Day 3 Juneau

Juneau is the capital of Alaska, something we hadn’t realized with its position so far south from the state’s main land area, and there are no roads into it, meaning the only access is via air or sea.

After docking early afternoon, we disembarked and followed directions to the bus for the excursion we’d booked. Our drive took us through the town and on to our first call, Mendenhall Garden, well known for its amazing upside-down trees. They’re made with fallen trees that have been tipped upside-down and replanted, then the roots are filled with a selection of gorgeous, brightly-colored flowers, giving me two of my favorite things - bright colors, and flowers.

Minutes after our arrival we piled into one of the open motorized carts that took us up the steep hill with the driver giving a commentary on the history of the park, the difficulties of growing plants in the area where it rains 280-300 days a year on average, and the hillside experiences frequent slips that invariably take out trees.

At the end of the tour we had a few minutes to grab a drink from the small café, take photos of the huge bunches of flowers hanging from the ceiling, and purchase souvenirs. You shouldn’t be surprised to learn that I made sure I bought a souvenir - a set of coasters displaying the upside-down trees.

From the garden, we headed to the other venue on this tour - Mendenhall Glacier. There, we had plenty of time to view the glacier and even walk to the impressive Nugget Falls (on the right in the photo).

And of course we spent time in the Visitor Center where I purchased more souvenirs, before it was time to clamber onto our bus and return to the ship.

Jena