North to Alaska, Part 4

Our travels next took us to Juneau and Ketchikan. Here is the scene in Juneau while we waited for our shore tour, which was a whale-watching expedition.

Evidently, Hawaii is a favorite vacation spot for folks from Alaska. We saw quite a few places that featured items from Hawaii, although few as distinctive as this one, which was directly across the street from our docked ship.

My kids and I had gone whale watching together years ago off the coast of California near Ventura, but this was a first for Kathie. Whales fill the bays and fjords along the Alaska coast and can easily be seen feeding. We were told that they don't breach as much as they do when they migrate, but they frequently came up to blow and to dive again for food.

Kathie caught one blowing and diving in this little video.

Each whale has a distinctive fluke, so individuals can be identified. This display was aboard our tour boat showing the individuals in the region, but I think you have to be a better trained observer than we are to work out the details.

As everywhere else, the nearby scenery was spectacular. A bald eagle and a group of harbor seals enjoyed the scenery from this marker buoy.

On the way back from the whale watching, we stopped at the Mendenhall Glacier, which is in the Tongass National Forest. You can read more here, if you wish. Since the mid-1700s, the glacier has retreated almost 2.5 miles.

Kathie took this picture of the daily piece of ice they bring down from the glacier for visitors to experience up close. This is one very, very old piece of ice, and its clarity and bubble-filled appearance was quite interesting.

Ketchikan, like Haines two days prior, was a colorful, seaside community nestled in a true rain forest. Rain occurs there about 300 days per year, and we experienced some of it, though it seems to be almost a more misty, drizzly, constant rain than any kind of downpour. Everything was lush and green.

In the morning, we visited a local museum and did some shopping in the city.

Later, we took a tour to learn about crabbing. At the spot where we saw the crab pots (see below), we also saw evidence of a lumbering business.

We watched as crab pots were pulled from the water. Each one had some type of bait fish in it—this one with a salmon head.

Inside were two trapped dungeness crabs. Our guide showed us how to differentiate between males (which can be kept) and females. They must also be of a certain size (I recall 9" or more) across the carapace.

After the tour, we were treated to an all-you-can-eat crab feast. The crab and the companion dishes were all outstanding. Fresh crab is sensational and is one of Kathie's favorite foods, as you can see below. Actually, no, the pile of shells is not all her doing. There were four of us at the table. Each table had been challenged to create the tallest possible pile, and cheating was encouraged. We didn't come close to winning, though. But, yum, it was fun trying.