Saturday, September 01, 2007

Mendenhall Glacier

Juneau to Skagway.
We're taking a break from food reporting as I report on the cruise Dad and I took to Alaska. In Juneau our big adventure was visiting the Mendenhall Glacier, pictured above. We also saw the most eagles of any place on our trip to the glacier from downtown Juneau. The eagles seemed to have favorite hangouts along the way to the glacier, so we enjoyed observing this most majestic bird.

Skagway Building

In Skagway, we wandered around the town more before our train trip. We noticed the above unique building. I thought it most photo-worthy.

Can Can

We then caught the Can Can girls with Soapy Smith an infamous Skagway legend, in a "Days of '98' Show". It was a colorful way to catch some local history.

Bridal Veil Falls

We then boarded our White Pass & Yukon Route Rail Tour. The first reasonably decent photo I got from the window of a moving train was Bridal Veil Falls, pictured above. The whole panhandle that we saw reminded me so much of home (Seattle). So many Evergreen trees and similar plants, such as Devil's club and ferns.

Train over wooden bridge

We could see the train ahead of us clearly at many points as there were such steep curves. The line is an International Historic Civil Engineering Landmark, a distinction shared with the Eiffel Tower, the Panama Canal, and the Statue of Liberty! The ride was 3.5 hours round trip, and it crossed into the Yukon territory of Canada. A ride well worth the time and money. Spectacular sights!

1 comment:

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