Tuesday, May 19

After our morning excursions, buses and vans brought us back to the ship, where we had lunch and exchanged stories of our adventures. After we ate, most of us spent the afternoon exploring Alaska's capital city.

In all three ports we visited, the docks were a 10-minute walk or less from the town's main street and central shopping district. These communities usually were founded as fishing ports, then grew tremendously in 1898 and 1899 to serve the throngs heading for the Klondike gold rush.... and then sank back to their fishing port population for decades, until the cruise ship business brought a new source of business to the area.

Below are a couple of final photos from my hike, then some of Juneau itself; the only state capital (other than Honolulu, Hawaii) that isn't connected to the rest of the United States by road. The only way in or out is by ship or airplane. Year-round population is about 30,000, so a flood of tourists from a few cruise ships doesn't have quite the same impact as in a smaller community, but tourism is still a major part of the economy.

Porcupine in a tree; saw two during the hike, but hard to photograph!	Moss covered everything in parts of the forest, thanks to wet climate	Juneau's waterfront business district; restaurants, bars, shops
Clever signs led us to Wm Spear Designs; enamel pins, creative and beautiful!	Aerial tram to the top of Mt. Robert; we didn't ride, but heard view and amenities at top are great	Police officer on Segway; saw him patrolling several times