The Long Day Begins...

I woke up this morning in Wrangell, wondering if I’d be able to get out on the plane today. Last weekend, there wasn’t a plane for 3 days due to the thick fog, and since Wrangell doesn’t have radar, planes can’t land when they can’t see the mountains--something to be thankful for, especially if you’re IN the plane!. Eric came over with the fish box and said the weather looked good, so we went to the airport to check in my bags before the flight. Back to Grandma’s for about an hour, then back to the airport. It seems not too long ago that I was on the other side of security at Wrangell airport, but already it is time to leave. After goodbye hugs, I headed through security and after one last wave was on my way to board the plane.

It was a gray morning, with some rain, but once I got in the air, the view was surprising. The Stikine River flats branched out in many directions, easily in view with the low tide. During the quick 15-minute trip to Petersburg, I saw LeConte Glacier and the many icebergs we meandered around in Safari. The tiny white dots were almost lost from sight in the sea of green water. Leaving Petersburg, the mountains broke through the clouds and their tops looked like tiny blue hills against the layer of cottony clouds. One more landing in Juneau, and I was ready to begin my 6-hour layover in Alaska's capital. I hurried through the airport to the cold weather outside and found a taxi waiting at the curb.

I headed to Mendenhall Glacier, a good way to pass a few hours until my next flight. I mentioned to the driver about the possibility of seeing black bears near the glacier and she said there were a couple of beaver dams being constructed and sometimes the bears hang out where the water pools. As she was saying this, I looked to the left and saw a black bear ready to snag an uncautious salmon from the stream. Once at the glacier, I followed other visitors along the elevated walkways, only to find that they were dead ends. Too much bear activity, I'm told. The sockeye salmon were running in the stream, so that was interesting to see. Remembering that the bear was further up the road, I started walking in that direction, but as I kept going, I saw that there were no other people there, and since I didn't have the "protection" of the elevated walkway, I decided I should probably turn around. I didn't want to be the picture of the front page of the newspaper the next day--mauled by a black bear. Besides, it was getting colder and I thought I should look at the glacier for a while.

As I was walking back along the road, the rain started and I was getting several looks in my direction. I could have had something to do with the fact that I was wearing capris, a t-shirt, and flip flops. I knew it was going to be hot once I arrived in MN, so I didn't want to be too hot once I got there. But in the meantime, it was COLD! I hurried toward the visitor center and spent some time in the gift shop, watched the movie about the glacier, and looked at the interactive displays. Took some pictures of the glacier, but they won't compare to the ones I got at LeConte Glacier. I'm glad I got to see Mendenhall, since it's a very popular place in Alaska. One of the employees at the visitor center said that yesterday it was 74 degrees and beautiful skies, so I guess I missed it by a day. Oh well. Seeing that the weather wasn't about to change anytime soon, I went backt to the airport and had a late lunch. Went back through security and am now sitting at my gate, waiting for my flight in a couple hours.

Stikine River

Coming in to Juneau

Sockeye Salmon

Mendenhall Glacier