2012 July 6-20 Alaska Land and Cruise Adventure Review with LOTS of photos!

[WalleyeLJ]

Along the shoreline on the way back, we saw the NOAA Alaskan Fisheries Science Center Auke Bay Laboratories. IN addition to collecting weather info, the NOAA/AFSC website says that their primary mission includes:

 

Marine Ecology and Stock Assessment

Habitat and Marine Chemistry

Marine Salmon Interactions

Ocean Carrying Capacity

 

 

 

Having been a fisheries biology major at one point, who ended up with an Undergrad degree in Natural Resources studies, I bet that would have been the coolest place to visit. For now, we just had to settle for some views from the water. In any case, anyone with a window had a world class view!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After that, we got to see up close a number of waterfront homes on the way back into the harbor. What I wouldn't give to own one of those...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

One of the coolest hoses from the outside - but I can't IMAGINE what the stairs must be like...

 

 

 

 

 

 

For those contemplating the bigger boats, here's a shot of another one of the double-decker options

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

L.J.

[WalleyeLJ]

As we came towards the end of the run in, we got to see the top of Mendenhall Glacier coming into view above Auke Bay

 

 

 

 

 

 

A couple minutes later Jayleen cut in behind a little island and pointed out an eagle pair up in the trees that we spent a couple of minutes observing

 

 

 

 

 

 

A couple more minutes and we were back at the marina. There are boats of all shapes and sizes in each harbor in Alaska, and this one was no exception.

 

 

 

The Odd Couple

 

(Check out the home ports - Jackson, WY for the little guy, and the Cayman Islands for the million dollar yacht)

 

 

 

 

 

 

While we haven't gone with Orca Enterprises, I know many think highly of them, so I grabbed these shots of two of their whale watching boats

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

One of the other whale watching company boats in the harbor

 

 

 

 

 

 

Once ashore, we hopped in same shuttle, but a different driver this time, and headed to Mendenhall Glacier before going back to the ship.

 

 

 

L.J.

[WalleyeLJ]

For those newer to this thread, and have wondered about my camera gear, here's a shot of Bev grabbed of me on the way to the shuttle van, with my field set up. Mind you I don't carry this much stuff except in Alaska and when I shoot NASCAR races:D!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Once we got to Mendenhall, we had about 15 minutes to check out the sights before heading back to Juneau and the ship.

 

 

 

The main face of the glacier

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bev & I getting our Roaming Gnome (sans gnome) shot in...

 

 

 

 

 

 

Just to the left of the viewing pavilion (not picture here, but you can't miss it right near the parking lot and between the parking area and the glacier views), there is a small beaver pond, and further left some trails right off the parking lot that you can explore.

 

 

 

 

 

 

We didn't check the short trail out until the PM trip, focusing our short time with my parents there on the glacier.

 

 

 

L.J.

[WalleyeLJ]

We walked in front of the pavilion and down tot he waterfront, where we found a kayak guide and a newbie kayaker heading out to explore Mendenhall Lake and the glacier. In this next series of photos, keep looking in the lower left as they get farther from us and closer to the face of the glacier - know that in the last shot they still have a way to go...

Starting out

Near/Far!

Farther still...

Zoomed all the way in - and still getting farther away...look for the two tiny dots in the extreme lower left corner

As we headed out, we didn't know that were going to get treated to an unexpected pit stop/ wildlife encounter!

L.J.

Edited September 6, 2012 by WalleyeLJ

[DizzyDallasDi]

As we headed out, we didn't know that were going to get treated to an unexpected pit stop/ wildlife encounter!

 

Aw c'mon L.J., that's no way to treat your fans. At least you could have said, "Tune in tomorrow for an unexpected pit stop / wildlife encounter!" :D

[knukruzer]

DRAT...... another cliff hanger :p :( :D

[WalleyeLJ]

Aw c'mon L.J., that's no way to treat your fans. At least you could have said, "Tune in tomorrow for an unexpected pit stop / wildlife encounter!" :D

 

 

My bad:(! I will try and do better:)!

 

Now, back to the posts:p!

 

L.J.

[WalleyeLJ]

Our 2nd van driver told us that since we were his only passengers, and that he had some time before the next pick up, that we could stop near the fish hatchery and check out the eagles that we collecting their as the Chum salmon were preparing to make their run up a small river there. We were all for the chance to get close to a big group of eagles, so off we went! (Well, we didn't really have to go far - it's right off the highway on the way back to Juneau.)

 

Well, there really HAD been a lot of eagles at the spot when we were headed out, but when we got there, only a few immature balds were there. Even then, it was cool, especially this shot of the raven driving the big baldy away...

 

 

 

 

 

 

Then the cool part, at least for us. While we didn't really get to see that many eagles there, and they took off pretty quickly, we WERE able to see scads of Chum salmon trying to make their way up the little river. In many spots the water was so shallow that the backs of the Chums were sticking right out of the water as they slashed and thrashed their way upstream.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here's a shot of s pair of Chums resting up before heading upstream. I guess the Chums aren't as popular for eating as some of the other species, but their coloration during the spawn is fantastic! They are also much bigger than I thought they were for some reason , with many pushing 30+ inches...

 

 

 

 

 

 

The number of fish trying to get up the little river/stream was amazing. It may not be that big a deal to some folks, but as fisherman and wildlife enthusiasts, and never having seen this phenomenon live, it was a thrilling experience. There were also a lot of sea gulls that were hovering around the area, dive bombing the living as though they were going to speed up the circle of life.

 

 

 

Speaking of the circle of life (and death), here is a classic shot of one life ending while another continues on, in part to the loss of the first...

 

 

 

 

 

 

After our little wild excursion by the river, we headed over to fish hatchery to see something I never had before...

 

 

 

L.J.

[sue402001]

After our little wild excursion by the river, we headed over to fish hatchery to see something I never had before...

L.J.

 

Well???

 

I think you enjoy doing this to us LJ! :p

[WalleyeLJ]

60 seconds down the road, we pulled into the fish hatchery. If you want to actually go up into the hatchery, you have to pay an admission to go it. There are, however, two spots you can check out without having to pay and go inside. While I've been to several fish hatcheries over the years, including a couple that reared and released salmon. But I'd never been to one where the salmon, released years before, where attempting to return home...

 

 

 

The main holding pool...with hundreds or thousands (there had to be!) of Chums trying to get home

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The salmon were so desperate to try and continue their journey that they we throwing themselves up against the gates with all they had...

 

 

 

Check out snaggle tooth (upper right)!

 

 

 

 

 

Next up - the Alaskan High Jump team - apparently trying to get their ticket punched for London two weeks later!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

To the right of this big holding area was the big tiered concrete fish ladder run up from the water, so we headed over to see what we could see - for free!

 

 

 

L.J.

[WalleyeLJ]

Well???

 

I think you enjoy doing this to us LJ! :p

 

Yes - but at least I follwoed it up much faster this time;)!

 

L.J.

[sue402001]

That you did L.J., carry on. :)

[WalleyeLJ]

The fish ladder was made up of a series of large, rectangular concrete tanks/pits, which were full of Chums trying to get to the main staging area. I didn't really get any good shots of the tops of the ladders, but I did get this one of an industrious Chum, trying to make its way from one ladder tank to the next one. These little doors were the only thing that stopped the main tank from overflowing with salmon!

 

 

 

 

 

 

There also was a big underwater viewing window which gave us a cool look at all the traffic from the bottom as well...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I think that we'd certainly like to add the hatchery to our list of places to visit in the future, but is was actually getting pretty late and we were starved, so back in the shuttle and onto Radiance for some lunch!

 

 

 

L.J.

[mj]

Continuing to enjoy your review. Will be in Alaska in early May so don't know if I will go here since it is so early in the season.

[WalleyeLJ]

We got dropped off right at the ship and made our way on board to drop off our stuff for a bit and get some lunch. We headed to the Solarium to check out the Park Cafe. Situated on the port side of the Solarium, the Park Cafe was in the area that was the 24 hours coffee station in 2009. There was a decent selection of sandwiches and salads (pasta, potato, etc) and chips. There was also a fantastic make your own salad bar (both fruit and vegetable).

 

Now, the main draw I had for us to eat here were the positive reviews of the hand carved roast beef sandwiches, which I was most definitely looking forward to. So, everyone decided to try them. It was a sign when the woman who was working the meat carving station asked a male supervisor to cut the meat because she couldn't...

 

I didn't know that until we all sat down and tried to eat the sandwiches. The second sign was when my Dad tried to bite off some of the sandwich and ended up pulling out the whole slice of meat. I got one bite in and gave up. We all gave up and decided to change the plan and head to the Boardwalk Dog House. It's located on the port/elevator side of the ship between the elevator banks and the entrance to the Windjammer (it's also the spot for the late night/early morning coffee station). They had a good variety of hot dogs, sausages, brats and other bun cradled meats. While I was disappointed in not having a good roast beef experience, it did get us to try the dogs, and they were really pretty good!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The big board

 

 

 

 

 

 

The close-ups

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I will give the Park Cafe these props - at night it becomes a make your own Pizzeria! You assemble the combination of ingredients you want, they pop it in the oven, and a short time later you get your own custom pizza! While I didn't make my own, I did grab a couple of slices of pepperoni on night and brought them back to the room - very tasty!

 

I was hoping to catch a nap before our 5pm trip, but by this time it was already a bit after 4pm, do we wandered around a bit, went back to get the cameras and rain gear (just in case) and headed out to meet the shuttle.

 

 

 

L.J.

[WalleyeLJ]

Continuing to enjoy your review. Will be in Alaska in early May so don't know if I will go here since it is so early in the season.

 

 

mj,

 

I think it's still available to visit all summer season, but there most likely won't be any salmon running up the ladders then:)!

 

L.J.

[WalleyeLJ]

Ok, last post for the night. We had another different shuttle driver this time, and he too was very informative and willing to stop at the fish hatchery on our way out to pick up a group at Mendenhall that was joining us for the whale watch. Since we had already seen the hatchery and the salmon in the river, he took us to the Wal-Mart parking lot and then up to one of the schools to look for mountain goats high up on the mountains above us.

 

We mentioned the raven stealing the food off the balcony and he said he saw that all the time, often working in pairs. He said one common tactic was for one bird to scare or enthrall a young child, while a second one would sneak up or fly by and steal food right out of the unsuspecting child's hands! We were able to see three goats high up on the ridge, but they were REALLY high up. Goat chasing done, we headed to Mendenhall to find our other folks.

 

We had about 15 minutes to kill while we waited on the other group, so we took our driver's advice and took one of the short trails that start off from the parking lot. There we bears in the area, and we saw scat, but we didn't see any bears themselves - which was good in this case! The trails are a combination of boardwalk and gravel trail, but easily accessible and an easy walk - assuming no running from the bears! We did see some more Lupine and one of the Park Service rangers pointed out a Porcupine, nestled up in the fork of a tree, about 50 feet from the boardwalk we were on.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We got a bit lost and ended up coming out in one of the more remote parking lots, which required a couple minutes walk back to the main pick up/drop off area. When we got there we found our driver still waiting on the other group. A few minutes after 5, still no group. A couple of calls later, the group was contacted and we found out they thought that their pickup was 5:30pm, and they were still coming back from Nugget Falls!!! They were going to hustle, but that meant we had a few more minutes to wait, so I took some shots of the buses and drop off area, and one last shot of Mendenhall Glacier.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Our late guests acquired, we headed back to Auke Bay for Round 2 with the whales!!!

 

 

To be continued...the middle of next week...

 

 

Have safe weekend all!

 

 

L.J.

[Linda the Book Lover]

At last I am caught up once again! Loved all of the pictures :D H&M sound great. You almost have to go on three cruises a year in Alaska to do it all!

[zaks pack4]

Hey L.J. -

Will be looking forward to continuation of your review. :D We will be in Juneau on August 21, 2013. Are the salmon still running then, or will we have missed it? The hatchery looks really cool.

Patty

[mommybearx2]

It's the middle of the week right.............Looking forward to your next post.

[WalleyeLJ]

Hey L.J. -

Will be looking forward to continuation of your review. :D We will be in Juneau on August 21' date=' 2013. Are the salmon still running then, or will we have missed it? The hatchery looks really cool.

Patty[/quote']

 

Zak,

 

I can't answer the salmon run question for sure. Since the Chums were just starting to show up, I assume (BIG mistyake sometimes) that which ever other salmon species run in and around Juneau will follow (i.e. - Silver/Coho salmon). Here's a lisitng I found on the Alaska Fish & Game website with the general time frames for the Juneau area.

— Juneau

 

Fish Creek

Species — King and chum salmon

Timing — July through August

Access — 2400 North Douglas Highway

 

Salmon Creek

Species — Chum salmon

Timing — Late July through September

Access — Located at mile 2.5 of Egan Drive

 

Sheep Creek Bridge

Species — Chum salmon

Timing — July through August

Access — Across from Sheep Creek Hatchery at 4451 Thane Drive

 

Steep Creek

Species — Sockeye and silver salmon

Timing — July through September

Access — Located along the Glacier Spur Road in Mendenhall Valley

 

 

L.J.

[WalleyeLJ]

It's the middle of the week right.............Looking forward to your next post.

 

Long drive home yesterday! I'll be back in the saddle this evening!

 

L.J.

[WalleyeLJ]

Arriving at Auke Bay about 5:20pm (instead of 5pm), we hustled onto the boats and headed out. We had the great fortune to have Jayleen's Dad, Jay (aka the Marv or Harv & Marv) for this trip. In 2009 we had Pete/Harv, so now we've had the best of both worlds!

 

I forgot to mention earlier that H&M supply water and Pepsi/Diet Pepsi, as well as Nutri-grain bars, and either Otis Spunkmeyer or Mrs. Fields Chocolate Chip cookies on board the boats for each trip. This trip we went out on the OB-1 (no spelled the same, but Star Wars fans perhaps...?), which H&M had custom built to their specifications for a comfortable, easy to view whale watching experience. Here's a shot of Jayleen piloting the Haarvendam in front of Herbert Glacier as we took the same outbound in the PM as we came inbound earlier in the day.

 

 

 

 

 

 

We went back to the exact same spot off the NW corner of Shelter Island that we were at earlier. One of the first things we saw was a Sea Lion up on the surface chasing fish. One of the nearby seagulls spied the activity and tried to get in on the action - but the Sea Lion was having none of it!

 

 

 

 

 

 

A shot of the Haarvendam and two other whale watching boats that followed us out

 

 

 

 

 

 

We immediately saw whales all around us, just like the morning, but even better - more whales, less waves (although not as much light either...)!!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

L.J.

[WalleyeLJ]

There was a bit more boat maneuvering activity from the fleet this evening, with boats large and small jockeying for position and better vantage points...which was silly given how many whales there were!

 

 

 

Close Encounter 1

 

 

 

 

 

 

Whale Tails and Mountians #1

 

 

 

 

 

 

Eager watchers hoping for a close up view!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Whale Tail and Mountains #2

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thar she (or he) blows!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Onboard the Haarvendam!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Up next - MORE close encounters!

 

 

 

L.J.

[WalleyeLJ]

More boats kept arriving, but seemingly so did more whales...

 

 

 

 

 

 

Double the fun!

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Whale watching boat, dead ahead!"

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Dive, Dive, Dive!!!"

 

 

 

 

 

 

L.J.