Juneau, Alaska Part 2

 Is Juneau, Alaska on your Alaskan cruise itinerary? Read this post before you go.

Is Mom traveling with you? Read this post - 10 Perfect Gifts For The Traveling Mom - to find the perfect gift to surprise her with before your trip. 

After we booked the Alaskan cruise we took with my sister, brother-in-law and two friends,

Soko saw that we could take a return cruise from the last stop of our first cruise, Seward, back to Vancouver where we started. The rest of the group we started the first half of the cruise with thought it would be too much cruising for them so me and Soko did Part 2 of our Alaskan cruise by ourselves.

Because this was our second time in Juneau we knew how to get to town. We took a short ride on the shuttle bus at the pier where our ship was docked.

It was Sunday and we had researched to find a Catholic church in Juneau that we could easily get to so that we could attend mass. We found one and used google maps to find directions to it from where the shuttle would drop us off in town. It was only a relatively short walk. We walked past this great mural, on our way, that depicted life in this area.

Google maps told us that it was not a long walk to church. It didn't tell us that the blocks we had to walk were very long and very steep. It was a strenuous trek but we finally made it to Cathedral of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary. 

The church was so small that people noticed that we were not members of the congregation. Everyone was so welcoming and friendly. One of the parishioners stopped to talk to us on our way out of church and mentioned a nice hike we might like if we had some time. We didn't have any plans besides walking around the city and downtown so we took his suggestion and headed to Mt. Roberts Trailhead.

It was going to be a walk up another 5 steep blocks but we took it slow and enjoyed walking through the quiet and colorful neighborhood.

I hesitated a little when I saw this sign. I had never seen an "Avalanche Area" sign before. We just crossed our fingers and continued on.

Before we got to the trail, we passed by this waterfall. I didn't know where the water came from or where it was going and although it was not a natural waterfall it still caught my eye.

When we got to the trail, we were happy to see a level, wooden trail as we were not really prepared to do a hike. We didn't have our hiking sticks with us and Soko wasn't wearing his hiking boots.

When we got higher up the mountain, there were railings on the trail which we also appreciated.

The view we had from up above was breathtaking. I have noticed that in Alaska the most beautiful views have the snow capped mountains in the background somewhere.

Soko was ahead of me and stopped to take a picture. He quietly pointed in the direction of one of the trees and I caught a glimpse of an animal on one of the trees. It seemed to be looking at us as intently as we were looking at it. Neither of us could tell what kind of animal we were looking at and it didn't give us enough time to get a good shot of it.

Any idea of what this animal is? I cropped the photo but can you even see anything lol?

I didn't notice until we were heading back to the start of the trail that we the wooden trail was missing and we were walking over the sight of an avalanche. I guess that's why that sign was posted. I'm so glad we weren't in the area when this was happening!

After the fun hike, we headed back towards downtown. The steep walk down was a little easier than the walk up.

We took a different route on the way down and passed a few office buildings and spotted the Alaska flag here.

We were excited and surprised to see the Alaska State Capitol building as we were not looking for it. It should have been on our list of things to do as we were in Juneau, the states capital, and very easy to get to from the cruise port.

This William Seward statue was erected in 2017 to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the Treaty of Cession. Seward negotiated with Russia for the transfer of Alaska to the USA.

When we got downtown we headed straight for the Red Dog Saloon. We didn't get a chance to go inside on our first visit to Juneau.

One of the reasons Red Dog Saloon is famous is that Wyatt Earp's gun is among their huge collection of animal heads and memorabilia on display at the saloon. But it is questionable by some as to whether or not the gun on display was ever owned by Wyatt Earp. It doesn't change the fact that the saloon is a very popular and fun place to spend some time in when in Juneau.

We ordered nachos along with a couple of drinks to be able to extend our time in the packed saloon. We definitely weren't encouraged to linger after eating and drinking as there were an endless number of people waiting to have their turn to visit.

Part of the fun of the Red Dog Saloon is the entertainment. On the day we were here one of the regular performers played his piano, sang some old classics and told jokes in between each song. 

After doing some souvenir shopping downtown, it was time for us to head back to the ship. 

We had a fantastic time in Juneau and were happy we got a chance to visit for a second time.

Read Part 1 of our stop in Juneau here.

Juneau, Alaska - First Stop Of Our Alaskan Cruise

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Have you ever been to Juneau, Alaska? Was it part of your cruise itinerary? Let us know what you enjoyed most when you were there.