The kayaking excursion received mixed reviews - the dirty and unsafe tour saved itself by an unexpected encounter with some seals - but overall the kayaking in Juneau could not live up to our great kayaking experience in Ketchikan.
Even though we were both a bit terrified - are helicopters really meant to fly?? - the helicopter ride was incredible. Five helicopters took off, like clockwork, ascending into the sky and we got to enjoy the stunning Juneau scenery from above. We even got to see Admiralty Island, a remote island that has 500 people and 1400 bears living there!
Everyone seemed to love our time on the glacier, especially getting down on all fours to drink from the water spring that was rushing down the glacier. As we walked around in our clamped boots, we couldn't have felt further away from city life.
Heading slightly back to reality, we finished up the afternoon with a few drinks at the Red Dog Saloon, Juneau's oldest bar and the host to an episode of The Ed Sullivan Show. The bar was an unexpected highlight as we enjoyed some Alaska Ale beers and Duck Fart shots while listening to the raunchy piano player sing about "Skeeters on his Peter" while the moody bartender shouted back at him and scolded anyone who dared to ordered non-alcoholic drinks.
Nonetheless, we were all excited about our excursion that afternoon to the Mendenhall Glacier.
We have been very lucky with the weather on this trip. Usually rainy and cool, the weather at all of our stops has been unseasonably sunny and warm and allowed us to enjoy our tours to the fullest (except for animal sightings which became more remote as the animals hid away from the sun). Our helicopter tour to the glacier was no different. After all trips had been cancelled that morning g due to the weather and one group the day before had been trapped out on the glacier overnight due to bad flying conditions, the sun broke just before our scheduled departure time and our trip proceeded as planned.
Even though we were both a bit terrified - are helicopters really meant to fly?? - the helicopter ride was incredible. Five helicopters took off, like clockwork, ascending into the sky and we got to enjoy the stunning Juneau scenery from above. We even got to see Admiralty Island, a remote island that has 500 people and 1400 bears living there!
Landing on the glacier felt like we were landing on the moon. The surface was rough, with lots of deep crevices and pools of water randomly splattered around. The ice is deep at 300 feet and the water falls run powerfully down the mountain, crushing the rocks into sawdust en route.
Everyone seemed to love our time on the glacier, especially getting down on all fours to drink from the water spring that was rushing down the glacier. As we walked around in our clamped boots, we couldn't have felt further away from city life.
Heading slightly back to reality, we finished up the afternoon with a few drinks at the Red Dog Saloon, Juneau's oldest bar and the host to an episode of The Ed Sullivan Show. The bar was an unexpected highlight as we enjoyed some Alaska Ale beers and Duck Fart shots while listening to the raunchy piano player sing about "Skeeters on his Peter" while the moody bartender shouted back at him and scolded anyone who dared to ordered non-alcoholic drinks.
After making a contribution to the bartender's Retirement and Viagra collection jars, we kicked the sawdust off of our shoes and headed back to the ship to make our way to our next port, Skagway.
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