Douglas Island Rainforest Trail (and The House)

We had nothing scheduled on Tuesday, and decided to have an slow day. Crystal & Gary wanted to hike, so Matt drove them to a trailhead on the north end of Douglas Island. (Alaska won’t let you add an extra driver to a rental car contract unless it’s a spouse, so Matt got stuck doing … Read more

Juneau and the Tracy Arm

Monday was a bit of an upside-down day for us. We were originally booked for a day-long Tracy Arm boat tour on Sunday, with our whale watching trip scheduled for Monday, but the Tracy Arm operator cancelled on the Friday before so we had to scramble. Fortunately, the folks at Harv and Marv’s were able … Read more

Whale Watching, Beaches & Gardens

Sunday morning we went whale watching with Harv’s and Marv’s Outback Alaska in the ocean passages west of Juneau. We departed from the Auke Bay Boat Harbor, located northwest of downtown Juneau, right at the foot of the Mendenhall Valley. Auke Bay was developed by the Feds in the 1950s as a research facility to … Read more

Juneau – Mendenhall Glacier & Native Celebration

On Saturday, our first full day in Juneau, we took advantage of a bright and sunny day to visit the Mendenhall Glacier, located just 12 miles from downtown Juneau. First, a word about the area’s geography.  Downtown Juneau (and the ferry dock) is tucked into a narrow and reatively flat stretch of coast on the west … Read more

Orca Inlet & on to Juneau by air

We were exceedingy grateful that Friday dawned clear and sunny. We were flying out to Juneau in the afternoon, so this morning was and the last chance to take our much anticipated – and much delayed – wildlife boat tour on the Orca Inlet. After another light breakfast (ahem), we loaded up in a van … Read more