Category: Juneau

Porcupine

One of the things I was shocked to find out when I moved to Juneau Alaska was just how common porcupines are. They are in the trees and crossing the street. They are just about as common as stray cats are. You just don’t want to pet them of course. That would be a new kind of pain for me that I am not ready to experience.

Like BigFoot and the Loch Ness Monster, my pictures of local porcupines have not been the best. They always seem to jump out of frame just as I get ready to snap a picture of them. But last Friday that all changed. Hannah was out walking her dog when she found a porcupine hiding in a near by ditch. She snapped some pictures of it and here they are.

A Cloudy Outing

The weekend has come and gone with little change in the weather. This however did not keep Hannah and myself inside the whole weekend. We went outside anyway to try and make the best of things regardless of the fact that mother nature clearly has a vendetta against Juneau right now.

We took ourselves out to Mendenhall Glacier in hopes to see some of the Sockeye salmon making their run up stream. When we got there we were lucky to find a decent parking spot because the park was packed with tourists from the cruise ships docked in town. We manage to see a few of salmon and take some pictures of them, but over all the rivers where pretty bare of fish compared to other times we have gone to see them run.

Looking out into the glacier bay we saw kayakers paddling in front of the glacier. It was quite the site to see. These people in their little boats with the glacier towering over them.

Just another day in Juneau with people making the best of bad weather.

Rain Rain Go Away

It's Gon' Rain!
It's Gon' Rain!

Has Juneau Alaska became the rain capital of the world? Ever since Hannah and I got back from our vacatin in Washington it has just been either overcast, or rainy. It was really starting to get to me for a minute, but then I just started taking some viteman D and all is better.

I really am starting to miss the sun though. Last summer was kind of like this too. The first summer we spent here was great, but that was 3 years ago. Seattle Washington really has been unfairly called the rainiest place on earth thanks to a little movie called “Sleepless In Seattle“. I have lived in Washington for several years and it’s true it is rainy. But Seattle has nothing on Juneau for rain right now.

I do hope this is not a trend. Maybe it can be blamed on El Niño, or the butterfly affect.

The 4th Of July In Juneau

The 4th of July in Juneau Alaska is a little differnt from any other way I have ever calibrated the holiday. Yeah there is a city parade and a fireworks show for all to see. That aspect of the holiday calibration is the same. What is not the same is the time Juneau rolls out the fireworks.

Because Juneau Alaska is so far up north the city gets more sun light in the summer time then the rest of the lower 48 States. Infact it dose not get dark till after midnight around this time of year. Because of that the city puts on their fireworks show at midnight.

The local Juneau Empire has a little write up on the festivities going on around town.

The day had started out awesome. Sunny and warm. But by mid day we started seeing clouds and rained drops. That however did not stop us from going to see the fireworks display. Hannah and I got in our truck and headed down town to our favorite spot right on the city’s water front at about 10:30pm. The place was packed with people and even one of the cruse ships decided to stay docked till after the fireworks show. Everyone seemed to be all smiles as locals started shooting off their own purchased fireworks. Hannah and setup our folding chairs, I lit a cigar, and we sat back and watched the evening sky light up with colors from all around us.

When the city fireworks show started, I pulled out my camera and snapped just a few photos.

The whole show lasted 30 minutes. It took the two of us another 30 minutes to make it home. A drive that normally takes us 10 minutes on a bad day. That gives should give you some kind of an idea how how many people and cars were in the area.

It was a really fun night. I hope the rest of the 4th is just as great.