Alaska Cruise: Juneau (Day 5)

Juneau - the capital of Alaska, is named after gold prospector Joe Juneau.  It was once an integral part of Alaska's Gold Rush.  The steep summits of Mt. Juneau and Mt. Roberts provide a gorgeous backdrop.  Juneau is accessible only by sea or air, it boasts more miles of hiking trials than roads!

We visited the popular Mendenhall Glacier via Glacier Shuttle which run from downtown to Mendenhall Glacier Visitor Center every half hour, cost $16 (round trip) per person, a much lower-cost way to see Mendenhall Glacier.  However, we regretted to find out that the shuttle was not quite on time.  We were on 9:30am shuttle but the shuttle was not moving till 'bout 9:50am. 

Mendenhall Glacier is located 12 miles from downtown Juneau and we were stunned by the view of glacier face from far prior to approaching.

The Mendenhall Glacier view far from road

The View of Mendenhall Glacier Entrance


The mighty Mendenhall Glacier, an immense moving river of ice with rugged crevasses and a distinctive blue colour, ranks as the largest glacier in southeast Alaska accessible by road.  It is 12 miles long and connects to the Juneau Icefield.

We took a leisure walk, following the trail to the photo points for a closer look of the glacier.

The view was really impressive.  We had a good time and thoroughly enjoy ourselves there.



Girls had fun playing on the rocks

We then visited the visitor center for some exhibits, saw the audio visual presentations and enjoy a panoramic view of the Glacier with a small amount of admission fee at $3 per pax.

On our way back, we waited at the pick-up point since 11:50am to catch 12:00 noon shuttle.  Before we arrived to the pick up point, there's already people waiting and the crowd just growing.  There were many shuttle passed by, but there was no sign of ours till about 12:30pm.  I believe one schedule has been missed.  It started to shower rain at bout 12:00 noon and it was cold waiting outside for bout 30min or so.  With only a short 1 hour left prior to boarding the ship, we didn't have much time to explore the city and shopping.  :(
 

Long Q back to the ship

Back to some of the food we took:

Besides the monumental Mendenhall Glacier, what made our day special in Juneau was the beautiful 180 degree double rainbow right in front of our balcony in the late afternoon.  I can still vividly remember the excitement of spot that double rainbow when the girls woke up from their afternoon nap.  This was my first to see a rainbow right from the sea instead of in the sky.

Can you spot the 2nd rainbow...?

The 180 degree double rainbow were too wide that our camera just can't capture them in one shot from our balcony...

But i think what excite the girls most was still the daily creative towel animal.  Everyday after dinner, they will impatiently rush into the stateroom to reveal what surprise was awaiting them.  :)

Girls were excited to see a hanging monkey in the room