May 27, 2017 -- Juneau and Whale Watching

Juneau and Whale Watching
At 6:30 am we were approaching Juneau and preparing to dock.   
We appear to have another clear day ahead of us, which should be great for the excursion we have scheduled.  Juneau, which is the capital of Alaska, has a population of about 33,000, which makes it the second largest city in Alaska.  It has the distinction of being the only capital city , which has no roads leading into it.  The longest ride is 50 miles and runs along the shore of Juneau.  It is also the only capital that borders a foreign country (Canada).
At 8:20 am, we boarded our bus which took us on a 20-minute ride to the Allen Marine dock area in Auk Bay to board our catamaran for a morning of whale and wildlife watching.  Along the way we saw a number of bald eagles standing in the shallows of the creek waiting for salmon.  Proceeding south between Douglas Island and Admiralty Island we saw out first humpback whale.   



 Humpback whales are typically about 45 feet long, weight about 35 tons and have flukes that measure 15 ft from tip to tip.  This area is nutrient rich and usually has numerous whales.  The whale gently rose with its humped back visible for just a few moments.  Then it would start a dive with its fluke in the air.  The viewing was very pretty with the snow-capped mountains all around us and the clear blue sky.  After watching several whales in this area, we turned north to go to Eagle Reef, which at low tide should have wildlife for viewing. 









At Eagle Reef we saw sea lions and harbor seals in the small coves of the reef.  After leaving Eagle Reef, we saw several more whales before heading back to our launch marina.
The bus then took us to the Mendenhall Glacier area where we could see the glacier, which has greatly retreated in the last 50 years.  The visitors center, which used to be at the edge of the glacier in the 60’s is now over a mile from the glacier.  Mendenhall is one of 38 large glaciers that flow from the 1,500-square mile Juneau Icefield.   We walked the Nugget Falls Trail to Nugget Falls, where we saw the thundering falls and had better views of the glacier.  There were numerous small icebergs bloating in Mendenhall Lake, which is very milky from the glacial flour suspended in the water.
Mendenhall Glacier




Nugget Falls


 
Mendenhall Glacier from Nugget Falls
After a short drive, we were back in Juneau and at the dock.  We walked to downtown Juneau and then returned to the ship to have a very late lunch.  Around 6:30 pm we went to dinner at Bordeaux and both had a Caesar Salad and the Alaskan Cioppino, which was outstanding.  We departed port at 8:30 pm and will arrive in Skagway tomorrow morning followed by our day long trip to the Yukon.

Comments

  1. Sean VanlandinghamMay 28, 2017 at 7:49 PM

    Great whale pics. Glad you are having so much fun!

    ReplyDelete
  2. UnknownMay 28, 2017 at 9:26 PM

    It's hard to believe that those pictures are real -- very beautiful!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Sean VanlandinghamMay 30, 2017 at 8:22 AM

    Wow! It's just getting better and better! Those whale pictures are so cool. Hope you continue to have more fun!!!

    ReplyDelete

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