JUNEAU, ALASKA

 We were out whale watching today.  Although the humpback whale is generaly a solitary creature, they do sometimes gather together for a feeding frenzy called bubble-netting.  Today there were about 10 of them pulling together for this feeding.  They're filling up now for their migration to Hawaii for the winter and mating season.  They won't eat for quite a while after this.  We witnessed several of the bubble-net incidents which apparently is very unusual to see even once. 

My photos weren't that great.  So I purchased a book that has been put together by some locals.  All the pictures have been taken in the area.  It was just phenomenal to see these whales jumping out of the water.  They were having a "whale" of a time!

 Juneau is the capital of Alaska.  Similar to Ketchikan, it rains approximately 230 days a year.  Everything is very lush and green.  Winters are fairly moderate.  Again, as they are landlocked everything has to be barged in.  A gallon of milk runs $5.50.

Their federal building has been included on the list of ugly U.S. capital state buildings four times!  A local artist was commissioned to create something for the front of the building.  Florida apparently commissioned the same artist at the same time.  Well, you can guess, the artist mixed up the shipment and each state received the other's work.  Florida liked the piece intended for Alaska so much that they ended up keeping it.  So the Florida state capital has a wonderful statue of a couple of eagles.  Alaska, on the other hand, has a pelican!  Guess what?  There are no pelicans native to Alaska except this one.

These two photos were taken at Mendenhall Glacier.  I'm sure these photos don't really do justice.  However, the pictures in our minds will have to do.

Again, we were fortunate as the rain held off pretty much until almost the end of our adventure today.

Until next time...