{"id":10114,"date":"2020-02-08T06:55:35","date_gmt":"2020-02-08T11:55:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/backtothemouse.com\/index.php\/?p=10114"},"modified":"2020-03-08T16:08:14","modified_gmt":"2020-03-08T20:08:14","slug":"08-14-2019-alaska-cruise-part-7-juneau","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/backtothemouse.com\/index.php\/08-14-2019-alaska-cruise-part-7-juneau\/","title":{"rendered":"08-14-2019 Alaska Cruise, Part 7: Juneau"},"content":{"rendered":"

 <\/p>\n

\"Juneau\"<\/a>
Juneau<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Today was our day to visit Juneau, the capital of Alaska.  The ship wouldn’t reach Juneau until noon, so we had some free time on our hands before we got there.  I was up early and headed to the Solarium for some coffee.  Everyone else was still in the room and asleep.  I grabbed a cup and went to sit by the glass to take in the view.  While I was watching, I saw a few pods of whales, including one Orca that decided to jump out of the water and make quite a splash!<\/p>\n

Eventually, Nancy texted to let me know that she was awake.  She came up to meet me in the Solarium.  We grabbed some breakfast at the cafe for the girls and headed back to the room.  While everyone was getting ready, I went out on the balcony to look around.<\/p>\n

\"Rough<\/a>
Rough Water<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The weather forecast was calling for high winds.  The Captain came on at one point to let everyone know it might get a little rough until we made the turn to go into Juneau.  The Cruise Director then let everyone know that all boat and aircraft related activities in Juneau would be canceled since the water was so rough.  While this didn’t impact our plans, I know there were a number of upset passengers.  After all, that’s one of the great things about taking a trip to Alaska.<\/p>\n

After everyone had a light breakfast and got ready, we headed to the Seaplex.  We wanted to get in line for bumper cars!  We lined up early and were ready to go once it opened.  We had a great time with bumper cars.  You only got about 3 minutes or so of time during the round, but it was still a lot of fun.<\/p>\n

\"Bumper<\/a>
Bumper Cars<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

After bumper cars, we headed to Sorrento’s to grab some pizza for lunch before we got off the ship.  By the time we were done eating, they announced that we could head off the ship.<\/p>\n

\"Port<\/a>
Port of Juneau<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Port<\/a>
Port of Juneau<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

We exited the ship to an amazing amount of chaos.  With all the excursions being canceled, everyone headed off the ship to see what they could book on their own.  The private excursion companies were selling various activities right on the dock.  We wanted to try to go to the Tongass National Forest<\/a> to see the Mendenhall Glacier. On our previous trip to Alaska, we saw the glacier from a distance but felt like we missed out on the opportunity to see it up close. <\/p>\n

\"Ovation<\/a>
Ovation of the Seas<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

We had originally thought about taking an Uber or a Taxi to the glacier, but decided that a tour company might be easier.  With the pier being in such chaos because of the cancelled excursions, it took us about 20 minutes to get to the front of the line.  We booked a round trip bus to the Mendenhall Visitor Center with M&M tours.  They told us to head over to the parking lot and get on the Blue Bus.  The cost was $30 per person.<\/p>\n

\"Blue<\/a>
Blue Bus<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The bus was basically an old school bus.  It was fine for the trip to the park.  The driver gave us some basic background information about Juneau, which was nice.  They told us where to meet the bus for the return trip (same as the drop off location) and what the schedule was (every 30 minutes). <\/p>\n

\"Mendenhall<\/a>
Mendenhall Glacier<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

We were dropped off in the parking lot of the Visitor Center.  The bus driver told us that there was a nearby salmon creek we could look at and where the Visitor Center was, along with where to look for the trail map.<\/p>\n

\"Bear<\/a>
Bear Stop<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

There was a portable restroom in the parking lot that we decided to take advantage of before we got going.  After we finished, we headed over to the nature trail that sits on top of the salmon creek.<\/p>\n

\"Distant<\/a>
Distant Mountains<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The salmon creek was really popular and the salmon were really easy to see.  There were dozens of them in the creek.  We stayed there a few minutes before heading farther up the trail.<\/p>\n

\"Salmon\"<\/a>
Salmon<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

As soon as we turned the corner, we saw a bear having lunch in the creek.  The bear was about 100 feet or so from the trail we were on.  The trail is elevated over the creek, so we weren’t in a position to have an encounter with the bear at all. <\/p>\n

\"Bear\"<\/a>
Bear<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

There were lots of people that headed over to the spot to get their bear pictures.  We watched him for a few minutes, and then continued on.  Spotting the bear was one of the best parts of our trip, because it was so unexpected.<\/p>\n