Our second stop was in Juneau.  Since we enjoy kayaking here at home, we decided to go sea kayaking.  There were only 8 of us on this particular trip today.  We were taken by bus to the North Douglas Launch Ramp on Fritz Cove to start our adventure.  This was not our bus.

This was our first view of Mendenhall Glacier from the parking lot.

Before heading out, we were provided with life jackets, rubber boots, and a kayak skirt to keep us safe and dry.  The skirt is snugged up around our waist and seals around the opening of the kayak to keep water out.  Since that prevents easy access to the inside of the kayak, I did not take my good camera on this trip, but rather used my cell phone for these pictures.  Thus the quality isn’t as good as some other photos.

This is the launch area.  The tree had washed up on shore a long time ago.  Note the snow-capped mountains to the northwest in the distance.

We were in double kayaks rather than the single kayaks we use at home.  There was a bit of a learning curve for us as we paddled toward the glacier.

The mountains off to the side were spectacular in the distance.

We’re getting closer to the glacier, but will still never get closer than about 10 miles away.

There is a bed of grassy reeds growing where the Mendenhall River enters Fritz Cove.

Back on shore, we got one last look at Mendenhall Glacier.

Juneau commissioned a life-size bronze sculpture of a breaching humpback whale to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Alaska’s statehood.  This was our only view, on the bus returning from kayaking.  For more information on the sculpture, see https://www.alaskawhalesculpture.com/.

So far our weather has been great.  I even got sunburned while kayaking.  There will be more from Juneau coming up.

Mark