Juneau, Alaska was the first stop our cruise ship made. As mentioned above, the city has many wonderful attractions in which tourists can partake. My family and I went whale watching and saw Mendenhall Glacier. When we first got to Juneau, we boarded another boat that took us whale watching. I had never seen a whale before our trip. They are truly magnificent creatures. Most of the whales we saw were humpbacks; however, there are also orca (killer) whales in Juneau. I watched as the whales came up to the surface and then dove back down. As they dove, they would slap their tails on the surface. I saw a few humpbacks spray water out of their blow-holes. I even saw a few baby whales. On the whale watching adventure, I also saw seals resting on a buoy. We got so close to the seals I could hear them make noise, and two even fought for a spot to sit. After an hour or so of whale watching, we headed back to the city.
When we got back to the city, my family and I walked around town looking at the shops. There were several shops where all of the merchandise changed color when held under light. After shopping, we walked over to Mendenhall Glacier. This was the first glacier I had ever seen. We were miles away, and it still looked huge. The glacier is one of the most spectacular natural wonders I have ever seen. On each side, the glacier was surrounded by grassy hills. I thought it was weird seeing grass and ice so close together. The ice of the glacier was so blue. According the the Mendenhall Glacier visitor center, "glacial ice appears blue because it absorbs all colors of the visible light spectrum except blue, which it transmits. The transmission of this blue wavelength gives glacial ice its blue appearance. Glacier ice may also appear white because some ice is highly fractured with air pockets and indiscriminately scatters the visible light spectrum." Mendenhall Glacier is about 12 miles long. After we saw the glacier, we got back on the cruise ship to travel to our next destination.
The black arches in the water are humpback whales.
This is Mendenhall Glacier
How close did you all get to the whales? I would have been terrified! As you guys walked around the city, what was the city like? How far are the shops and things from the residential areas compared to how they are here?
ReplyDeleteI'd love to see a glacier. Just to think about something 12 miles long that moves over land is amazing. It's a good thing you got to see some whales, I've known some people who went whale watching and didn't see a single whale.
ReplyDeleteWe did not get that close to the whales; they would not swim that close to the boat. Sometimes they just looked like black dots. The thing I remember most about walking around the city was being cold. It was the summer when I visited, however; it never got above 40. The city is is a good size, most of down town was just tourist shops. I remember that Juneau had several color changing shops. Everything in the store would change colors when help under light. I do not remember on seeing any residential areas; however, we only spent a few hours there.
ReplyDeleteAS, If you want to see glaciers you need to visit Prince William Sound, Alaska. It was the last place on our trip so I have not gotten to that post yet. I will tell you that we got so close to the glaciers we could hear the ice crack and see it fall in the water.
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