July 11, 2013 Juneau

July 11, 2013

Welcome to Juneau.  Found a McDonalds close by so went there to have breakfast, use wi-fi and plan our days here.

First stop was the Alaska State Museum on Whittier, near downtown.  Juneau is built pretty much on the debris from mining the nearby mountains, so it is mostly a long narrow city between the mountains and Gastineau Channel.  There were 4 cruise ships at dock!  The lady we bought tickets from at the museum was very helpful and friendly, giving us maps and a few suggestions of places to go away from the tourist crowds.

First, the museum itself was very good.  It all has to do with the history of Alaska, and much of it is native art, both historical and contemporary.  We had a docent tour of part of the collection which was nice.   Clothing, tools, masks, carvings, etc.

We walked from the museum to the State Office Building which has a nice deck on the 8^th floor (it is 12 stories and the highest building) with views of town and Douglas Island across the way.  Talked with a woman who worked there and lived on the island and an older “mountain man” looking guy who moved here 30 years ago.  Each shared some information and perspective.  For example, there was a huge construction crane near the State Museum and we considered it a bit of an eyesore.  The woman who lived here talked about how entertaining it was to watch.

Drove on a narrow road with wooden bridges out to Last Chance Mine, which was one of the last mining operations.  Mostly a lot of rusty tools, photographs and rusting things in the bushes, but it was ok.

Drove to Eagle Beach and saw lots of salmon, Chum or Dog Salmon, in a small creek there.  Watched for a while as the tide was coming in and they were inching up stream.  Much of the grass around the creek was mashed down and we saw a hefty pile of bear skat not far away.  Easy to see how this would be easy pickings for a bear, as I think we could have grabbed a fish or two ourselves! 

We stopped briefly along the highway to watch the fishing boats doing their thing, similar to Valdez. 

Spoke with a couple who had relatives with boats and learned a lot from them.  They mentioned the NOA – School of fisheries and ocean sciences as a place to visit, so we did that next.  Interesting spot with aquarium, spotting scopes and info.

Decided to go check in to our campsite.  It is right across the lake from Mendenhall Glacier and we had a nice site.  Had to drive to the showers, but not far, and we scouted and scavenged fire wood from non-occupied sites on the way back. Lots of water around but few bugs.   (The camp host was out of firewood.)    Greg got a nice fire going and I made spaghetti and meatballs for dinner.  Good phone service so we touched base with a few folks.  These ducks made a nice scene.

July 12, 2013

49 degrees this morning, and rather damp.  There was some rain during the night, and this IS a rainforest environment.

First stop was the Mendenhall Glacier Visitor Center and a walk to see the glacier.  Impressive, though like most, it is receding.

I showed a ranger a picture of the salmon we saw yesterday and asked which kind they were.  Got a nice lesson in salmon and there was even a video on the subject.

Basically there are 5 kinds of salmon and the chum (or dog) salmon are what we saw.  The kings are also beginning to run at this time and the other kinds will run between now and late September.  He suggested we go to DIPAC, the Macaulay salmon hatchery, so we did that.  This relatively small facility raises and releases about 120 million salmon a year!  Of course most end up as food for other fish, whales, seals, otters, etc., not to mention commercial and sport fishing.  Still, as you can see, there are lots returning. 

After making it up the ladder, they are harvested for eggs and sperm and the process starts all over.  The small fry are put into ponds to imprint this location, then released. 

salmon fry

All who survive will return in 3-5 years as adults, to spawn and die.  Some are tagged and have been found as far away as Japan.

Our next stop was Douglas Island.  We first went to the Outer Point trail, which the museum lady had recommended.  This was different than any trail we had been on, as a 12” wide boardwalk wove through bogs and huge spruce trees, ferns, lichen and plants with huge leaves. 

Almost expected a dinosaur to appear!  We walked till we hit a rocky beach and then headed back.

We stopped at Fish Creek , also on Douglas Island, and found many fishermen.  Talked with a father and son who had caught these king salmon.  Big fish!

Drove up to a ski area and then down into town.  Downtown Juneau is a zoo, with shops, restaurants and all catering to the crowds from the cruise ships. (four right now). We had crab cakes and bisque at Tracy’s Crab Shack, where half a king crab was going for $110.

Wondered through a couple of shops and took pictures of the Red Dog Saloon, which we had heard about – too many people to stop.

The Trek began having serious shaking issues at speeds over 40.  This had happened once a few days ago and then went away.  We are praying it will go away again, as we have to get the ferry tomorrow morning at 6:30.

Got a few groceries and gas, then back to the campsite for  a nice fire and s’mores! Beth won again at Cribbage.