The Adventure Begins in Juneau

Well July 1st finally arrived!  A trip that was nearly five years in the making was finally going to happen.  It was a very early morning out of Casa Bennett, for our flight out of O'Hare.  Christopher was kind enough to get us to the intermodal station in downtown Milwaukee in time for our 6:40a shuttle bus service to Chicago.

The flights were comfy, as we flew first class using American Airline miles . . . O'Hare to Seattle to Juneau via Ketchikan on Alaska Air.  We finally arrived in Juneau right as scheduled at 9:50pm.  It was a total travel day of 19 hours, but we made it.

On Tuesday morning we took it easy for most of the day.  Having rented a car for these two days in Juneau, it allowed us some flexibility to see stuff at our own pace, and outside of the downtown area.  (Our hotel was out by the airport, so having a car was very convenient.)

We found a nice boat launch area across the water on Douglas Island.  It was nice to just sit out on the bench and enjoy the views.  A group of cruise guests were getting ready to head out on their kayak excursion.  They seemed excited to be heading out to the water with their guide.

It was nice to visit the Mendenhall Glacier area late in the afternoon, when most of the (five) cruise ship passengers were heading "home" for the night.  We enjoyed the short movie in the visitor center, plus the photo ops around the upper walking paths.  We didn't venture out towards the glacier or the adjacent waterfalls due to my physical limitations.

We enjoyed just driving around "sightseeing" and looking for wildlife.  Other than the many eagles seen all around Juneau, there wasn't much to write home about.  Wednesday would make up for that!

I woke up earlier than David the next morning, so I slipped out around 5:15am to go see what I might be able to see.  I knew he needed his sleep and he understands my need to be out early if wildlife sightings are on my agenda.  I headed back across the water to where the boat launch was.

Along that road, I saw a critter eating some of the vegetation.  I thought it was a porcupine, until it stood up to take a peek at me.  Nope, no quills and too smooth a coat.  I thought maybe it was a beaver until it took off running and I could see its long, bushy tail.  I had no idea what it was until I got back to the hotel and David & I researched it on Google.  (Boy do I love the internet!)

MUSKRAT!  I had seen an Alaskan muskrat.  I was told afterwards they are quite illusive and rarely seen.  I felt so lucky, even if it was "just a big rodent."

Later in the day, David & I went back over to the Mendenhall Glacier area as it is a well know area for bear viewing.  Admittedly, we didn't really get out the day prior with the intent of finding bears.

As dumb luck would have it (and knowing what tourists look like when THEY have found something cool to photograph), we stumbled upon a large black bear sow with two COY (cubs of the year - born this year).  I worked to find a safe place to park the car so we could walk down to where the others were.Of course, they were WAY TOO CLOSE.  When asked, one lady told us they saw a bear cub in the forest about 10 feet from the pathway.  I commented, "If there is a cub there, you can best believe Momma ain't too far away!"  About that time, the group of eight or ten people scampered away, saying "THERE SHE IS!"

Dumb asses!!

We kept a safe distance, and found a spot to watch her and the two dinky cubs.  David got some exceptional video, while I tried to crouch down enough to get a photo or two.  Unfortunately, I wasn't able to get a decent photo of all three together, but here's Mom!

I hope to be able to post David's video once he's able to get it off his camera and processed to a file that can be shared here.

The rest of our day (Wednesday) was spent doing other tourist type things.  We took the Mt. Roberts Tram up to the top of the city overlooking Juneau and the five cruise ships in port for the day.  We also had lunch up there, which was very good and reasonably priced considering we were in a mega tourist spot. The view was very nice, especially since we were having great, clear weather.

This is as good a time as any to mention the Alaska TourSavers coupon book.  For $99, you get some great 2:1 deals.  The Mt. Roberts Tram is normally $35pp.  I don't know that I'd be happy paying $70 for the two of us, but for $35 I was pleased.

All tolled, I expect we will save over $1,000 on lodging & tours we have planned for this trip . . . all for a $99 purchase.  And if you buy the book early (as we did preseason) you will save another 10 or 15% on the cost of the coupon book.

Just as you approach Juneau from the airport area, there is a salmon hatchery.  I spent some time early Wednesday morning out there by myself at low tide and later in the evening as David & I were killing time before our 10pm rental car return and trip out to the ferry.  There were a lot of eagles to be seen very far out on a sand bar at low tide in the morning; but not much happening with the tide up in the evening.  Sorry these photos are not very sharp, but the length I had to shoot from plus the less than optimal lighting, created challenges for my hobbyist equipment (Olympus E/520; 70-300mm; f/5.6).

Juvenile Eagle

Beautiful Adult Bald Eagle Soaring High in the Sky

Well enough of Juneau for now.  We will be back here July 10-13 with more to see & do at that time.

I hope folks enjoy the blog and look forward to the next installment soon!