Alaska Day 9 : Juneau , Alaska on July 19th

So, the only reason to be in Juneau is for tourists or for government.  As this s vacation - its tourist galore!  Juneau is the capital of Alaska, but interesting,y, it is only accessible by plane or boat - there are no roads from another part of Alaska.  In fact, the main road is only 47 miles long.  And it is The Road.  At mile 46, it just ends.  Done.  No more road.  And there is only one exit - for Walmart.  

Our goal in Juneau was to see whales - humpback whales in particular.  Humpback whales spend summers in Alaska feeding and winters in Hawaii breeding.     And we did see whales!  We even saw 2 mother/calve pairs, and two of the adult whales we saw were identifiable by their tales- so we know we saw Sasha (15 years old at least) and Spot.

First we saw some harbor seals - yes,that is what those sausages on the island actually are. 

Oh, and we saw an eagle on the reef marker.  On the left.  

A tail fluke - this is Sasha.  She is identifiable due to the scarring her ail - which actually looks like A K ! The naturalist of our boat was very, very excited when she realized it was Sasha.

Notice there are 2 whales here - mother and calf.  Interesting to learn that e calf is learning to feed, and does not dive  Rey deep, or as often.  The mother will dive and the calf will stay closer to the surface. 

And that is Spot going for a dive.  

We also went by the Herbert Glacier - which is not a tide water glacier,but a hanging glacier - meaning it does not reach the water, but hangs between the mountains.