Traveling Tears

When we went on an Alaskan Cruise in June 2009, one of the most memorable stops was Juneau, Alaska. To be honest, I had hesitations because I thought the people there were all like Sarah Palin, but we were welcomed warmly by the town folks. And it was beautiful, of course. 

 Situated on the upper Inside Passage in Southeast Alaska, Juneau is almost 600 air miles from Anchorage and 900 miles from Seattle.Juneau was founded as a gold-mining camp in 1880. It became Alaska territorial capital in 1900, home of the Legislature in 1912 and Alaska state capital in 1959 upon statehood. There's no highway access to rest of Alaska or to Canadian provinces.

But the highlight of Juneau, for me, as The Mendenhall Glacier.

Mendenhall Glacier is a glacier about 12 miles (19 km) long located in Mendenhall Valley, about 12 miles (19 km) from downtown Juneau in the southeast area of the U.S. state of Alaska. Originally known as Sitaantaagu ("the Glacier Behind the Town") or Aak'wtaaksit ("the Glacier Behind the Little Lake") by the Tlingits, the glacier was named Auke (Auk) Glacier by naturalist John Muir for the Tlingit Auk Kwaan (or Aak'w Kwaan) band in 1888. In 1891 it was renamed in honor of Thomas Corwin Mendenhall. It extends from the Juneau Icefield, its source, to Mendenhall Lake and ultimately the Mendenhall River.