Juneau, Capitol City & Much More

It was a long ferry ride from Sitka to Juneau. After the four hour wait on the tides we finally began cruising the narrows. No bears today. Clouds low, no views of mountain tops but I could make out the small settlement of Hoonah as we motored by. Towards evening we rounded the last point and cruised into the ferry dock. Miles from just about anything else, no shuttle, I finally found a taxi to the airport to pickup my rental car. It was after 11 PM but still enough light to walk around so I had to drive up to the Mendenhall Glacier. What a sight. Gleaming, huge, silent, it seemed to hover above a lake decorated with all shapes and sizes of ice bergs calved from its terminus. The air was damp and cool and filled with some exotic fragrance of an unknown spring flowering. A memorable evening.

The next day I headed into the downtown early before the tour ships disembarked. Wandering the nearly empty Saturday streets, a slight drizzle, I marveled at the smallness of this major Alaskan city. Passing the Governor’s Mansion, a lovely old home set among other lovely old homes in a residential area, I met a father and little girl also walking about. He stopped to chat for a moment and told me they had come to see the Governor’s trampoline. There it was in the modest backyard visible along the street. A bright blue trampoline. I think it must have really been for her two young children but in the little girl’s mind it was the Governor’s. I wondered how much different government might be if all Governor’s spent some time on their trampolines.

The State Museum, the waterfront Library, the steep mountainsides outlining the nearby margins of the city were some of my favorite highlights. I traveled a few miles south where the road ended in waterside trails. Douglas Island gave me an excuse to head up into the clouds. The rain ended but I couldn’t see much beyond the still snowy ski area. Traveling up the coast for 40 miles, let me sample some amazing trails. Saltwater to glacier, sometimes within only a couple of hours of easy walking.

I spent my last night at a motel, drying camping gear, eating real food, and getting ready for the next adventure. I felt as if I was only beginning to suspect the relative smallness of the human population in this vast and fascinating land.