This excursion didn’t leave dockside until 10am, so we had time after leaving the ship to walk through the town of Juneau. It was a delightful town, very busy on our day ashore as there were two other cruise ships in port.
Juneau is the capital of Alaska. It has no connecting roads or trains. The only way in is by ship or by air.

We passed by a shop in the Main Street named Simply Natural, a beautiful shop selling mostly alpaca products but not limited to. A beautiful knee length cardi/coat, in natural cream caught my eye and it was so so soft and I fell in love with it. It would be an addition to my winter wardrobe for many years. Since our excursion hadn’t yet started we left my purchase at the store and arranged to collect it prior to boarding the ship about 3.30pm.

This was a huge day, divided into three excursions:
At 10am we boarded our coach and headed out of town 45 minutes to Mendenhall Glacier.

Mendenhall Glacier. Our guide gave an informative commentary all the way to the glacier. We left the coach and were advised a time and spot when the coach would return to pick us up. We had an hour to explore this beautiful area at our own pace.

The air was cold, being so near the glacier as you would imagine. It was intermittent drizzle, not heavy rain. We were dressed in our ‘rain-jackets’ complete with hoodie and it was really beautiful area.

The marked trail lead upward to the Visitors Centre, were the view of the glacier was even better than at the level where the coach had dropped us. From the Centre another trial lead closer to the glacier. Some opted to walk further to the base of the glacier, well not on the ice but nearby. We opted to stay further back as it was quite a walk and we had already done more than our daily quota of steps!

The Centre provided opportunity to buy souvenirs and although we had decided not to make large purchases this trip, little memories were acceptable.
(My plan this trip was to collect Christmas decorations from each place we visited and every year as I hung them on our tree we would remember this once in a lifetime experience)….

This area was stunningly beautiful. The area around was rain-forest, lichen hanging from many trees indicated how pure the air was. Alaska has the purest air on the planet, according to our guide. The tree species were many and summer flowers were out. I hope the photos do this place justice.

Next stop, visit a commercial Salmon Hatchery back towards town about thirty minutes drive.
This was a very interesting establishment and a vital part of Juneau and Alaska’s economy. There were many pens with moving water and variable sizes of salmon. Where the last pen met the river two seals were feasting on the never ending supply of the largest salmon as they left their enclosure.

Salmon processing is a huge industry.
Salmon always return to the place where they were spawned, even swimming against the tide upstream to reach their birth place. Once there, the females release their eggs, the males release their sperm. Both species then die. There was a very wonderful documentary running in this hatchery of the life-cycle and five different species of salmon found in Alaska.
Easy to remember using your hand method:
Pinky finger: Pink Salmon, Ring finger: Silver Salmon, Middle finger: King Salmon, Index finger: Sockeye Salmon, and Thumb: Chum Salmon (this is the method of learning in schools throughout Alaska)
We spent 45 mins at the hatchery then back on the coach for a last destination:

Salmon Bake, really a better name would be “Cook Out ”. It was only five minutes from the hatchery, set in woodlands. A commercial enterprise, set up like a picnic arena, lots of large tables with stool seats, all covered with paper table cloths, overhead umbrellas to cater for both rain or hot summer days (this was not one of them) but it wasn’t raining all the time we were there. There were tall trees all around providing a ‘picnic in the forest’ feeling. Wonderful for children, and us, young-at-heart. We loved it.

Surrounding the picnic areas were stalls of food, wonderful clam chowder, grilled salmon cooking on one fire pit, steaks on another, tables full of trays of ribs in sauce (wonderful), fried rice, variety of salads, best baked beans ever, corn bread. A smorgasbord all freshly prepared and/or cooked produce.
A variety of drinks, beers, wine, soft drinks. This was wonderful.
Our hosts were so friendly and welcoming, always clearing our tables as our plates emptied, the bustle and conversations of many others enjoying the experience. A wonderful family orientated venue that if our day of visiting is any indication was enjoyed most of the year.

Our day ended at 3.30pm, back at the dock. Phil collected my purchase before we boarded the ship. Very, very weary but it was a wonderful, wonderful day.