Juneau to Gustavus

Thursday morning was all about packing up and cleaning house in preparation for our departure to Gustavus and Glacier Bay National Park that afternoon. We even found Juneau’s drop off recycling center, located conveniently near the airport. While we were packing, we practiced the mnemonic that every Alaskan kid learns to remember the five kinds of pink salmon that frequent these waters.

We had enough leftovers for lunch (except for Matt, who bought a sandwich) and drove past the airport to Lena Beach for a picnic in “brisk weather” (as the Brits would say). 

Then it was on to the airport for our flight to Gustavus.  We enjoyed some frosty brews at the Tailwind, Juneau airport’s on-site cafe-cum-pub.

We had originally booked the ferry from Juneau to Gustavus, a six hour voyage through what looked to be beautiful waters. But the ferry company cancelled that day’s boat (and only that day’s boat) so we had to rebook on Alaska Air. In-the-air time for this flight was 12 minutes – less time than it took the crew to go through the safety briefing. The plane had the feel of a commuter bus, with locals greeting one another and catching up on gossip. One woman brought a 50 pound bag of Costco dog food on board as her carry-on.

When the first Europeans arrived here at the end of the 18th century (sailing up the Icy Strait),  Glacier Bay was completely covered by the Grand Pacific Glacier.  Over the next 125 years, the glacier retreated some 65 miles, leaving glacial outwash along the area where Gustavus now sits. European homesteaders began settling in the area around World War 1, growing strawberries and root crops and raising cattle. They named the area Strawberry Point after the multitude of wild strawberries growing in the area. The town’s name was changed to Gustavus when they scored a post office in 1925. 

When World War 2 erupted, the US built a large airbase here, which was later repurposed as the Gustavus airport. Although the town was originally included within the boundaries of Glacier Bay Monument, about 19,000 acres around the settlement were excluded when the Monument became a Park in 1955.  Today, Gustavus has a permanent population of fewer than 700 people, with lots of lodges to host folks who visit the Park or who come to fish. 

We were booked in to the Glacier Bay County Inn, a few miles outside of town.  Rustic exterior, well appointed interior and great food. We stayed here for 4 delightful nights.

One lovely feature was this deck overlooking a meadow (formerly an airplane landing strip) filled with wild strawberries. We were told that the meadow gets a lot of wildlife visitors, and we were fortunate to see a little black bear bear munching in the meadow on our next-to-last day.