North Pacific Passage to Japan

Leaving Ketchikian were supposed to head up the coast to Sitka. However, our itinerary was changed at the last minute. Stronger winds and waves than we had experienced the previous night were expected along the coast.  So the captain decided to take a more protected route and head north to Juneau instead. We arrived there on Wednesday morning the 17th. 

Juneau is the capital of Alaska and its third-largest city with a population of about 32,000. The city is unique among 49 U.S. capitals on mainland North America in that there are no roads connecting the city to the rest of the state. Access is by air or sea, and it is a major cruise line destination with over 1 million cruise tourists visiting a year.

Established as a mining camp in 1880, it was the first European-American settlement founded in the territory after the United States purchased Alaska. By the autumn of 1881, the village had a population of over 100 and was known as Rockwell. It was renamed Juneau, after one of the two prospectors who discovered gold there in 1881. 

It was a rainy day here, and all we were able to do was see the Mendenhall Glacier and do a hike to Nugget Falls.