On a recent trip to Southeast Alaska, my Aunt Char and I visited family and enjoyed several outings. Spring vegetation was just presenting itself in fresh new leaves, spruce tips, and grasses; and the rhododendron bush was just pushing out its large pink buds. We had a variety of weather from overcast, to sunny, to changeable, to cold rain. As in the San Francisco Bay Area, if you don't like the weather, wait five minutes! Our last trip to Juneau, Alaska was a year ago, also in May (see Jensen-Olson Arboretum and Alaska - The Last Frontier).
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| Mendenhall Glacier |
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| Nugget Falls (click to expand the photo and see the tiny people in front of the falls!) |
Our first outing was to Mendenhall Glacier about 12 miles from town. The glacier has been receding for the last 70 years that our family has been in Juneau. When we were children, the ground consisted of gravel remains from the glacier, and the vegetation was mainly fireweed and other nitrogen fixers. The boulders that had been carved by the glacier were largely bare and easily climbed and clambered over. Since then, soil has collected, and trees and vegetation have grown throughout the area. It's been a wonderful lesson in natural history and plant succession, and always interesting to see changes since the last visit.
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| View of the Chilkat range down channel |
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| Golden Hour and a brief view of sunlight |
At home, Mom and I took a walk in the neighborhood to see the majestic Chilkat Mountains down channel. We saw a lot of eagles and watched for a bear that had been spotted out in the wetlands near the Juneau Pioneer Home. Later we enjoyed a delicious dinner of baked potatoes, cottage cheese, veggies, chocolates, and good conversation; and then watched several episodes of Madame Secretary. The sun sets around 10:00 PM this time of year, and the sunsets are beautiful! Back at the motel, Aunt Char and I settled in for the night to review the day and read our novels.
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| Juneau sunset in May |
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