May 19
May 20-21
May 22
May 23
May 24
May 25-26
May 27
May 28
May 29
May 30
May 31-June 1
June 2-3
June 4
June 5
June 6-8
We sailed up Tracy Arm this morning before breakfast. There were lots of little icebergs along the way. Lots of huge (tall) waterfalls, too.
We were unable to penetrate as far as the glaciers at the head of the Arm, but we found plenty of evidence of their existance.
The photo on the left above shows a typical view of Tracy Arm, with its fjord appearance and the glacier carving very obvious. The photo on the right above was a large chunk of calved ice floating past us... I've forgotten when an iceberg is no longer considered an iceberg (it has to do with size) and is classified as a growler, but this is probably a growler.
The three photos above show some of the many waterfalls we'd see this morning.
About 8:30, the ship turned around, so we went down stairs for breakfast.
Then Carl went to the gym and I puttered around the room.
We pulled into Juneau about 1. There were four other cruise ships already here (2 Royal Caribbean, The Coral Princess, and one from Silverseas), so we wound up anchored in the harbor and we will tender to the dock.
Disembarking by tender was delayed while our ship provided assistance (per Coast Guard request) to a boat in trouble in the harbor.
We finally got ashore and boarded our tour bus. First stop was a cooking “class” demonstration. Yucky food and pretentious presentation. It was not really worth the stop. We both panned it in our cruise review. This photo shows her whisking some sauce that was ill-defined. It's shown in a monitor that was set up for an overhead camera.
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Then, we were on to Mendenhall Glacier, which is always fascinating. An hour was spent there, including visiting the Visitor's Center.
The photo on the left shows what the Mendenhall Glacier looks like today. The photo on the right was taken from a similar perspective when I was there in 2007. It has retreated visibly in just the last eight years.
Three views of Mendenhall Glacier.
The photo on the left shows Nugget Falls near Mendenhall Glacier. If you look closely, you'll see people at the base of the falls, giving you an idea of just how massive this waterfall is.
The photo on the right shows another view of Mendenhall Glacier with some lupine in the foreground.
Then it was on to Alaskan Brewing Company for a supposed factory tour, which consisted of dumping us at the gift shop for three free samples of their beer.... A little disappointed in this part, too. The factory was shut down for the day, as it's Sunday.... The tour was supposed to include a history of beer in Alaska and a tour of the facility.
After getting off the bus, we tried to get into Red Dog Saloon to see some famous gunfighter's gun. Nope. Too close to dinner time and couldn't even get through the door...
So, it was back to the tenders and the ship for another wonderful meal and bed.
The photo on the left shows the Seven Seas Navigator, our ship, at anchor in the Juneau harbor. The photo on the right shows one of the tenders in use this day. These are, in reality, our lifeboats...