Adventure Day

We figured today might be our “extreme” day given that we had previously scheduled a helicopter trip to a glacier and a “walkabout” tour. We are by no means “outdoorsmen” or hikers, but this sounded like a cool opportunity so we decided to sign up for it. Overnight, the cruise ship made it’s way from Ketchikan to Juneau and we docked there around 8AM or so. I’ll spare you all the pre-details, but we were taken to the Juneau airport and given all the clothing and gear we would need and taken to the helicopter. It was us, the pilot and one other couple in our ‘copter. It was about a 15 minute flight to the Mendenhall Glacier where we were dropped down and allowed to walk around on top of said glacier for a while. If this isn’t an escape from the Arizona heat, I don’t know what is! It really wasn’t THAT cold, really, and the guide said it was one of the calmest days, wind-wise, he’d experienced all season.

It’s hard to describe the awesomeness of being out there and walking around on that thing, but hopefully the photos give you a good flavor. On our way back to the airport, the helicopter pilot took us up to another glacier for a spectacular flyover view of some incredible and breathtaking sights. Definitely a once-in-a-lifetime experience!

After that, we went back to the cruise ship for lunch and we took this photo of us on “deck 7” looking out the rear – excuse me, “aft” – section of the ship.

We were also signed up for the “Evening Whale Quest” where we were delivered to a boat harbor and took a couple hour whale watching tour. Remember that when they say “evening”, it’s still broad daylight since it doesn’t get dark until 11pm or so. We found 1 humpback whale pretty quickly, and hung around near it for a while, and then moved on when he/it became less active at the surface. Later we ended up with a “plethora” of whales with at least a dozen to fifteen whales all viewable in groups in one viewing session.

Cell phone service was good in Juneau, so we were able to call home and talk with Bryan and with Shane. It was good to hear from them and they tell us they’re doing well. Since they served us dinner on the whale boat, we hit the buffet after 11pm for some dessert before calling it a day.