Thursday, Aug. 28, 2014 – 5 Glacier Seaplane Flight in Juneau

Another day, another port! We arrived in Juneau, which, although it is the capital of Alaska, it is inaccessible by road! Planes and boats are the only way to get there because of the rough, mountainous terrain directly east. Our shore excursion today began with a short walk from the pier to another dock where a row of small seaplanes were waiting for us. With only one seat on each side of the plane, and only four rows, and because of a stubborn man who got on first and insisted he wanted the seat in the middle, Hubby and I weren't able to sit next to each other. I took the front seat and Hubby behind the guy behind me. We took off across the water and headed out for an hour long flight that took us over 5 different glaciers, several islands, and lots of wilderness. It was fascinating to see the different characteristics of each glacier, and that at least one of the glaciers was actually growing, while others were shrinking. Apparently it depends on the source of the glacier, and what the terrain and weather are in those originating areas. Whenever I have asked locals about global warming and melting glaciers, they all seem rather blasé about it, compared to the environmental fanatics we hear in the media. They're attitude seems to be, the glaciers have been melting at varying rates since the last ice age 10,000 years ago, and will continue to melt however they want, no big deal. I have had several conversations with many native and long-lived Alaskans whose attitude seems to be the folks from the lower 48 should leave them alone to decide what Alaska's future should be, but at the same time, because so many residents are now dependent on government contracts, they have to keep their complaints quiet, so as not to lose those jobs. Sounds pretty typical of a welfare state, it seems to me. In any event, it was a fabulous trip, other than the constant chatter of the 10-year son of the selfish guy behind me who was across from me, and the scenery was, once again, outstanding. We made a safe and careful landing, deplaned at the dock, walked the long plank up to the main dock, and took a little walk around town on our way back to the ship, stopping for a beer at the famous Red Dog Saloon, (where there is a framed pistol apparently checked by Wyatt Earp at the Marshall's office, but never claimed because his boat for Nome left before the Marshall's office opened in the morning), as well as lots of other articles from the turn of the 20th century, including the costume worn by the bartender. We walked along the main street past lots of fur and jewelry stores, very upscale for such a small town, catering once again to the tourists. We got back to the ship and settled into our stateroom once again. The ship shortly left port, and headed out toward another glacier at the end of a narrow, gorgeous fjord where the captain carefully weaved his way to the end of the "tunnel" where the glacier lay. Not quite as impressive as Hubbard glacier, it nevertheless was worth the trip. Finally, we headed for another specialty restaurant, followed by a comedy show in the main theatre before having a nightcap and heading back to bed, a full day, with an early morning facing us tomorrow.