Juneau - miscellaneous

This pic is looking from the parking lot of my hotel. It doesn't really show in the photo, but that mountain in the cloud seems to rise straight up behind the 3 blocks of downtown wedged between it & the Gastineau Channel.

The Mendenhall Glacier is the site most visited site by the 1.6 million annual visitors to Juneau. Being part of the National Forest Service (federal govn't), staff at the visitor center have been fired, as about 10 protestors were highlighting.  

There are 30 glaciers around Juneau. 

I drove across the Gastineau Channel from Juneau to the ski resort on Douglas Island for a quick look-see. A bog with an interpretive sign caught my eye on the drive down. 

Lunch break was at the Island Pub in Douglas. 

    

High above Juneau is the Last Chance Gold Mine. 

Though there isn't much left of what was a huge mining operation...

...gold is still extracted...from the pockets of tourists, who pay tour operators to bring them here to pan for gold. 

When the Russians were here, they converted some of the indigenous Tlingit to their Russian Orthodox faith. After the US bought Alaska from Russia, most of the Russians left this part of the state. This Russian Orthodox church was built by the Tlingit after the Russians left. 

A boardwalk runs about 1 1/2 miles from along the cruise ship berths & on around downtown. The Whale Project anchors the downtown end & is quite a draw. The benches in the shape of whale tails are a nice touch. Being a balmy 58* & dry, there were a number of tourists, local families, & school students enjoying the park this afternoon.