Alaska Cruise: Day 3, Juneau and Mendenhall Glacier

Day 3: We arrived in Juneau, Alaska's capital city, around 11:30 Sunday Morning. Although slightly overcast and a temperature of about 55 degrees, it did not feel too cold. We decided to take a bus tour of the city and the Mendenhall Glacier. Juneau is situated at the foot of the Juneau Ice field, home to 38 other glaciers.

Juneau has served as Alaska's seat of government since 1906. Long before the gold rush that resulted in the town you see today, Juneau was home to the Tlinget, the indigenous people of the area. Each summer, they would travel from their village in nearby Auke Bay to a fishing camp at the mouth of a stream now called Gold Creek. It is believed that Tlinget Chief Kowee led two prospectors, Joseph Juneau & Richard Harris, to gold in the nearby mountains. The find was the first major Alaskan gold discovery in 1880. By 1944, the local mines were largely out of production, and the city’s main focus became – and remains today – state and federal government, tourism and commercial fishing.

After our bus tour we returned to Juneau. We took a walk around the older part of the city and went to the Red Dog Saloon, one of the oldest buildings in the city. It’s an old bar with sawdust floors, piano player and sing along. We both enjoyed the Alaskan ale that we had tried on the ship. Not sure if it is a reflection on us or Juneau, but, the Red Dog Saloon was probably the feature attraction in Juneau.
The Mendenhall Glacier was worth the trip. While there, we did see a mother bear with two cubs. We had just left the path and was looking out from the observation deck when the bears came scurrying across the path trying to get away from shouting humans. Unfortunately, we did not have the camera ready, so we missed the shot. Mendenhall Glacier is part of the National Parks and Monuments and Claude has a lifetime senior pass. We visited the museum at the glacier and enjoyed learning about glacier formations and the problems with the melting of the glaciers caused by global warming.

We went back to the ship and had dinner in the Rotterdam dining room. As usual the food was great and our dinner partners, Pat & Mary, told of their experiences in Juneau. I guess the best part of the trip is the people that you meet. Everyone we met on the cruise was very friendly. We departed for Glacier Bay National park at 10:00 PM