Alaska - Our 50th State

 Day 5 - Wednesday, August 24, 2022 - Juneau



Ron said he felt better this morning and we both had a long nights sleep. Went to breakfast at 8 and got ready to head to our excursion location. It was another sunny and warm day. The ship docked a bit early so we were out at 9:45. We found the Tramway and met up with our driver Jerry. He gave us a tour and gave us lots of history and background on Juneau. We were surprise to learn that you can only access Juneau by boat or plane.  There are no road into Juneau!! We then took at a 12 mile drive to Mendenhall Glacier. The glacier is 13 miles long and covers 36 square miles. It was beautiful but sad to hear how the glacier is receding each year. It had been receding 70 ft. every year but last year it receded 450 ft. I didn't realize the amazing blue color of the glaciers. We took a 2 mile walk to Nugget Falls and then went to the visitor center. There we watched a 15 min. film on the glacier and Tongass National Park. Walked the downtown of Juneau. Didn't really buy much, just a few souvenirs.  We did stop for lunch at the infamous Red Dog Saloon, which is the oldest man-made tourist attraction in Juneau founded during the mining era. It had the waitresses dressed up like the old fashioned saloon girls. They also had an old guy -83- who played the piano and made baudy jokes. Came back to the ship around 6. Went to dinner at 8. Then went to the Billboard Lounge and listened to the piano guys -Ian and Collin- until 10. Busy day got in 16,000 steps.




One of the many beautiful views we saw on this trip


Pictures don't do this justice or capture the colors completely




Nugget Falls





Inside the Red Dog Saloon


More good eats










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