Alaska Cruise: Juneau Whale Quest and Mendenhall Glacier (8/1/2019)

Thursday, August 1, 2019 (continued)
After lunch at the Garden Café, we prepared for our shore excursion of "Mendenhall Glacier and Whale Quest." The driver of our motorcoach, Wesley, assured us he was old enough to drive, and his
commentary during the trip to Auke Bay was informative and amusing.
The first part of the afternoon was the whale quest aboard a large catamaran. We sailed up the Saginaw Channel Channel.

Flukes of the diving Megaptera novaeangliae/Humpback Whale, Sasha

Humpback whales can be identified by the pattern on their flukes,
or lobes, of the tail

Humpback whale spout (EHS)

Following the dorsal fin of a whale (EHS)

Eumetopias jubatus/Steller Sea Lions (EHS)

Whale flukes (EHS)

Dylan, Kent, Tamiko, Pete, Erich

Whale spout (EHS)

Arched back of humpback whale signaling a dive

Flukes of a diving humpback whale

The boat took us through North Pass and then down Favorite Channel back to Auke Bay.

Herbert Glacier

Wesley met us at the dock, and he drove us to Mendenhall Glacier where we had an hour to explore.

Pete, Erich, Kent, Dylan at Mendenhall Glacier,
seen from the Pavilion

Bert and Ada at Mendenhall Glacier (7/25/1984)

We tried to hike the Steep Creek Trail, but it was closed due to the danger of bears. Hey! We wanted to see those bears!

Did see some Oncorhynchus nerka/Sockeye Salmon

Mendenhall Lake and Mendenhall Glacier, seen from the Visitor Center

Pavilion from where we first viewed the glacier

On our way back to the ship, Wesley drove us over the "Bridge to Nowhere" that connects Juneau to Douglas Island.

Takhu, the breaching humpback whale (2013-2016,
by R T "Skip" Wallen) (KSS)

At the Douglas Island end of the bridge, there is a roundabout that Wesley liked to call the "Roller Coaster of Juneau." For the full effect, he went completely around once. To make it seem more like an amusement ride, he went around a second time! And just for fun, he drove around a third time!

Raven Discovering Mankind in a Clam Shell Mural
(1988, by Bill Ray Jr)

Sunset as we depart Juneau

Tonight we had dinner in Azura, a table service restaurant.
Next: Skagway Sled Dogs.