 Before sunrise, enjoying a distant snow field, probably on Admiralty Island. |
 Pre-dawn near Admiralty Island, glassy calm seas. Cruising into Juneau. |
 Sunrise catches the peaks on Admiralty Island, steaming slowly into Juneau. |
 We saw these otters playing outside our balcony. |
 Otters! |
 Low clouds decorate the island peaks. |
 A bird flies by the criss-crossing slopes. |
 Snow fields on rocky peaks steaming into Juneau. |
 Low clouds around the islands near Juneau. |
 Viewing distant rocky peaks through a nearby U-shaped glacier carved valley. |
 Morning in Juneau, joined by a sister ship Radiance of the Seas, and another. Our parking spot is about a two-mile walk into town. |
 Enjoy the irony. :) |
 View of our ride as we walk into town. (Jane took a slip and fall on the uneven asphalt of the trail just as I paused to snap this picture. She's just fine today.) |
 The Mt. Roberts Tramway starts off on its trip to the top. |
 On a blue bus to Mendenhall Glacier. |
 Trails built for bear watching along Steep Creek, downstream from Mendenhall Lake and glacier. |
 We watched four Sockeye salmon having some drama in Steep Creek. One female trying to nest some eggs, and three males competing to fertilize them. |
 The males would get quite aggressive with each other. Sockeye salmon. |
 Our ranger said that the bears favor the female salmon before spawning for the higher fat and calorie content in their eggs, so the population skews male. |
 Our shadows as we watched four Sockeye salmon in Steep Creek. |
 The ranger pointed out the female Sockeye by the spot on her head. |
 Elevated trail for bear (and salmon) watching along Steep Creek. |
 A small iceberg in the lake off Mendenhall Glacier. |
 A view of Mendenhall Glacier. |
 Nugget Falls. The fall is enormous, there are actually hikers visible at the base. |
 Glacier marks in the granite left behind by the glacier. |
 Lichen covered granite. |
 Plants and lichen thriving on glacier-scarred granite. |
 A full panorama of Mendenhall Lake, glacier, and Nugget Falls, from near the visitor center. |
 Zoomed in on an iceberg in the lake. |
 The deep blue glacier ice peeks through as the glacier creeps down, all the while receding. |
 Shapely iceberg floating in the lake. |
 Fun to see all the park visitors at the base of Nugget Falls. |
 Up close of blue glacial ice. |
 At the visitor center they had an excellent discovery center tent with projects for the kids. |
 Panorama inside the beautiful visitor center observatory. |
 In Juneau, outside the Alaska State Museum, a bit of urban art called "Nimbus." |
 Brand new building to house the Alaska State Museum. |
 Native historical clothing and watercraft inside the museum. |
 More native watercraft in the Alaska State Museum. |
 Display of native hunting gear, using animal based protective clothing. |
 Russian Alaska display at the state museum. |
 Bust and painting of William Seward. |
 Mining locomotive from Alaska Gastineau Mining Company. |
 A display showing a cross-section of the Alaska oil pipeline. |
 Lighthouse lens at the Alaska State Museum. |
 They included an excellent installation of SOS: Science on a Sphere, rotating through displays showing weather patterns and things such as bird migrations. |
 The top of the Mt. Roberts Tramway. |
 Evening view of our ride, Explorer of the Seas. |
 I like tugboats. Here's Le Cheval Rouge. There were two parked near our ship, but these monster cruise ships don't need tugs, mostly just oilers. |
 The Skookum Yarder. |
 View of our sister ship from Dizzy's Bar on deck 14. |
 The Radiance of the Seas prepares for a nighttime departure from Juneau. |
 Looking up at the bridge of the Explorer of the Seas preparing for our own night departure. |
