vacation day 5: juneau, the best two hours of my life, etc.

July 27, 2009 will forever be etched in my mind as one of the best days of my life, if only for one of the day’s activities: a visit to the Mendenhall Glacier, outside Juneau, AK.

Mendenhall Glacier, as seen from our helicopter:


On the way to the airport, I saw bald eagles in the wild for the first time in my life. They were just hanging out on the side of the road, and the van driver pointed them out to us. Very cool.

We were given cold weather gear and a helicopter safety lesson at the airport. We then boarded a small helicopter (it was just the pilot, the guide, Becca and I, which was nice) and flew to the Mendenhall Glacier, which is just outside of town. We landed on the glacier and then made our way VERY slowly over to another equipment stand to get clamp-on spikes put on our boots. Without those spikes, walking on a glacier is just like walking on any other wet ice--very slippery, very dangerous. With the spikes on, however, it wasn’t a big deal at all.

Mendenhall, as seen from above:


Close-up of what you're walking on:




Being in the glacier was unreal. The terrain is so different from anything anywhere else that you really do feel like you’re on another planet.







We walked around for a couple hours, encountering small ponds and rivers of glacier runoff, waves of buckled ice, small holes, caves and crevasses. We also got some basic instruction on how to climb and descend with the spikes on. Useful, but I don’t know that we’ll ever be able to use what we learned again.



Ice waves:


Our guide, just to give you some perspective on the size of the glacier walls:






Yours truly, coming down:


When we were done, we got back on the helicopter and were flown around the area. We saw another glacier or two and some very pretty scenery. It would have been nice if it had been less cloudy, but I guess you can't win 'em all.

Herbert Glacier, as seen from the helicopter:


Random scenery from the copter:


We asked our van driver if there were any interesting places to eat in town, and he recommended a place called Pel Meni. So, we went there as soon as we got back to town. As the driver had mentioned, Pel Meni only has one thing on the menu: Russian meat-filled dumplings. The mix of hot sauce and curry powder on top was unexpected and surprisingly good.



We walked around town for a while after we ate. Juneau is pretty small for a state capital (population of about 30,000), so it didn't take long for us to feel like we'd seen everything we should see.

Juneau:




Alaska's state capitol building, the dullest I've ever seen:


A typical Juneau street:


We went back to the ship for a while, and went out again later. Becca wanted to check her email at the public library, and we also ended up stopping at a local joint famous for its king crab. I'm not really a fan, but Becca said it tied for the best crab she'd ever had (Minneapolis's Oceanaire restaurant being her other fave).





That's about all I can say about Juneau. I can't say enough good things about hiking on the glacier. If you ever have the chance, you should go. It's not cheap, but it's totally worth it.