Haines to Juneau

Labor Day Sept 2, 2019

We boarded the Fjordland, a 65 ft   catamaran with two 300 hp diesel engines for our three hour trip to Juneau. In addition to transporting
us to wildlife viewing is also part of the trip. the weather was 50 degrees with chances of rain above 50 %.

It was a three hour trip and along the way we saw a variety of seabirds, purpose and a couple of eagle perch high in the trees along the fjord.
I was a bit of a bumpy ride and smoothed out the closer to Juneau.

Catamaran Interior

Along the way we were served a light breakfast that included coffee or tea, blueberry muffin and an apple.










     

When we arrive at the dock we were met
by a bus that took us downtown. This would be a relatively short stay we we were to be back at the dock by four for the return trip.We grabbed a quick lunch at the notorious Red Dog Saloon. The saloon has the 1900 decor and feel with the waitress's and bar staff dress in period clothes.

The atmosphere was fun and the food was good but one had pause to wonder after reading this sign.

There was still some WILD LIFE going
on in the the bar. Woooo be it to the
prospector who doesn't pay his tab!


With time being at a premium we finished our lunch did a little sightseeing, shopping and then meet the bus for the half hour drive to Mendenhall Glacier.
We had visited the glacier by helicopter when we were here in 2013 but did
not get a chance to do the visitors center at the base of the glacier. by the time we got to the glacier a misty rain started and the visibility dropped.

     

In addition there was a wild life section where you could observe bears, salmon and
eagles. The problem it was very crowded.
Darn tourist!

The momma bear with cub was up in a tree and very hard to see. This guy stood out.

The visibility was poor and the glacier was hard to see but there was a noticeable difference from what we saw in 2013. The glacier had receded quite a bit.

The visitor center provided lots of information with many displays and a good 20 minute movie.

Time was up we had to return to the city to catch our boat back to Haines. Along the way back we were able to see three whales, several purposes, some harbor seals and steller sea lions.

It had been along day and we were pretty worn out. Tuesday will be an open day with no Fantacy events planned. I will sleep good tonight