view those 2008 photos, I can tell for myself how much it has receded. While in the visitor’s center, we looked through telescopes at the wild mountain goats up on the steep slopes on the side of the glacier.
Back on the Fjord Express, the captain saved the best for last!!!!
We came upon about 4-5 pods of Humpback whales, some females with calves, in the midst of their circling and circling to confuse the fish and then feeding. We saw one whale that even slide up on the smooth rock to try and catch a seal. All in all, the Humpbacks breeched 3 times and unfortunately, I was on the opposite side of the boat all three times. Woe is me. A breech is on my bucket list and I haven’t given up. The one picture above, the captain was so worried he would bump the whale because he surfaced right in front. We even saw a few pods of porpoises and a trio of bald eagles. Still trying to figure that one out.
We got back to Skagway, our trailer, our dogs and thankfully, our beds at 8:30 p.m. Long, eventful day but what a glorious one. Next, on to Whitehorse, Yukon. Connie’s lesson for this day: Don’t wear sandals when rain is predicted.
I spent a week in Juneau when I went up in my pickup, and 10 days in Haines. .People in Haines treated me like a long lost cousin, very friendly, When I was there, it was the first summer that the Catamaran ferry was in service. Real neat boat.
ReplyDeleteWow, Connie and Jane, you girls look like kids in a candy store with those good eats! Somebody else did the cooking and washing of dishes; bet that seafood tasted even better!
ReplyDeleteLOL....talk about symmetry! While you were out looking at humpbacks in Alaska, we were out on the Monterey Bay doing the same thing. The krill is overly-abundant this year, and a good number of whales that would normally be just passing through on their way up to Alaska are sticking around to gorge themselves. We only saw a handful of them, but they were breeching like crazy. This is the place to watch them if you want to see that! Loving your blog, and so happy that your trip is turning out to be so wonderful.
ReplyDeleteThanks for all the wonderful pictures and updates. Bet the seafood was extra special....makes my mouth water. We saw the Mendenhall a few years back and had a salmon and crab feast....on two different tours. SO GOOD!
ReplyDeleteIrene S.