Today I had organised a private tour with Juneau Tours. We had to meet at 8.15am on the dock, under the cable car for our 2.5 hour Mendenhall Glacier and City tour.
As this was a tender port and due to there being 5 cruise ships in the harbour we made an early start to make sure we were on one of the first tenders. This meant that we had plenty of time to find the meeting place and acquaint ourselves with the town, grab a coffee for those that needed it and take a few pics.
Our tour guide was Bea . She was reasonably old and stuck to the set script and tour agenda….. when a big bear walked across the road not far from where we were she would not stop to let us get a good look and take a photo…. The closest we got to seeing a real bear!! Good on ya Bea!
After a quick city tour where Bea pointed out the main buildings we drove to the Mendenhall Glacier which was about a 20 minute drive out of the city and on the other side of the river. Once we crossed the river we stopped at a viewing platform to take some photos looking back to the city area.
At the glacier Bea dropped us and gave us about an hour of "free" time to explore the area on our own. As it was early in the morning the ship's tours had not arrived yet so it was not as busy as it would have been later in the day although a lot of the ship's tour people were raving about the bear that they saw!!!
After our short tour we were dropped back into the city centre where we were left to explore the numerous touristy shops. Peter wanted coffee and internet and I wanted to "look" at the shops so we went our separate ways and arranged to meet at the Fisherman's Wharf for lunch.
Our lunch spot provided very scenic views over the harbour to enjoy our halibut wrap. After lunch we went to the iconic Red Dog Saloon where there was a show on at the bar and then headed back to the tender to go back to the ship.
Another successful day on shore…. next stop Ketchikan.
Quick Facts:
Capital of Alaska
Population: 32,660
Climate: Summer days average in the 60s, average annual rainfall 86.1 inches.
Language: English
Currency: US Dollars (USD)
Arriving into Juneau
On the tender and tender love
A floral display
The usual totem pole
The lookout on the other side of the harbour
Local countryside and reflections
More reflections at Mendenhall Glacier
Mendenhall Glacier
More blue glacial ice
Local craft and souvenir shops
Interesting fur underwear for both males and females
Keeping watch
Patchwork shop
Another souvenir shop
Lunch - Halibut wrap and chips
Our view at lunch
Red Dog Saloon
Inside the Red Dog Saloon
Memories… miss my Lolly xx
A mural on the local Council building
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