Juneau- Monday 8/9

Sign at the Governor's Mansion

When I got the job at Mt. Edgecumbe, I called dad to tell him. To say he was surprised would be an  understatement. He kept saying, "Holy shit you're moving to Alaska" every few sentences. So, this is for you dad: Holy shit I'm in Alaska. I can't believe I'm in Alaska. I got into Juneau at the crack of dawn on Monday, August 9th. Literally. I couldn't decide what to do. It was so early. So early. I do not particularly enjoy morning, especially when being awakened from a nice warm boat floor when the sun was still unsure if it wanted to go up. As a general rule, I prefer to never see the sun rise unless I am still awake from the night before. I called the parents to let them know that I was off the boat (This was all completed from inside my car) and to complain about the ridiculously early hour. So, I had nothing to do until my ferry leaves for Sitka on Tuesday at 4:45 am. Ick, I know.

Mt Robert's Trail

So, I decided to go drive around Juneau and see what it looked like. I went to downtown first. This was mostly because they were giving out free maps of Juneau at the ferry and all of the maps were of downtown, not the surrounding area. So, downtown it is. The streets there are really steep. It felt like I was driving at a 45 degree angle sometimes. My car was less than pleased. I was driving around and I accidentally ended up on this road that lead to a trail, Mt. Roberts Trailhead.  I sat in my car for a while and finished listening to my book on tape, it was a good one by the way, and then decided to get out and see what was going on at Mt. Robert's trail. I did not go far, but I went in and looked around. Everything is so beautiful. 

Creek by Flume Trail

Next, I went across the street to Flume Trail, and that was nice. I was right on a little creek that was really beautiful. There is so much water here! I love water and it is just everywhere here. Even on the Flume Trail walkway there was water bubbling up out of the ground. There were all these beautiful red plants around the trail too. They were tall and gorgeous.

Red Plant

When I came out of the trail, I decided that I should try and sleep in my car because even after walking around and taking my time about it, it was still only 8:30am. Well, I didn't because that idea freaked me out to much, but I did sort of rest. That was a happening trail though and people kept walking by my car.

Mt. Juneau

So, I drove out of the trail and saw a sign announcing that the tiny one car bridge I was currently driving on was in an avalanche area. Obviously it is summer so that is ok, but I was taken aback by that sign. Definitely not in Kansas anymore.

Alaska State Capitol

I reentered downtown with the crazy steep streets and parked. (Which was extremely difficult to do, parking was quite the premium and there were signs everywhere saying that they would tow any car that didn't belong)
I was walking around when I noticed a sign on the State Capitol building saying that they were giving free tours of the Alaska State Capitol building. I have lots of time to kill and that sounded interesting so I went in to get a tour. It was really interesting.

Senate Room

We saw several committee rooms and a courtroom. We also saw the senate and the house meeting rooms. That was fascinating. Our guide told us that they have three buttons at their seats, one to vote yes, one to vote no and one to page. They apparently are not allowed to talk without permission and must page if they have a question. She told us that it is required that all people be present for a vote to the point of sending out police if they are not there. The guide assured us that this has not happened in many years, but once many years ago, police found a senator hiding behind a dumpster trying to avoid voting. We also went by and saw the Office of the Governor. 

That was really intersting.  Out front of the Capitol building there is a copy of the Liberty Bell. From there I decide to walk to see the Governor’s House. It was really cool and a little crazy to be able to walk down the street and see the Governor’s House right there. It was a beautiful house, and very normal looking. There was a totem pole out front of the house, it was spectacular. I saw one walking to the Governor’s House and then there was another one. It was a little strange, I have never seen one in my life and suddenly within five minutes I have see two it different places. Just in the front yard hanging out. I don't think my pictures really were able to capture the scale and impressiveness of these wonderful works of art.

Governor's House

Side view of the Governor's House

So, now it is around 2pm and I still have many, many hours to kill. I remembered during the tour that the guide mentioned that there was a glacier in town. I don't really know what I was expecting. Something small I guess. But there is a freaking glacier right in Juneau. You just drive down this street and all the sudden there is a glacier. It is the Mendenhall Glacier. I just drove down Mendenhall Loop Rd and BAM- glacier at the end. That was the coolest thing I did all day. I guess it is a really big tourist attraction because there were a lot of people there. There are little trails and lookout points at the site. The glacier was blue. I don't know why I was surprised by that, but I was. It also didn't look like a smooth slope of ice, which I was expecting, but it was jagged and rough. The glacier ends in Mendenhall Lake which then goes into Mendenhall River and that empties into a channel by the airport. A lot of Mendenhall's I know.

Nugget Falls and some strangers

Once there, I went to the lookout and took pictures and I walked around. I went on most of the trails because it was really cool and I had plenty of time to burn. One of the trails was to Nugget Falls. Nugget Falls is a waterfall not far from the glacier. It was awesome! The walk was interesting, but nothing compared to ending at the base of a waterfall. So cool. We were close enough to the waterfall that mist from the waterfall was reaching us. Also, coming out that close to the waterfall placed us a lot closer to the glacier. I think seeing a glacier is one of the coolest things I have ever done, and on this trip I have done some cool stuff. I was at the glacier for a long time. After I left, I went to a small mall. The biggest store there was a Joann's Fabrics. Despite this, I walked around for a little bit. You know- just killing time! Now I was driving around Juneau again with not much to do and it was only 7pm- a little less than 10 hours until the ferry. While driving, I spotted a Wal-Mart. I pulled in and I was so happy to see it. After so long on the road and then the ferry and being in a town with no where to go for many, many hours, I felt like Wal-Mart was the embassy. 

The embassy

A little taste of home that I was really glad to get. So, I went to Wal-Mart. I think I went up and down every single isle in that store. After spending about 2 hours at Wal-Mart I decided to go back to the ferry terminal and if they were closing the terminal, I was going to sleep in my car. It was open though and so I brought a sleeping bag inside and set up in a corner of the terminal. I don't know how much sleep I got, but at least I was able to rest before getting into line for the ferry at 2 am. I was really hopeful that since they told me to get in line so early that I would get on the ferry earlier. Well, I did get on before 4:45, but I don't really think it was by much. There were these two truckers that were driving big rigs onto the ferry and then coming off without their cargo. They must have done that at least ten times each. In case you were wondering, that is not a fast process. I'm sure you were dying of curiosity. I was sort of interested the first two times, but after that I was annoyed. How long must it take to get the stupid things unhooked from the cabin? Speed it up buddy. I was in my car with the engine off and it was cold. However, my car has automatic lights if it is on and there were shining into the car in front of me which had two children in it and I felt bad keeping the car on. So, there I was in my car, freezing because Alaska is cold, and these stupid truckers were taking there sweet time unhooking the stupid cargo. Hurry up! Finally, I got on the ferry and went to the recliner lounge (did you miss me boat floor?) and went to sleep. I think passed out from sleep exhaustion might be a better description. I'll be in Sitka today! Scary and cool all at the same time!

Mendenhall Glacier