Juneau: The Inside Passage

                                          Juneau

map of the Inside Passage

Judy and I are returning to Bellingham, WA via the Inside Passage and the Alaska Marine Ferry system.  We drove the Alcan Highway to Haines, Alaska at the north end of the Inside Passage.  From Haines, we put the van on a ferry and went to Sitka for several days.  We caught another ferry and are now in Juneau.
 Juneau serves as the capital of Alaska with no roads into it.  All traffic is by air or boat.  We have several days here and already one full day of sunshine which the locals relished as unusual!

entrance into Juneau harbor

Juneau is built into a steep hillside and is about 5 blocks deep.

touches of color help in a rainy environment

a cruise ship looms at the end of the street

You can not come to Juneau without a visit to the very close by Mendenhall Glacier.  It is 12 miles long and a part of the Juneau Icefield.  The glacier has receded 1.75 miles since 1958 and 37 ft. in 2013 alone.

nesting Barn Swallow at the Mendenhall Visitors' Center

The Mendenhall Waterfall - nothing is on a small scale in Alaska (notice the people at the base)

lupine on the trail to the waterfall