Our first port of call was for Juneau, on day 4. We got off the boat at around 7:30am and headed to the first of two excursions. The plan was to hike to the peak of Mt. Roberts. The boat docked about a hundred yards from the tramway that takes people up to the point where you begin the hike to the peak. It’s two and a half miles from the base of the mountain to where the tramway drops you off, and it’s a really steep climb. So we decided to take the tramway to the midway point, in the interest of time.

We paid for our tickets ($25.00 each) and got on the tramway. Unfortunately, after we entered the car and the doors closed, they announced that Mt. Roberts had received over 200 inches of snow this winter and the hike to the peak was blocked. Okay, you couldn’t post that somewhere in the lobby, so people would know ahead of time? Of course not, because then some people (like us) wouldn’t spend money on tickets if they know the hike is closed. So we decide to be happy anyway because we’re in Alaska and the country is beautiful and at least we can hike down the mountain.

Did you know? Tourism is the third largest industry in Juneau, behind government and fishing.

Overlooking Juneau

200 inches is a lot of snow!

Our second excursion was whale watching. The first set of whales we saw was this group of male Orca. Unfortunately, the Humpback whales were much more elusive. That last photo is about all I got of the Humpbacks. The lighthouse is cool though, right?

Update: No, there aren’t any Humpbacks in the last photo. However, I found these pics that Karen got of the Humpbacks. I forgot to mention, it was raining all day (literally, from before we got off the ship, to the time we got back on, it rained).